Homo Digitalis spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Geneva.

Doing More With Less at Geneva Day in Davos: How to address growing needs in times of economic uncertainty?

We explored this crucial question on Monday 21/1 during a panel discussion held as part of Geneva Day at the House of Switzerland in Davos. We were proud to participate in this event co-organised by Swiss Financial Innovation Desk and the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations in Geneva, during the World Economic Forum 2025.

This engaging discussion explored emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), combined with innovative fiscal policies, as tools to meet the critical challenges of tomorrow. Our president, Elpida Vamvaka, represented our team speaking about our important actions and victories in the field of AI in Greece, as well as the NGI – The Next Generation Internet NGI TALER project, building a new, privacy-preserving, secure electronic payment system based on open standards, free software, and advanced cryptography.

A heartfelt thank you to the organisers and the distinguished panelists Christoph König, Deputy State Secretary, State Secretariat for International Finance SIF, Kelly T. Clements,, Deputy High Commissioner at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Daniel Eidan, Advisor & Solution Architect at Bank for International Settlements – BIS Innovation Hub.

The amazing Eva Selamlar-Leuthold, Head of Swiss Financial Innovation Desk (FIND), moderated this particularly dynamic and insightful discussion in a unique manner.

We would also like to extend our warmest thanks to Jonas Pasquier, Head of Global Affairs at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, his entire team, the Mission, as well as the Presence Switzerland team at the House of Switzerland, for making this event a success.

Would you like to get more insights from this discussion. Stay tuned for an upcoming publication by the Swiss Financial Innovation Desk, here.


The President of Homo Digitalis, Elpida Vamvaka, is Invited to WEF at DAVOS: Recognition on a Global Stage

We are thrilled to announce that Homo Digitalis has been invited to participate in an esteemed panel discussion at DAVOS, organized by the Swiss Financial Innovation Desk (FIND) of the State Secretariat for International Finance and the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva in the context of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Event Details:
Topic: Doing More with Less: How to Address Growing Needs in Times of Economic Uncertainty
Date & Time: Tuesday, January 21, 2025 | 17:00-18:30
Location: Crystal Lounge, Davos

Our President, Elpida Vamvaka, will join a distinguished panel of global leaders to discuss how emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) can empower governments and organizations to address critical global challenges in times of economic uncertainty. Specifically, in the panel hosting our President, Elpida Vamvaka will be also speaking:

– Christoph König, Deputy State Secretary, State Secretariat for International Finance
– Kelly Clements, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees
– 
Morten Bech, Centre Head Switzerland, Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub
The moderator of the panel will be Eva Selamlar, Head of Swiss Financial Innovation Desk (FIND)

While we celebrate this global recognition, it underscores the need for similar trust and acknowledgment at the national level in Greece. Strengthening Greece’s commitment to technological innovation and policy foresight will pave the way for meaningful change.

You can find more details about the event here.

Let’s make human rights-oriented innovation the cornerstone of a brighter and more resilient future – for Greece and the world.


Eleftherios Chelioudakis of Homo Digitalis as a Trainer in the 3rd OSCE ODIHR Training on Personal Data & Border Management

From December 4 to 6, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, our Co-founder and Executive Director, participated as a trainer in the third training session organized by the international organization OSCE, specifically its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw. The training explored the use of new technologies at international borders, as well as the risks and opportunities they pose for Human Rights.

In our five presentations, we focused on the technologies used at borders, the Human Rights impacted by these uses, the provisions of the GDPR and Directive 2016/680 LED, the significant decision by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) regarding the “KENTAYROS” and “YPERION” systems, as well as technical tools that human rights defenders can use in their work!

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the participants for their dynamic presence, to the team of outstanding trainers Nikola Kovačević, Djordje Alempijevic, and Arancha Garcia del Soto for their knowledge and expertise, and to the organizing team, Lola Girard and Veronica Grazzi, for their impeccable organization and contributions. It is a great honor for us to participate!

You can learn more here.


Eleftherios Chelioudakis of Homo Digitalis as a Trainer in a second OSCE ODIHR Training on Personal Data & Border Management

From October 29 to 31, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, our Co-founder and Executive Director, participated as a trainer in a training session organized by the international organization OSCE, specifically its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The training explored the use of new technologies at international borders, as well as the risks and opportunities they pose for Human Rights.

In our five presentations, we focused on the technologies used at borders, the Human Rights impacted by these uses, the provisions of the GDPR and Directive 2016/680 LED, the significant decision by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) regarding the “KENTAYROS” and “YPERION” systems, as well as technical tools that human rights defenders can use in their work!

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the participants for their dynamic presence, to the team of outstanding trainers Nikola Kovačević, Djordje Alempijevic, and Arancha Garcia del Soto for their knowledge and expertise, and to the organizing team, Lola Girard and Veronica Grazzi, for their impeccable organization and contributions. It is a great honor for us to participate!

You can learn more here.


We give a lecture at the OSCE's three-day training seminar on the protection of human rights at the borders

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) organizes next week its training course for human rights defenders working at international borders in Warsaw!  The three-day training course aims to enable human rights defenders to understand the human rights implications of border technologies and to improve their skills in collecting and verifying information through various means, including new technologies, for effective human rights monitoring at borders.

On a pro bono basis, Homo Digitalis and HIAS Greece will give a lecture during the training course related to our great success with the KENTAUROS and HYPERION case!

Our lecture titled “Combating Centaurs and Titans – Leveraging Data Protection Law to Counter Intrusive Surveillance in Migration” will focus on how data protection law can be strategically employed to challenge invasive surveillance technologies used in migration. Eleftherios Chelioudakis will represent Homo Digitalis in this lecture.

We would like to thank the organizers for their kind invitation, as well as HIAS Greece for the great collaboration.

You can find more information about the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) here.


Centaur & Hyperion: We asked the Greek DPA whether the Ministry of Immigration & Asylum has made the necessary compliance steps

In the framework of the Decision 13/2024 of the Greek Data Protection Authority (DPA), which was posted on its website on 2/4/2024, the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum was instructed to take all necessary steps to complete its compliance with the obligations of the controller, as described in the body of the Decision, within 3 (three) months from the date of its receipt.

Given that on Tuesday 2/7/2024, 3 months were completed, we decided to send a letter to the DPA on Wednesday 3/7/2024 (ref. no. G/EIS/5662/03-07-2024) requesting to be informed whether the Authority has received any relevant information from the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum regarding the completion of its compliance, as it was obliged to do.

It remains to be seen what level of compliance has been achieved in these three months in a case that is of the utmost importance.