Our participation in the second SNFCC Youth Council Slam on Artificial Intelligence was a great success
On February 4th we had the great pleasure to attend the second Slam of the SNFCC Youth Council (Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC)) on the topic of Artificial Intelligence!
There, Homo Digitalis’ Director of Human Rights and AI issues, Lambrini Yftokosta, spoke about Productive AI, legal issues related to the field of intellectual property, as well as ethical challenges that arise!
Many thanks to the SNFCC Youth Council team for the excellent organization of the event and the management of the discussion Stylianos Fragkioudakis Elina Syrri Ifigenia Kortesi !!!
Homo Digitalis' speech on Artificial Intelligence at an event organized by the Youth Council of the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center
This Sunday 4/2 at 17:00-19:00 (free entrance without registration) the Youth Council of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) is organizing and curating a series of 4 short talks on AI at the Book Tower of the National Library of Greece!
Homo Digitalis was invited to speak on issues of intellectual property and legal personality of AI based on the latest developments where newspapers, artists and authors are suing companies like Open AI.
We will be represented at the event by AI & Human Rights Director Lamprini Gyftokosta.
The aim of the event is to have an open discussion with the audience and not just a monologue by the speakers! We look forward to seeing you in person and discussing these and many other topics with them:
-Panagiotis Koromilas, PhD candidate at the National Centre for Physical Sciences Research “Demokritos” NCSR “DEMOKRITOS”
-Orfeas Menis Mastromichalakis, PhD candidate and researcher at the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Learning Systems of the National Technical University of Athens and
-Maria Mavropoulou , visual artist
We are organising a workshop for an innovative digital identity wallet in the framework of the PRIVÉ project
Homo Digitalis is a proud partner of the PRIVÉ project!
On 13 February at 18.00, we will host a workshop to present the solution developed within the project and have it evaluated by privacy-conscious end-users:
The EUDI wallet will revolutionise the way digital identity is handled in Europe. But how do we achieve widespread user adoption? Are privacy and trust important factors and are they sufficiently taken into account in the current EUDI architecture?
In response to these pressing questions, the PRIVÉ project is pleased to announce a webinar (hybrid) on 13 February 2024. This event will present an innovative solution for digital identity wallets that not only emphasizes strong privacy mechanisms, but also features seamless integration with the eIDAS and GDPR frameworks, setting a new benchmark for digital identity solutions.
13.02.2024, 18:00 Athens time
Three parallel sessions simultaneously:
-Athens.
-HERAKLEIO: at Bizrupt, Vikelas 34-36.
-Online session via Zoom
This webinar offers a unique, hands-on experience with PRIVÉ Wallet, inviting participants to engage directly with the technology through a real-life implementation scenario. We invite you to be part of its evolution. Your feedback on the usability of the wallet and your insights into the factors influencing the adoption of EUDI wallets by European citizens will be invaluable.
Join us in shaping the future of digital identity in Europe – a future where your identity is secure, your privacy is respected and your trust is earned.
You can learn more and register here.
Participation of Homo Digitalis in the 3rd LAW FORUM ON DATA PROTECTION
We are pleased to announce that two representatives of Homo Digitalis will speak at the 3rd LAW FORUM ON DATA PROTECTION, organized by CLEON Conferences & Communications on Thursday 8/2/2024 in Athens!
Our Director of Human Rights & Artificial Intelligence, Lambrini Gyftokosta, and our Vice President of the Board of Directors, Stefanos Vitoratos, will participate in the panel discussions and talk to the other speakers and the audience!
We are honored that for the third consecutive year, the conference is held under the auspices of Homo Digitalis and other major players in the field, such as the Hellenic Association of Data Protection and Privacy , ISC2 Hellenic Chapter, PA.SY.S.DI.K. HARIMA, Association of Compliance Officers in Greece – ASCO Greece and DPO Network.
More information can be found on the organizer’s website here.
Insights from our Celebration event: Digital Freedom Fund and University of Amsterdam Speech
At our celebration of 5 years of Homo Digitalis & 20 years of European Digital Rights (EDRi) at The Benaki Museum, we were honoured to host a talk by Dr. Alexandra Giannopoulou, digiRISE Project Manager of the Digital Freedom Fund and Researcher at UvA-University of Amsterdam!
In her presentation, she informed the audience in detail about the DFF’s grant programs and its important educational activities under the “digiRISE: Digital Rights are Charter Rights workshops” program.
She also made extensive reference to the funding received in 2023 by Homo Digitalis to develop preparatory legal actions against national legislation providing for the retention of electronic communications metadata.
Finally, he underlined the important cooperation that exists between DFF and Homo Digitalis both with regard to the project “Decolonising the digital rights field” and in the context of the annual meetings of strategic legal actions.
In fact, this last meeting was successfully co-organized by DFF & Homo Digitalis in September 2023 in Athens! You can watch the video of the event in the following link here.
Insights from our Celebration event: European AI & Society Fund Speech
At our celebration event for 5 years of Homo Digitalis & 20 years of European Digital Rights (EDRi) at The Benaki Museum, we had the honour to host presentations from important foundations and organizations that have chosen to support our actions!
One of these is the European AI & Society Fund , which enables a diverse ecosystem of civil society organisations to shape policies around AI in the public interest, and mobilises the philanthropic sector across Europe to support this vital work.
The organisation’s Programme Director, Alexandra Toth, travelled to Athens and delivered an excellent talk on the challenges posed by AI applications for our democratic societies, the actions they support, the funding packages available, and of course the significant successes of EDRi & Homo Digitalis in this area.
We have immense gratitude to the European AI & Society Fund, as after 5 years of full-time volunteer activities, they gave us the opportunity in 2023 to hire the first full-time staff in our organization, the Director of Human Rights & AI, Lambrini Yftokosta Also, we would like to thank them for the funding under the Learning & Development program that made it possible to organize our workshop!You can learn more about the European Artificial Intelligence & Society Fund here.
Insights from our Celebration event: The Greek Data Protection Authority's Speech
In the first live talk of our 5 Years of Homo Digitalis & 20 Years of European Digital Rights celebration event a few weeks ago at The Benaki Museum, we had the great honor to host a presentation by Dr. George Rousopoulos, Computer Engineer, Specialist Scientist of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (DPA)!
Mr. Rousopoulos spoke in detail about the importance of the active presence of civil society organizations in democratic states, made reference to the way in which the provisions of the GDPR have led to the significant improvement in the level of protection of our personal data, but also to the challenges that arise during its implementation, when supervisory authorities remain understaffed and with reduced financial resources.
Furthermore, he highlighted some of Homo Digitalis’ significant successes, such as the EUR 20 million fine against CLEARVIEW AI and the revision of the provisions of Law 4624/2019, while underlining the importance of cooperation between supervisory authorities and the CSOs.
“In the new digital landscape, Data Protection Authorities need to be empowered to be able to support and drive the development of innovation that will bring real improvements to people’s lives. Indispensable allies in this work are civil society organisations fighting to strengthen our fundamental rights and freedoms, and to raise awareness among the wider public.”
Insights from our Celebration event: European Data Protection Supervisor's Speech
On 12/12/23 we celebrated our birthday at The Benaki Museum together with European Digital Rights (EDRi) by looking back on the important actions & unique successes we have achieved through exclusive volunteer activities during our first 5 years of operation!
Our contribution to the protection of Human Rights in the modern digital age was discussed in person or online by supervisory authorities, institutions, academics, journalists and civil society organisations!
Among them, we were honoured by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Dr. Wojciech Wiewiorowski , who accepted our kind invitation to deliver the opening speech of the event. EDPS spoke about the important contribution of Homo Digitalis and EDRi to the protection of personal data and privacy, the pivotal role of civil society organisations in defending democracy and the rule of law, and the need to cooperate with them.
We would like to thank EDPS and his office for the birthday greetings and the heartfelt speech. These words give us the strength to continue our work! You can enjoy a short excerpt of his speech or view the full EDPS positioning here.
We spoke at the Legal Seminar 2023 on EU Law and Undocumented Migrants in Brussels!
On 29 and 30 November, Homo Digitalis’ Director for Human Rights and AI, Lambrini Gyftokosta, spoke at the “Legal Seminar 2023 on EU Law and Undocumented Migrants” organized by the Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and Equinox: Racial Justice Initiative at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel!
The two-day seminar examined the intersection of racial profiling, policing and immigration control. We presented three of Homo Digitalis’ actions in Greece on digital rights violations, which further blurred the boundaries between criminal and immigration law.
We were joined on the discussion panel by an amazing group of experts, namely Selma Benkhelifa (Progress Lawyers Network-Brussels), Sara Traylor (Alarm phone) and Laure Baudrihaye-Gérard (moderator, independent expert).
We would like to thank PICUM and Equinox for the invitation and for organising such an event exploring the pitfalls of the current EU legal framework on immigration. It was a great honour to participate!!! You can read more about the two-day event here.