The Hellenic Data Protection Authority, the Foundation for Research and Technology- Hellas (FORTH) and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) successfully organized a training session for high school students entitled “Protecting Our Personal Data- The GDPR and the 40 Thieves” which took place on Tuesday, November 5th at the SNFCC Book Tower.

At the event, a brief introduction was given by Mr. Nikos Manolopoulos, CEO of the SNFCC and Mr Konstantinos Menoudakos, President of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority, Honorary President of the Council of State.

The President of the Authority, welcomed the students and the teachers and stressed that "one of the main priorities of the Authority is to inform and raise the awareness of young people concerning the protection of their personal data".

He also noted:

"We are particularly pleased that on a day of particular importance to the Authority, 22 years after its establishment, we are addressing the new generation, the so-called 'digital natives'. The goal of the workshop, which we are co-organizing with FORTH and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, is to provide students with interactive and simple examples of the dangers of online personal data exposure and the ways in which to protect themselves, through the use of their critical thinking ability”.

Mr. Manolopoulos welcomed the students to the SNFCC, noting: "We are very pleased with today’s workshop, which is being carried out in collaboration with the Data Protection Authority and the Foundation for Research and Technology- Hellas, two of the country's most important institutions. For the SNFCC, students make up a community of particular importance and it is within this context that we have developed an extensive program of school visits which we will enrich each year. In this framework, we welcomed 130,000 students during the 2018-2019 school year. Of course, this has been possible due to the continued support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation."

An introductory presentation, entitled "Why should we protect our personal data?", was given by Dr. Konstantinos Limniotis, computer scientist, specialist in the Department of Auditors of the Authority, followed by the interactive laboratory of FORTH entitled "The GDPR and the 40 Thieves" by Dr. Dimitris Grammenos, FORTH-ICS Principal Researcher and Ms. Anthi Strataki, Data Protection Officer (DPO) of FORTH, with the active and enthusiastic participation of students, who were given the chance to learn, think creatively, share ideas, play, and have fun! The workshop combined fairy tales and myths with humor and imagination to present issues, in a comprehensible and entertaining way, about the European General Data Protection Regulation (known as GDPR) and the fundamental rights and freedoms that it guarantees to all citizens of the European Union.

The students had the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the speakers, which substantially contributed to the deeper understanding of the concepts presented.

The students' participation in the SNFCC workshop was free thanks to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation's exclusive donation.