GNCHR International Conference on Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence (14 October 2026)

The Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR) is pleased to invite you to the High-Level Conference entitled “Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence”, which will take place on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, from 09:00 to 17:15, at the Novus City Hotel, in Athens (Karolou 23, Metaxourgeio).

The Conference aims to highlight both the challenges and the opportunities arising from the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

The event will feature the presentation of the GNCHR Report on Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence, outlining its main thematic strands and key findings.

The detailed Conference programme is available here

The opening session will encompass welcome remarks by Professor Maria Gavouneli, President of the GNCHR; Debbie Kohner, Secretary General of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI); and Maria Deredaki, representing the Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence. Opening remarks will be also delivered by Amina Boyach, Chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).

The keynote address will be delivered by Professor Ignacio Cofone, Professor of Law and Regulation of AI, at the University of Oxford.

The GNCHR Report on Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence will be presented by Dr Christos Tsevas, Human Rights Officer at GNCHR.

The first panel, entitled “The Contribution of International Organizations: Thematic Analysis, Toolkits and Best Practices”, will be moderated by Professor Linos-Alexandros Sicilianos, Professor at the Law School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and former President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The speakers will include Ana Tokhadze, Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence and Personal Data Protection, at the Council of Europe; Maria-Oraiozili Koutsoupia, Legal and Policy Officer at the EU AI Office, DG CNECT, at the European Commission; Rashad Abelson, Technology Sector Lead at the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct; and Dr Dafna Feinholz, Chief of the Bioethics and Ethics of Science and Technology Section at UNESCO.

The second panel, entitled “The Role of National Human Rights Institutions: Human Rights Challenges and Added Value”, will be moderated by Sophie Hale, Human Rights Officer at ENNHRI. The speakers will include Johan Busse, Acting National Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights; Steven Kleemann, Researcher and Policy Adviser at the German Institute for Human Rights; Anete Ilves, Advisor in the field of International Law and AI at the Ombudsman's Office of the Republic of Latvia; and Arnaud Louwette, Legal Advisor at the FIRM/IFDH.

The third panel, entitled “The Perspective of National Authorities: Human Rights-Centered AI Governance and Institutional Coordination”, will be moderated by Charalampos Tsekeris, Chair of the National Commission for Bioethics & Technoethics (NCBT). The speakers will include Dr Grigorios Tsolias, Attorney-at-law, Member of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority; Dr Afroditi Kousouni, Attorney-at-Law at the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE); Kalliopi Zouvia, Senior Investigator at the Greek Ombudsman; and Ioanna Choudalaki, Head of the Directorate for Digital Services and Other Digital Issues at the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT).

The fourth and final panel, entitled “A Multi-Sectoral Approach: Civil Society, Research Centers, and the Private and Academic Sectors in Dialogue”, will be moderated by Giannis Ioannidis, Α’ Vice-President of the GNCHR and Attorney-at-Law. The speakers will include Professor Lilian Mitrou, Professor at the University of the Aegean and Attorney-at-Law; Panagiota Lampropoulou, Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact Network Greece; Stefanos Vitoratos, Co-founder of Homo Digitalis, Partner, Digital Law Experts – DLE and Dr Dora Katsamori, Associate Researcher at the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”.

The Conference will conclude with remarks by Professor Maria Gavouneli, President of the GNCHR, who will summarize the main conclusions of the Conference.

The discussions will focus, inter alia, on the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act); the implications of AI for fundamental rights; the role of international organisations, national human rights institutions and independent authorities; and the contribution of academia, civil society and the business sector to the development of a human-centered framework for AI governance.

The Conference is organised within the framework of the project “Advancing Human Rights in the Age of AI: NHRI Cooperation, Capacity Building and Policy Dialogue”, co-funded by the European Union (Project SGA-CERV-2026-07) through the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI).

• Working languages: Greek and English, with simultaneous interpretation between the two languages.
• Certificates of attendance will be issued.

Your presence would be a great honour to us.