On December 4, 2024, Professor Ioannis Emiris, Chairman of the Board and General Director of Athena Research Center, and Mr. Kostas Giannopoulos, Chairman of the Board of the Organization "The Smile of the Child," signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
The Memorandum outlines the establishment of a long-term partnership between the Athena Research Center and "The Smile of the Child," aiming to improve children's quality of life, raise awareness, and educate them about their rights.
The collaboration will leverage technology to benefit children and develop tools for prevention and problem-solving. Through its Institute for Language and Speech Processing and the Archimedes Unit, Athena will actively contribute to achieving the objectives defined in the Memorandum.
Areas of Focus for Collaboration:
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Utilizing the Mobile Operational Center "Odysseus" to present or connect Athena's educational programs to remote areas of Greece.
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Developing cooperative actions and programs to benefit children and their rights.
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Organizing and conducting interdisciplinary educational workshops and seminars.
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Advancing collaborative research in areas relevant to "The Smile of the Child's" activities.
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Raising public awareness about children's rights.
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Collaborating and jointly participating in national and European programs.
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Providing "The Smile of the Child" access to technologies developed by Athena.
After signing the Memorandum, the Director of the Archimedes Unit, Mr. Timos Sellis, emphasized:
"Protecting children's rights is a vital necessity and a fundamental concern for our societies. Data Science and Artificial Intelligence provide tools to support the diverse activities—administrative, monitoring, educational, informational, and more—undertaken by society to address this need. These activities require efficient and accurate processing of large data volumes. The Archimedes Unit, led by Research Directors Stella Markantonatou and Haris Papageorgiou and Postdoctoral Researcher Vivian Stamou, looks forward to a successful partnership that will enhance the exceptional work of 'The Smile of the Child.'”
The Director of the Institute for Language and Speech Processing, Mr. Vassilis Katsouros, stated:
"We are delighted about the collaboration between Athena Research Center and 'The Smile of the Child,' as it will allow our research teams to adapt our technologies and develop specialized solutions to support the critical work of the organization's social workers. Additionally, we aim to actively contribute to initiatives targeting children and adolescents to address pressing social issues such as bullying, violence, racism, and hate speech. Through technology, we believe we can create a better future for our society."
From his side, Professor Ioannis Emiris, Chairman of the Board and General Director of Athena Research Center, said:
"It is with great pleasure that we signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with 'The Smile of the Child' today, focusing on digital technologies that are particularly useful in the organization's diverse activities. Athena will support the multifaceted and inspiring efforts of 'The Smile of the Child,' which leave a positive impact on families and children in our country. Finally, we discussed the possibilities of further collaborations and strategic funding for our joint actions."
