The event organized by the Hellenic Copyright Organization as part of the 2026 European Cultural Heritage Days took place successfully on Friday, 18 September 2026, at the Monemvasia Tourist Pavilion, under the theme “Copyright and Cultural Heritage at Risk: Access, Protection and Revival in the Digital Age.” The event provided an opportunity to highlight the relationship between copyright and cultural heritage and to discuss the challenges and opportunities arising from digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence for the protection, management and access to cultural content.
At the opening of the event, Maria-Daphne Papadopoulou, acting Director of the Hellenic Copyright Organization, delivered the greeting of the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni. Greetings were also addressed by Panagiotis Tsiris, President of the HCO, Vassilios Vasdekis, Rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business and on behalf of the Municipality of Monemvasia, Stavros Christakos, Deputy Mayor.
The international dimension of the event was highlighted by the participation of Sylvie Forbin, Deputy Director General, Copyright and Creative Industries Sector, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), who presented WIPO’s activities concerning copyright and cultural heritage. As part of the event, Sylvie Forbin and Rina Pantalony, Senior Policy Advisor, Libraries and Intellectual Property, UCLA Library, presented the WIPO Toolkit “Access to Copyright-Protected Works in Cultural Heritage Institutions”, a practical tool aimed at facilitating access to copyright-protected works held by cultural heritage institutions.
This was followed by a presentation by Maria-Daphne Papadopoulou, Acting Director of the HCO, entitled “Copyright and Cultural Heritage: Tools for Protection and Access.” Maria G. Sinanidou, LL.M., Lawyer and Scientific Collaborator of the HCO, presented the case study “Cultural Heritage: Between the Public Good and Copyright – The 200 of Kaisariani.” The discussion on the future of cultural heritage was further enriched by a presentation by Prodromos Tsiavos, PhD, Director of Digital Development and Innovation at the Onassis Foundation, entitled “Shaping the Future of Cultural Heritage: Technology, AI and New Creative Tools.”
The event concluded with a roundtable and open discussion moderated by Symeon Tsalikoglou, Founder of GEFYRA, with the participation of Prodromos Tsiavos, Maria-Daphne Papadopoulou and Maria G. Sinanidou. The discussion focused on current challenges and prospects for the protection, access to and promotion of cultural heritage in the digital environment.
The choice of Monemvasia, a place of particular historical and cultural significance, highlighted in a symbolic and meaningful way the connection between the theme of the event and the need to protect, promote and provide access to cultural heritage.
The HCO’s presence in Monemvasia began on Thursday, 17 September 2026, with an educational activity for teachers and students of the local upper secondary school on “Basic Principles of Copyright and Lawful Sources of Content.” This was followed on the morning of Friday, 18 September, by a corresponding educational activity for teachers and students of the local lower secondary school. The activities aimed to raise awareness within the educational community of the basic principles of copyright, the lawful use of digital content and the importance of responsible access to works made available online.
Through the organization of the event in Monemvasia, the HCO participated once again in the European Heritage Days, contributing to the public dialogue on the protection and promotion of cultural heritage and the role of copyright in the contemporary digital environment.
The event was also live-streamed on the HCO’s YouTube channel.
View photographic material from the event
.