Today, partners of EU funded project Regions4Climate (R4C), celebrate the opening of their annual consortium meeting in Sitia, Greece, to outline action for a successful second year. The conference is set to take place from the 23rd to 25th of April in one of the European regions participating in the 5-year long climate-resilience project. Partners will collaborate during the week to discuss on-going activities and innovations under development such as just transition roadmaps, regional system dynamics models, monitoring and evaluation, climate risk and vulnerability assessments. Carmen Antuña Rozado, Project Coordinator for Regions4Climate, said: “After more than a year of hard work, we have established the necessary operational processes and laid the foundation for smooth and enthusiastic collaboration between all partners. “Our regions are advancing their innovation actions for greater climate resilience and our scientific and technical partners are developing appropriate tools that can help them achieve their objectives. “They are all very excited to see what this second year will bring and to contribute to greater sustainability and resilience of their communities, and perhaps other communities interested in replicating R4C solutions in the near future.” Thanasis Sfetsos, from the National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos, Greece, said: “We are very excited to host our consortium partners in Sitia, Crete to celebrate our first annual conference. Recent progress demonstrated that working together and pushing for the uptake of innovative solutions with our partners we are able to build more climate-resilient communities across Europe.” Pavlos Alexandros Kapetanakis, representing the Municipality of Sitia, said: “It is a great privilege for the Municipality of Sitia to host the annual meeting of the Regions for Climate consortium and demonstrate the risks in a “climate hot spot” Mediterranean region and the efforts made to adapt the unique resources and our high-quality agricultural products to present challenges.” As the frontrunner region in the More Systemic Adaptation Challenge suite, Sitia has been recognised for its local citizens, farmers and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) participating in the society-wide transition towards climate resilience. To help with climate adaptation measures, the coastal region aims to develop P.O.D. products of local origin with zero carbon footprint. This will be done by transforming olive oils mills into climate neutral, introduce biological IPM and strengthen sustainable practices in a participatory and collaborative way, led by women entrepreneurs and cooperatives. The region is working on combining their culture and traditional knowledge with modern approaches and tools, making it a successful example for other regions and serving as inspiration for other communities sharing similar conditions. The Municipality of Sitia and National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos plan to promote sustainability to those visiting by using the Sitia UNESCO Geopark as an outdoor classroom. It will act as a hub for economic activities and encouraging tourism that has no negative impact on the environment. With a focus on close collaboration with local businesses and citizens, particularly in rural areas, the socio-cultural and economic impacts of climate change can be addressed at all levels of society. Thanks to the support from Regions4Climate, there are new idea developments for businesses and funding options to help small-scale producers. About Regions4Climate The Regions4Climate project aims to deliver significant sociocultural, economic, and environmental impacts during the 5-year duration of the project. Inhabitants of the 12 partner regions, over 13.8 million people, are expected to directly benefit from the outcomes of the project, with potential upscaling to 746 million people living in Europe in the longer term. Regions4Climate engages 12 European regions in developing and testing their own resilience plans and transformative adaptation pathways, enhanced by cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange. Partner regions include the Basque country (Spain), South Aquitaine (France), the Azores (Portugal), Toscana (Italy), KøgeBay (Denmark), Burgas (Bulgaria), Helsinki-Uusimaa (Finland), Pärnumaa (Estonia), Eastern Crete (Greece), Castilla y León (Spain), the Nordic Archipelago (Finland, Åland and Sweden), and Troodos (Cyprus Republic). About the National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos Founded in July 1961 as a Research Centre for Nuclear Research, Demokritos is today the largest multidisciplinary Research Centre of Greece with approximately 180 Researchers in tenured and tenure-track positions and over 500 Research Personnel working in projects funded mainly by grants from State Funds, the European Union and Private Industries. The Centre consists of six independent Institutes focusing on different scientific fields. It is governed by the Board of Directors and is supervised by the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation, which is part of the Ministry of Development. Media contact Carmen Antuña Rozado Project Coordinator carmen.antuna@vtt.fi Rosa Vallespinós Communication Manager rosa@revolve.media

CALL FOR PAPERS Oxford University’s Institute for Ethics in AI, in collaboration with Stanford University, Greece’s National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos“, and the World Human Forum will hold a one-day conference on the ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), ‘The Lyceum Project’, in Athens on June 20th, 2024. The venue for the event will be the Athens Conservatory which is adjacent to the ancient site of Aristotle’s school, the Lyceum. The Lyceum Project is premised on the belief that Aristotelian ethics contains many compelling ideas that have great significance for the ethics of AI. These ideas include the centrality of human flourishing to ethics and democratic politics; the virtues as constitutive of flourishing; the use of reason to determine the ends and not merely the means of human conduct; the place of friendship and citizenship in a good human life, among others. Their relevance extends to all the various forms that the regulation of AI can take, such as personal self-regulation, regulation through industry codes or social convention, or regulation through domestic or international law. Unfortunately, these ideas have tended to be neglected in contemporary thought about the ethics and politics of AI, which has often been dominated by utilitarian and rights-based paradigms. The Lyceum Project seeks to remedy this neglect and thereby to enhance the quality of public discourse around AI ethics. The conference will involve: * A philosophers’ panel, at which Professors Josiah Ober (Stanford) and John Tasioulas (Oxford) will discuss their white paper on Aristotelian AI ethics * A practitioners’ panel, in which leading figures from the technical, entrepreneurial, and regulatory sides of AI discuss bridging theory and practice * A series of presentations by younger scholars working on Aristotelian AI ethics. This call for papers invites scholars working in AI ethics, who are either currently enrolled as PhD students or within ten years of the award of their PhD, to submit a 500 word precis of the 15 minute presentation they propose to give at the conference. The presentation should engage with Aristotelian ideas as they bear on the pressing ethical or political questions thrown up by AI. Those selected to present at the conference will have economy airfare and two nights’ accommodation in Athens covered by the Lyceum Project. Applicants should: * Fill out the application form, including details of a referee * Forward your precis and a one-page CV to aiethics@philosophy.ox.ac.uk * Meet the deadline for submissions of 5pm BST, April 30, 2024. This event will be open to the public free of charge. Details regarding attendance will be available soon. The Lyceum Project is generously supported by the Patrick J McGovern Foundation, the Cosmos Institute, the Athens Conservatory, and the Stanford University Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

The National Centre Natural Sciences Research “Demokritos” and the “Lefkippos” Technology Park welcomed Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday, January 17th. The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Minister of Development Mr. Kostas Skrekas, the Deputy Minister of Development Mr. Maximos Senetakis, the Secretary General of Research and Innovation Dr. Athanasios Kyriazis and the elected Mayor of Agia Paraskevi, Mr. Yiannis Mylonakis. During the visit, the Prime Minister was guided around the premises of the Technology Park and talked to scientists and founders of startup and spinoff companies based in the campus. He was then given a tour of the Protavio offices, the Solmeyea facilities and the CYRUS Hydrogen Station. CYRUS’s Co-Founder Dr. Athanasios Stubos noted: “The CYRUS team had the pleasure and honor to welcome the Prime MInister and show him around the first in the country integrated facility for green hydrogen production, storage, compression and use in light vehicles. The facility (with water and sun as “raw materials”) demonstrates how the green fuel of the future – hydrogen – can be used in transport and incorporates innovative technology developed by CYRUS, a spinoff company of NCSR Demokritos.” Protavio’s Co-Founder and NTU Professor Dr. Leonidas Alexopoulos mentioned: “We are proud to welcome the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to Protavio’s facilities showcasing innovation made in Greece! Protavio has developed the world’s best pipeline for the discovery, development, and manufacturing of proteomic-based multiplex diagnostic assays. We are delivering novel diagnostic products and services that contribute to the improvement of societal health.” Solmeyea’s CEO and Founder, Mr. Vasilis Stenos stated: “The Prime Minister’s visit to the Solmeyea site is a great honor for us and demonstrates his practical support for start-up entrepreneurship, innovation and green development. We are optimistic that key structures of our society such as the organization of NCSR “Demokritos” with its Board of Directors, as well as the political leadership stand by our side towards the realization of our vision for the creation of the world’s first large-scale plant of simultaneous utilization of pollutants for production of raw materials for food, medicines, cosmetics and biofuels”.

“Demokritos” National Centre of Scientific Research (NCSR), Greece’s leading research centre, and MORO GLOBAL group of technology companies with operations and business presence on 3 continents, are announcing the signing of a Strategic Partnership Framework Agreement aiming at growth, promotion, and capitalization of technology innovation. The main purpose of this collaboration is to decisively contribute to bridging the gap from Research to Market. The implementation of the strategic partnership will include and monitor the 5 main phases of the innovation life cycle (Innovation Lifecycle: Research | Develop | Innovate | Grow | Evolve) following the state-of-the-art framework introduced and implemented by MORO GLOBAL internationally. NCSR “Demokritos” will focus on the first two phases (Research/Develop) and MORO GLOBAL group of technology companies on the other three (Innovate/Grow/Evolve). As part of their strategic cooperation, the two partners will soon proceed with the design, preparation, full development, and operation of the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic – DIANA, under the auspices and funding of NATO. The main objective of this first activity is to substantially help and support innovative enterprises focusing on defence and field security applications such as artificial intelligence, data, biotechnology, quantum computing, aerospace, and advanced materials. The cooperation of the two organizations was officially launched on Wednesday, February 1st at the headquarters of NCSR “Demokritos” in Athens. The meeting was attended by Marios Papanikolopoulos, CEO of MORO GLOBAL together with executives of the group’s companies, as well as members of the Innovation Office of NCSR “Demokritos” who will be involved in the implementation of the collaboration. George Nounesis, Director & Chairman of the Board of the NCSR “Demokritos” commented: “The high-tech business innovation accelerator is a strategic priority of Demokritos to capitalize on research results, with more than 45 companies hosted in the Lefkippos Technology Park and new building facilities already under construction. We are excited about our collaboration with MORO GLOBAL, which highlights the international dimension of the venture. Our expectations are high, especially for DIANA and the NATO INNOVATION Fund that will finance start-ups with dual-use technologies, for the defence industry and for political applications, given that for the first time an international VC arrives at the doorstep of Greek Research Organizations.” Marios Papanikolopoulos, CEO of MORO GLOBAL stated: “MORO GLOBAL actively seeks to foster innovation in different business sectors by leveraging its core competitive advantages, experience, and expertise, in a flexible, practical, efficient, and sustainable way. In this context, it is a key pursuit and great pleasure for us to contribute to the vision and work of public and private organizations that revolve around technology and innovation. I am confident that our collaboration with NCSR “Demokritos” will leverage and make the most out of technology innovation, both at a national and international level, as it will bring the world of research and entrepreneurship together in the best possible way.”

NCSR “Demokritos” and researchers M. Pelecanou, M. Sagnou (Institute of Biosciences & Applications, IB-A), M. Papadopoulos, I. Pirmettis (Institute of Nuclear & Radiological Sciences and Technology, Energy & Safety, INRASTES) have filed an international patent application within the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) titled “Tricarbonyl complexes of transition metals with benzo-heterocyclic derivatives of the cyclopentadienyl anion”.  The PCT application, in which two post-doctoral researchers B. Mavroidi (IB-A) and A. Shegani (INRASTES) also participate as inventors, aims at the protection of novel compounds discovered at NCSR “Demokritos” with exquisite blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration potential, and properties suitable for application as diagnostic and therapeutic agents against diseases of the Central Nervous System (CNS).  The patent application has already been approved in Europe (patent EP3755383 granted on 18-8-21), and is being prosecuted in the USA, China and India. The innovative compounds freely enter the brain and their initial preclinical evaluation, carried out within the premises of NCSR “Demokritos”, has established their potential in diagnosis and therapy of devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease1 and brain cancer2.  In view of the great obstacle that limited blood-brain barrier penetration imposes on the development of CNS pharmaceuticals3 and the great economic burden that CNS disorders bear on Health care4, the prospects for exploitation of the patented compounds to address unmet medical needs are riveting.  To this end, the “Demokritos” team has entered into an agreement with PLUS Life Sciences Consulting Sàrl, a company located in Geneva, to identify investors interested in financing further development of the compounds towards clinical trials and their eventual commercialization. 1 J. Med. Chem. 2019, 62, 2638 2 Invest. New Drug 2022, 40, 497 3https://am.credit-suisse.com/ch/en/asset-management/insights/articles/equity/2022/blood-brain-barrier-the-last-frontier.html 4 https://www.reportlinker.com/p06241983/Central-Nervous-System-Drugs-Global-Market-Report.html

The Doping Control Laboratory of Athens (DCLA), of the Institute of Biosciences and Applications of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” was granted the “Candidate Doping Control Laboratory” status from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), following a relevant decision of the WADA Executive Committee held in Sydney on September 23, 2022. This decision reflects that WADA recognizes the systematic efforts and investments that have been made in recent years to obtain its accreditation. The laboratory, along with the continuous support of the Deputy Minister for Culture and Sports Mr. L. Avgenakis, the General Secretary Mr. G. Mavrotas and the services of NCSR “Demokritos”, has already progressed: – in the recruitment of talented, specialized scientific staff, – in the supply of analytical instruments of cutting edge technology, – in upgrading its material and technological infrastructure, – in the validation of its analytical processes and methods. The Doping Control Laboratory of Athens is constantly evolving into obtaining its accreditation from WADA, ultimately aiming at supporting both the health of athletes and the effort for doping-free, clean international sports.

The National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (NCSR Demokritos), the largest multidisciplinary research centre in Greece, and the IEEE Standards Association, the world’s leading professional organisation for excellence in technology and the advancement of technological innovation, announced their collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote ethics in AI and its certification. In this collaboration, NCSR Demokritos is represented by the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications (IIT), a pioneer in Research and Innovation internationally, and a key partner of the State in the development of the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The MoU concerns the design and implementation of collaborations and actions related mainly to the implementation of IEEE certification schemes for AI systems, as well as to the co-creation of views and knowledge exchange in areas of common interest such as AI’s human centricity, democratic access and control, and socio-technical sustainability of systems based on data and machine learning algorithms. The meeting of the two organisations for the launch of the cooperation, took place at NCSR Demokritos in Aghia Paraskevi on Monday 4 July and was attended by the Deputy Minister of Research & Technology Christos Dimas, the Secretary General of GSRI, Athanasios Kyriazis, as well as researchers from IIT who will be involved in the implementation of the cooperation. George Nounesis, Director & Chairman of the Board at NCSR Demokritos stated: Demokritos is a dynamic participant in scientific progress and the rapid technological development of autonomous systems and AI algorithms. The Greek society and national economy will benefit enormously from this technological transformation. We at Demokritos, will participate dynamically equally in the public debate on the ethical challenges aimed at preserving the human-centred character of new technologies. We are excited about the horizons that the partnership with the IEEE opens up precisely in this direction and we look forward to transferring the new knowledge and the results of this cooperation to the Greek State. Konstantinos Karachalios, Managing Director of the IEEE Standards Association, and a member of the IEEE Management Council stated: The regulatory framework proposed by the European Commission for AI makes it necessary to be able to assess the quality of certain such algorithmic systems. This is precisely the problem solved for designers and users by the IEEE CertifAIEd system developed by the international non-profit organisation IEEE. A system that has already been tested in practice by the City of Vienna. The envisaged collaboration between Demokritos and IEEE will provide the Demokritos team of experts with the necessary know-how to put this method into practice. A similar agreement has been signed between IEEE and the French Ministry of Industry. Vangelis Karkaletsis, Director of IIT at NCSR Demokritos stated: The democratic nature of both access to and control of AI systems, as well as the design and implementation of such systems, makes it absolutely necessary to create and implement certification procedures and tools for ethical, reliable and democratic AI. For this reason, we have designed relevant seminars in our Institute for graduate programs as well as for the AI and Data Science training programs and have initiated AI systems evaluation procedures for projects we undertake. Our collaboration with the IEEE will significantly enhance our expertise, thereby also contributing to the implementation of the National AI Strategy in the design of which we have played a central role. For further information contact: Elena Galifianaki, Head of Communications, Institute of Informatics & Telecommunications, NCSR Demokritos:, egalif@iit.demokritos.gr, +30210 650 3197

On 30 May, the emblematic Greek island of Delos -the cosmopolitan centre of the Mediterranean in antiquity, now an open museum- comes to life again! This date will mark the official launch of ALPHA MISSION – ΔELOS. A collective initiative that combines the strengths of Mythology, Art and Space Technology to raise awareness globally about the urgent need for the regeneration of our planet. For the first time in its thousands of years of history, Delos welcomes a classical music orchestra for a broadcast concert of an international scope and great symbolic value. The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), together with Ukrainian & Russian musicians, and soloists the Ukrainian born rising star Diana Tishchenko (violin) and Greek virtuoso Sokratis Sinopoulos (lyra) will perform the concert entitled “The [uncertain] Four Seasons”, a concert especially created to underscore the uncertainty about the future of our planet if we do not act urgently. The concert will be live-streamed (19:30 CET) on ARTE, on the social-media platforms of Cultural and Technological institutions, and projected live onto big screens in Megaron the Athens Concert Hall and various European cities. It will additionally be broadcast on ARTE’s Sunday TV concert on 5 June -17.25 (CET) in Germany and 18.25 (CET) in France. The concert will be available on arte.tv from 30th May until end of August and will then travel around the world. The event also marks the 30th anniversary of ARTE, the important European cultural channel, symbol of Franco-German friendship. The ALPHA MISSION – ΔELOS concert is a co-production of the World Human Forum & ARTE in partnership with Europa Nostra, the Hellenic Space Center, the National Research Center for Natural Sciences “Demokritos”, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Megaron the Athens Concert Hall – and in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades. The EUYO is artistic partner of the event. Further information: ALPHA MISSION – ΔELOS in a nutshell: NASA’s ARTEMIS MISSION will take the first woman to the Moon by 2025, following the APOLLO MISSION which took the first man to the moon in 1969. Delos is the island where, according to the myth, the twin gods Apollo and Artemis were born, and where light was born. For many centuries in antiquity, Delos was the cosmopolitan centre of the Mediterranean. Today, the whole island is an open museum and the ancient ruins on it are already affected by the climate crisis and rising sea level. Parallel to our quest to explore space, Delos -and the events connected to it- will be emblematic reminders that wings also need roots and that the healing of our planet should be a priority. NASA’s Artemis Mission, following the Apollo Mission, gives us the unique opportunity to understand that Humanity will not succeed in addressing the challenges we face unless we combine the wisdom of the past with the knowledge and possibilities of today, humanities with science, mythology, art and spirituality with space and technology. The program consists of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, improvised episodes for Lyra, Carmen Fizzarotti’s Floating Autumn from “The [uncertain] Four Seasons” and Marshall Marcus’ 17 Strokes of the Bell for Peace and Sustainability. The EUYO will be welcomed by the lyra, the modern continuation of Apollo’s instrument with a 3000-year history that will masterfully intertwine with the work of Vivaldi and the concert’s contemporary composers. Carmen Fizzarotti’s Floating Autumn from  The [uncertain] Four Seasons, is an algorithmic re-composition of Vivaldi’s ‘Autumn’. Developed by composers, musicians, climate and computer scientists using geospatial climate predictions for 2050, it depicts what a future world might feel like if we do not reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The [Uncertain] Four Seasons is an initiative of AKQA and Jung von Matt, composer Hugh Crosthwaite, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Monash Climate Change Communications Research Hub. The European Union Youth Orchestra, cultural ambassador for the European Union, represents the European ideal of a community working together to achieve peace and social understanding. Founded in 1976 by Lionel and Joy Bryer following a unanimous vote of the European Parliament, with Maestro Claudio Abbado as its Founding Music Director, it brings together the most talented young musicians from all EU member states united by a shared sense of European heritage, innovation, sustainability, and the constant pursuit of excellence. Together with Russian and Ukrainian musicians it represents the voice of the youth of Europe. The EUYO’s Honorary President is the President of the European Parliament and its Honorary Patrons are the Heads of State and Prime Ministers of each of the EU member states, headed by the President of the European Commission. The soloist, violinist Diana Tishchenko, of Ukrainian origin, is amongst the most exciting young artists of recent years and has won several international competitions for her musicality and technical mastery, and posseses musical imagination far beyond her years. She has been a guest on major international concert stages. Greek musician Sokratis Sinopoulos is a contemporary master of the lyra, a bowed instrument that dates back to ancient times. His playing is delicate and nuanced yet highly expressive, and his proficiency on the instrument has been widely acclaimed. Sinopoulos has collaborated with numerous musicians throughout the world. He is equally comfortable crossing genre boundaries into jazz and classical, as he is to staying true to folk traditions of Greece and Eastern Mediterranean.

The Research Ethics Committee of NCSR Demokritos organised a conference titled Artificial Intelligence: Applications and Ethical Challenges, on Wednesday 23 March 2022. The event took place physically at the Conference The keynote speaker of the conference was John Tasioulas, Professor of Ethics and Legal Philosophy, Director of the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford with his speech titled Towards a humanistic ethics of AI. The event was hosted by the Director and Chairman of the Board at NSCR Demokritos, Dr George Nounesis, Mr Christos Dimas, Deputy Minister for Research and Technology and Mr Isidoros Karatzas, Head of Ethics Sector, European Commission DG Research & Innovation attended the event. The vice-President and Director of the Institute of Information and Telecommunications, Dr Vangelis Karkaletsis addressed also the conference, emphasising the work that is conducted in the field of Artificial Intelligence in the Institute. More Info: https://www.iit.demokritos.gr/newsevents/artificial-intelligence-applications-and-ethical-challenges-event-organised-by-ncsr-ds-research-ethics-committee/