The APDCAT space opens the doors at the Children's Festival

The Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT) starts the activities specially created for its participation in this year's Children's Festival, at the Montjuïc fairgrounds. Magic and play are the protagonists from today until December 31, in order to sensitize children and their families in a fun way about the need to take care of personal data when using the internet and social networks.

On the one hand, the youth stage of the Festival hosts the magic show P@ssW0rd!, designed by the APDCAT so that the youngest become aware of the data protection. The performance, which will take place once a day, calls for the involvement of young people to do the various magic tricks that allow them to obtain the numbers, letters or symbols needed to create a good password. To get here, however, they learn how to maintain privacy in the digital world and the risks of phishing or geolocation.

The schedule of the show according to the day is:

• December 27, at 1 p.m
  December 28, at 1 p.m
  December 29, at 6 p.m
  December 30, at 4:30 p.m
  December 31, at 1 p.m

The risks of the network

On the other hand, under the motto "Don't let the net get you tangled", the APDCAT space invites children and young people to enter a tropical forest and test their skills, facing the risks of get lost in a web maze. The game, for children aged 7 and over, consists of deciding what data they leave on the network while traveling the maze, whether personal data or other types of data, and understanding the implications.

As for the youngest children, from the age of 3, they can "swim" in a ball pool accompanied by their families and "fish for personal data". The aim is to make families aware of the consequences of sharing data and the channels to do so, and of the risks of sharenting, to avoid as much as possible being a victim of digital fraud and also of manipulation, harassment or discrimination.

The participation of the APDCAT in this year's Children's Festival responds to the objectives of the Strategic Plan 2023-2028, to raise awareness and train the public in matters of data protection. In addition, it is taken into account that children and young people are a particularly vulnerable group to the risks of the internet and social networks.