Catalonia's public libraries will host more than a dozen activities to promote the culture of privacy among children, young people and adults

The director of the Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT), Meritxell Borràs i Solé, and the general director of Cultural Promotion and Libraries, Josep Vives i Gràcia, presented the project "Who are you?  Data that speaks of you", which is launched coinciding with the commemoration of the European Data Protection Day, on January 28.

Thus, the network of public libraries of Cataloniawill host  during 2023 a dozen recreational and informative activities, to extend the culture of privacy and the protection of personal data among citizens. Specifically, games, stories, shows, reading workshops and cineforums  have been designed that have privacy as the protagonist.

The activities are varied and are aimed at both children and adults. The aim is, on the one hand, for children to grow up with full awareness of the value of their personal data and the importance of protecting them,  in order to preserve their autonomy, independence and freedom in a fully digital world. On the other hand, in the case of adults, the aim is to activate critical thinking in  everyday situations  in which the use of technology intervenes and, also,  to establish mechanisms for alerting and protecting against  situations that may lead to data loss, beyond cyberattacks.

During the presentation of the project, the director Meritxell Borràs highlighted this collaboration with Public Libraries of Catalonia and the joint work to materialize  the first project of these characteristics that the APDCAT promotes in the network of libraries.  Borràs added that this is intended to generate citizen awareness of the responsibility of taking care of the personal information we share, and the associated risks, through play, reading, and debate, among others. 

For his part, the general director of Cultural Promotion and Libraries, Josep Vives i Gràcia, stressed that due to its capillarity in the territory, the fact that public libraries join in promoting the culture of privacy can help to raise awareness among the general public of the importance of this topic, especially with young people.

A dozen activities for children and adults

The project that is launched includes the programming of a dozen activities in  different spaces of the network of public libraries of Catalonia in Barcelona, Lleida, Girona, Tarragona and Terres de l'Ebre,  throughout 2023, to learn through play, reading and debate, among others.  

Specifically, the activities included in the project are:

·  Magic show P@ssW0rd!: with magic tricks, children between 6 and 12 years old will be able to discover the importance of their digital identity and privacy, learning about the risks of sharing information, data destruction, geolocation, connected devices, etc.

·  MemoriDada: itis a memory game about privacy for children up to 12 years old, with pairs of related drawings and a brief explanation in each case, to delve into the risks of the internet  , mobile devices  , smart toys, video   games,   voice memos, passwords, video surveillance, etc.

·  FindingDada: joc for children up to 7 years old, which consists of locating scenes about privacy in a drawing. Each scene is depicted in a letter, which on the reverse has a small explanation about the specific situation.  You will have to find a hacker, computers, surveillance cameras, social networks, connected toys, wifis...

·   Videoconte 'An exciting journey': the activity, for children up to 9 years old, includes the viewing of the virtual story 'An exciting journey', which reflects on Jana's experiences in the virtual world.  Thus, she explains how the protagonist dreams of traveling to Techland, a "place full of people where everyone has fun". But he will soon discover how,  sometimes, the friends he meets there are not really who they claim to be.

·   Reading workshops.  'La cotorra' and 'El tigre bondadós':  and includes two storytellers for children between 7 and 11 years old, whose protagonists are a  parakeet and a falcon, in the first case,  and a tiger, in the second. Stories serve to raise awareness among children of the risks of sharing data with others. After the dynamic readings of the stories, there will be a small debate for joint reflection.

·  RaceDada: with a traditional o-ca game, players, children up to 10 years old,  must advance on a giant board located on the floor and reflect on the situation that appears in each box. Passwords, hackers, networks, phishing, intelligent robots, wifi or selfies that are shared are some of the topics discussed  .

·   Reading workshops.  'Quality Land' and 'The sentimental mutation': aimed at  people over the age of 18 to promote reflection on these two science fiction novels,  which delve into disruptive scenarios with algorithms, artificial intelligence and an intensive use of technology, and  discuss  the risks to privacy and privacy.

·   Cineforum. 'Ghost in the Shell 2.0': visionat of the film and subsequent debate for people over  the age of 18, about the implications of the use of artificial intelligence in controlling one's own privacy.

Starting point in Barcelona and Lleida

The Sant Pau-Santa Creu Library in Barcelona and the Lleida Public Library have hosted today the first activities within the framework of this project. Specifically,  two aimed at children: the magic show P@ssW0rd! and the reading of the story 'La cotorra',  by the hand of its author, Francisco José Pérez Bes.  Thus, the starting point is given to this initiative, which based on play and recreational activities aims to highlight the protection of privacy.