Building a citizen science platform: The Czech Republic and Slovakia go together
Barbora Duží
Nov. 21, 2025, 2:13 p.m.
Background
The team from the Institute of Geonics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IGN), Department of Environmental Geography, has already integrated into the Czech and international citizen science community through various activities and projects (COST CA15212, national INTER-COST - LTC18067, Open StreetMap, humanitarian mapping, etc.). They initiated an exploration of diverse citizen science projects, discussed the quality and principles of citizen science, and engaged with other relevant stakeholders. In collaboration with Tomas Bata University, the citizen science project database was created, and the citizen science platform was launched at www.citizenscience.cz.
The web portal serves as an information hub for news and updates on citizen science and currently functions as a key infrastructure for coordinating the citizen science platform.
In Slovakia, Zuzana Stožická from the Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information (SCSTI) and an Ambassador of citizen science in Slovakia is developing a database of citizen science projects and advocating for open science. She also manages an online educational course on citizen science. More information is available at https://otvorenaveda.cvtisr.sk/obcianska-veda/.
After several years of work by the coordinating committee, comprised of Jakub Trojan, Eva Nováková and Barbora Duží (IGN), spent on preparation and consultations with international partners, mainly the Austrian citizen science platform and ECSA, as well as several rounds of meetings with cooperating stakeholders from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the final version of the Memorandum was finalised and the framework for cooperation was established.
Ceremonial day
The key event took place on 13th November at the historic Arnold Villa in Brno. Science journalist Pavla Hubálková moderated the programme. Jakub Trojan (IGN) highlighted the main points and motivation behind the Memorandum, followed by Barbora Duží (IGN), who outlined the background and key activities of the ECS project. Zuzana Stožická (SCSTI) provided an overview of citizen and open science in Slovakia, and finally, representatives from the Austrian and Dutch platforms shared video greetings. The first signatories of the paper version were Jakub Trojan (IGN) and Jitka Dobbersteinová (SCSTI), other participants followed. Currently, the option to sign the Memorandum is available online. After the formal proceedings, there was an informal discussion with refreshments and an optional tour of a historic villa.
Key objectives of the Memorandum:
Supporting cooperation between academic institutions, non-profit organisations, individuals, and other entities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Creating and developing a platform for citizen science.
Ensuring the visibility of citizen science in both countries and its integration into policy and public life.
Supporting open science, democratizing knowledge, and involving the general public in research.
Future pathway:
We hope the Platform will become a space for developing new ideas and projects, as well as fostering a new level of collaboration in citizen science. The Memorandum is based on the principles of voluntariness, inclusivity, and transparency. It provides support for citizen science projects, education, awareness initiatives, data infrastructure, policy-making, and media coverage of citizen science activities. In the coming months, the coordinating committee will be elected, and voluntary working groups will be established.
Photos by Tereza Srnečková.
