TRAINING in German: CAS Citizen Science and Public Engagement

Hast Du eine Idee für ein partizipatives (Forschungs-)Projekt und fragst Dich, wie Du diese am besten umsetzen kannst? Steckst Du mitten in der Projektarbeit und merkst, dass die Dinge nicht ganz so laufen, wie Du es Dir vorgestellt hast? Oder bringst Du schon einiges an Erfahrung mit in partizipativen Projekten und möchtest über Deinen Tellerrand schauen? Dann bist Du hier richtig - egal ob ganz am Anfang einer vagen Idee oder schon mittendrin. Denn: Gemeinsam wissen wir mehr. Vielschichtige Perspektiven & Erfahrungen Neben Inputs zu zentralen Themen rund um partizipative Projektarbeit lebt der CAS von den vielschichtigen Perspektiven und Erfahrungen der Teilnehmenden. Diese kommen aus ganz unterschiedlichen Bereichen: zum Beispiel aus der Forschung, Museen, Bibliotheken, Archiven, NGOs, der Verwaltung oder dem Gesundheitsbereich. So vielfältig diese Zielgruppe auf den ersten Blick sein mag, sie eint das Interesse an der Umsetzung partizipativer Projekte, an gemeinsamer Wissensproduktion und dem Einbezug der Bevölkerung. Genau in dieser Kombination aus Unterschieden und Gemeinsamkeiten der CAS-Teilnehmenden sehen wir eine grosse Chance für das Von- und Miteinander-Lernen und für die Vernetzung mit Gleichgesinnten, die sich in ganz anderen institutionellen Umgebungen bewegen und zu den verschiedensten Themen arbeiten.

OneAquaHealth IEEE Global Hackathon

Join the OneAquaHealth IEEE Global Hackathon 2026 ! A worldwide call to innovators, creators, and problem‑solvers - the IEEE and OneAquaHealth project invite participants from across the globe to co‑create breakthrough solutions for healthier urban freshwater ecosystems. This global hackathon unites AI enthusiasts, environmental thinkers, designers, developers, researchers, and citizen‑science champions to transform real environmental and community data into tools that protect biodiversity, strengthen resilience, and improve human wellbeing. Whether you’re passionate about AI for good, urban water health, biodiversity, climate resilience, or digital innovation, this is your moment to make an impact on a global stage. Build. Collaborate. Innovate - with the world watching. Be part of a global movement shaping smarter, healthier, more sustainable cities. To register for the hackathon, visit: https://oneaquahealth-ieee-hackathon.devpost.com/rules ***Coming Up Next on June 12, 2026: Session 1 - Introducing the OneAquaHealth Project*** Explore the mission, technical tracks, and innovation opportunities behind the IEEE OneAquaHealth Global Hackathon. To register for the webinar, visit: https://www.oneaquahealth.eu/introducing-oneaquahealth-project/

Belgian Citizen Science Networking day

SPLASH EU Blue Education Series

🌊 Be part of the change for our oceans through your participation in the BLUE EDUCATIONAL SERIES online seminars by Splash EU! 📅 July 24 & 25 | 🕒 15:00 - 19:00 CET 🧠 Learn – 📢 Get Inspired – 🌍 Take Action 🎯 Discover the power of citizen science in tackling marine pollution and the vital role of communication and education in ocean conservation. 📌 Register & learn more: https://www.mare-centre.pt/en/splashblueseries-en 📢 Coordinated by: MARE - Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambienteand MindmeUp L.P. 📢 Supported by: Universidade de Coimbra, #EU4Ocean, #ACTeon and European Commission

Cluster event: Advancing Public Engagement and Citizen Science in the ERA

The event will celebrate citizen science and showcase the value of public engagement, highlighting best practices, guiding future policy, sharing knowledge and building collaboration. The 2025 EU Citizen Science Prize winners will also be announced! REA is proud to co-host a cluster event which will gather researchers and policymakers to discuss the impact of public engagement on evidence-based policymaking. In addition, - The event will provide a platform to showcase successful and innovative citizen engagement strategies, while reinforcing the value of “Bringing science closer to citizens” within the European Research Area. - EU-funded research projects will present their citizen science and public engagement experience and share best practices. - The winners of the EU Prize for Citizen Science will be announced. The Prize rewards outstanding citizen science initiatives that address social, political, cultural, and environmental challenges through the involvement of citizens. The full event will take place in Brussels. Those connected online will be able to follow the plenary session (in the morning) and the winners' announcement (in the afternoon). The event is co-organised by REA and EU-funded projects IMPETUS and ECS.

Citizen Science Fair 2025: A Celebration of Citizen Science

Join us on Wednesday, 18 June 2025 from 10:30-17:00 in the Garden of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences for the Citizen Science Fair 2025, an event highlighting the growing influence and innovation of citizen science across Europe. Organised by European Citizen Science (ECS), Scivil, the Institute of Natural Sciences, and the European Commission, this event aims to foster cross-sector collaboration and policy dialogue.

Citizen Science for Water Conference

Join us 3-5 June in Delft, the Netherlands for the Citizen Science for Water Conference. For this inaugural CS4Water conference, we will focus on freshwater systems, diving into engaging workshop sessions, exploring innovative research, and connecting international water and citizen science experts. The conference will focus on the crucial role citizen science plays within water resource monitoring, management and governance as well as community-led actions. The conference will bring together experienced citizen science practitioners and newcomers from both the Global North and Global South who are interested in exploring how citizen science can contribute to water management.

Webinar: Citizen Science in Malta for Marine Restoration

You're invited to come join & celebrate virtually ‘World Citizen Science Month’ in April with us by participating in a special online webinar. We will discuss the contribution of Citizen Science in Malta towards the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems. Gain insights from leading citizen science campaigns in Malta, featuring SharkLab, EcoMarine Malta, Discover the Blu, Ċirkewwa Marine Park, and the Oceanography Malta Research Group (OMRG). The session will conclude with an engaging roundtable discussion. Join with the Webinar ZOOM online : ZOOM ID: 971 0079 2135 Passcode: MarineCS Don't miss this unique opportunity to learn more about the incredible marine work occurring here in the Mediterranean Sea. This event is proudly supported by the MEDiverSEAty Consortium from European Union’s Horizon 2020/ MSCA funding.

ACCTING final conference. Empowering change: Building a fair and inclusive Green Deal

The European Green Deal aspires to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, with a commitment to ‘leave no one behind.’ However, current environmental policies often overlook the diverse social impacts on marginalised groups. Low-income populations, racial minorities, women, or rural communities frequently bear the brunt of environmental challenges, while also facing significant barriers to accessing green solutions. These groups are often excluded from decision-making processes despite possessing the necessary local knowledge and demonstrating resilience and innovation in the face of environmental challenges. ACCTING has critically examined the social and economic impacts of the European Green Deal on marginalised groups. By employing a gender+ intersectional approach, the project has demonstrated how Green Deal policies affect individual and collective behaviours, potentially exacerbating existing inequalities. Based on these extensive research insights, ACCTING has developed innovative, evidence-based solutions, including pilot actions and thematic recommendations that empower vulnerable communities and guide inclusive policymaking. The ACCTING Final Conference, “Empowering Change: Building a Fair and Inclusive Green Deal,” invites a diverse audience of civil society representatives, NGOs, policymakers, researchers, and Green Deal stakeholders to engage with actionable strategies for achieving a socially just and inclusive Green Deal.

From Citizens to Science: Tools Driving Climate Action

On April 28, 2025, during the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in Vienna, the H2020 I-CHANGE project will hold its final scientific event titled “From Citizens to Science: Tools Driving Climate Action” Over the past four year, I-CHANGE has worked to place citizens at the core of climate action, demonstrating that informed, empowered communities are essential for achieving behavioural change. By combining active citizen participation, innovative technologies, and scientific collaboration, the project has fostered behavioural transformations towards more sustainable living. This closing event will present the outcomes of I-CHANGE, showcasing results from its eight Living Labs across Europe and beyond. These Living Labs served as active hubs for environmental monitoring, and community engagement, emphasizing how citizens can observe and reduce their own environmental impacts. The event will feature the presentation of the project’s final results, including scientific findings, technological and engaging activities that have been implemented to raise climate change awareness and foster participatory science. It will also include talks from sister projects involved in citizen science initiatives related to climate change, and offer reflections on how citizen-generated data can complement scientific observations and help shape a more sustainable future. In addition, on May 1, 2025, key I-CHANGE results will be featured during the EGU session titled “Engaging Citizens in Understanding Urban Climate and Climate Change Risks through Participatory Science.” This session invites contributions that explore citizen participation, crowdsourced data collection, and effective practices for integrating the public into climate adaptation efforts across Europe. For more information, please visit here

Responsible, Trustworthy, and ethical AI in citizen science

The use of AI techniques (such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision) is increasing rapidly across the participatory sciences. Such techniques are used throughout the research process, such as cleaning data before presenting it to volunteers, using volunteers to contribute to the training of machine learning models, in the field data collection aided by computer vision, and creating collaborations between humans and AI to make tasks more engaging and of higher quality. Whilst this can improve the scientific process, it is important to understand the limitations of the use of these techniques, as well as consider the impact on how volunteers understand their role in participatory science. How practitioners communicate the use of AI to volunteers and continue to emphasize the importance of their contributions is also extremely important. To be beneficial to all in the participatory science community, the use of AI must be responsible, ethical, and trustworthy. However, it is not always clear what this means and how it can be applied. This study asks: -What are the opportunities and drawbacks of using AI techniques in citizen science? -What does it mean to be responsible, ethical, and trustworthy in the use of AI? -How should the use of AI in citizen science be advanced? If you are (or have been) involved in planning, carrying out, or taking part in citizen science projects, you are invited to take part in an online survey about your perceptions of the use of AI in citizen science. The survey should take around 20 minutes and you will be asked about -Your experience with citizen science projects -Your experience of AI -Opinions on how/why AI should/should not be used in citizen science -The effects of AI use on volunteers -What the terms ‘responsible’, ‘trustworthy’, and ‘ethical’ mean in the context of using AI in citizen science -How citizen science and human-AI collaboration should develop in the future The results will be presented at the Conference for Advancing Participatory Science in Portland, Oregon, at the end of May 2025.

Nuovi orizzonti per la Citizen Science in Italia

Il secondo convegno nazionale dell'associazione Citizen science Italia, si svolgerà a Bologna dal 9 al 12 aprile 2025.Tre giornate di presentazioni sui nuovi orizzonti della Citizen Science in Italia, che culmineranno nel “Citizen Science Day”, un evento partecipativo aperto a tutta la cittadinanza. Struttura del convegno: - Presentazioni orali: presentazioni “tradizionali” e light talk. Le proposte verranno vagliate dal comitato scientifico tramite una valutazione basata su parametri univoci; - Workshop tematici: momenti di approfondimento su temi specifici basate su metodi inclusivi di interazione fra il pubblico e i facilitatori; - Eventi per il pubblico: durante il Citizen Science Day si svolgeranno diverse iniziative rivolte principalmente al pubblico generico, come il market place per conoscere meglio alcuni progetti e attività dimostrative di raccolta dati; - Assemblea CSI: assemblea dei soci dell’associazione Citizen Science Italia ETS.

Les Prix de la participation 2025

10 ans de récompenses pour les initiatives de la participation citoyenne ! Avec l’ouverture des candidatures le 1er avril, Décider ensemble célébre le lancement de la 10e édition de sa récompense annuelle. ‍ Candidatez du 1er avril au 30 juin 2025 ! Faites reconnaître votre engagement pour une démocratie plus participative !

ECS Collaboration Session - Help build the European Research Infrastructure for Excellence in Citizen Science

Do you want to help build the European Research Infrastructure for Excellence in Citizen Science? The first step is happening in the upcoming ECS Collaboration Session! The RIECS-Concept project will conceptualise the European Research Infrastructure for Excellence in Citizen Science. This RI will integrate citizens’ resources, such as mobile phones and computers, with existing scientific platforms and data collections; and it will offer transversal services, improving accessibility across research communities. The RIECS-Concept project will produce two key outcomes: a conceptual design including a feasibility study, and a five-year implementation plan for the new research infrastructure. These outcomes will provide detailed insights into the diversity and maturity of the concept considering technical, operational, societal, and environmental challenges associated with establishing the permanent and shared infrastructure. This is the very first activity of many to gather inputs and community-based evidence, in collaboration with the ECS project. You will have a chance to not only learn about this important project but also to bring your own input, needs and solutions, independently of your background or scientific domains. Who can join? This Collaboration Session is aimed at the entire Citizen Science community: practitioners, students, researchers, educators, representatives of CS projects and networks, etc.

Citizen science meets potatoes

Join the very first PataFEST Webinar! 📅 Date: Thursday, March 27, 2025 ⏰ Time: 16:00 CET We will explore the intersection of citizen science and the Agri-Food sector! 🔹 Christian Ghidelli (Funditec) will introduce the PataFEST project and its key goals. 🔹 Leo Mensel (European Citizen Science Association) will showcase a variety of engaging activities, including workshops and hands-on molecular biology experiments. 🔹 Anna Verones (European Citizen Science Association) will present the concept of citizen science, sharing inspiring best practices from the Open Soil Atlas and its potential applications in Agri-Food research. Don't miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and get involved! You can register now and be part of the conversation