No project is an island|Bridges towards a joint legacy for the future of citizen science in Europe
Citizen science thrives on collaboration between researchers, policymakers, innovators, and the public. Yet within the citizen science community itself, a critical question remains: do we have the infrastructure to enable effective, lasting knowledge exchange across initiatives and projects? No project operates in isolation, and the collective learning generated across the field represents an underutilised asset for science and policymaking alike. At a time when public engagement is increasingly recognised as essential to rebuilding trust in institutions and tackling mis- and disinformation, the connections we build within the citizen science ecosystem matter more than ever. Sharing what works and what doesn't strengthens the community's capacity to deliver the scientific, environmental, and societal benefits that make citizen science a genuine return on investment for Europe. This summer, both the ECS and IMPETUS projects reach their conclusion. Before they do, we want to invite the citizen science community to come together to reflect on how these projects have supported citizen science across Europe and to celebrate the real-world impacts this work has made possible. The event will also provide an opportunity to hear from new and established citizen science projects, alongside stakeholders and decision-makers, ensuring that the momentum built can be sustained and that science continues to serve the society it represents. Building on the Citizen Science Archipelago series from the ECS project, this gathering reaffirms a founding principle of the citizen science community: no project is an island. Mutual exchange is not simply a nice-to-have; it is the foundation on which the continued growth and impact of citizen science depends.
Layers of Values: Exploring Impact in Culture, Art and Education
On 25 September 2025, in the framework of MONDIACULT 2025, Layers of values: Exploring Impact in Culture, Art and Education will take place as an international meeting dedicated to advancing inclusive impact assessment in the arts, culture, and education sectors. In a time when social inclusion, civic participation, emotional well-being, and ecological transition are urgent priorities, the convergence of arts, culture, and education has proven to be a driver for building more diverse, resilient, and imaginative societies. Yet, despite the richness of this field, many initiatives still operate in isolation, and valuable learning remains fragmented. The event will gather projects, practitioners, and researchers working at the intersection of culture, education, and research to address complex evaluation challenges: capturing intangible outcomes, defining success with vulnerable groups or informal settings, and measuring layered impacts that go beyond simple metrics. Drawing on the New European Bauhaus values — beauty, sustainability, and inclusion — it will offer a space for peer exchange, co-creation, and methodological innovation. Organised by the EU-funded PULSE-ART project, in cooperation with European Citizen Science (ECS), the meeting aims to embed diversity not as an optional goal, but as a foundational condition for equitable impact. It will also strengthen connections between cultural, educational, and citizen science initiatives, paving the way for shared tools and collaborative frameworks. If your work touches on culture, education, or citizen science — and you are committed to developing rigorous, inclusive evaluation practices — this event offers a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge and shape the future of impact assessment
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.
ECS Collaboration Session - Advocacy in CS
Are you involved in citizen science projects or networks? The ECS Collaboration Sessions give you a platform to learn about different citizen science projects, exchange insights about key topics and competencies in CS, and share updates on your own work with a wide range of CS professionals. The ECS project is organising Collaboration Sessions once every two months. In these online Sessions, CS practitioners have the floor to host presentations, activities, and learning moments for the benefit of the European citizen science community. Do you want to learn about ongoing projects and specific competencies that can boost your own work? You are welcome join and participate in these sessions. Or do you want to host your own session, in which you share insights from your own work with the European CS community? Then, feel free to reach out to alex@stickydot.eu to arrange your session. Upcoming Session: February 4th - Amplify your Impact: Advocacy for Citizen Science Are you passionate about citizen science but unsure how to fully showcase its value to policymakers, funders, or even colleagues in your own organisation? Advocacy is a powerful tool for increasing awareness, recognition, funding, and policy change — but it can be tricky to get right! Join the upcoming ECS collaboration session focused on advocacy training for CS practitioners to learn and practice effective strategies to better communicate the value of your work and secure the support you need for your projects. This session is ideal for citizen science practitioners, project leaders, researchers, educators, and anyone passionate about advancing the field of citizen science. About the speaker: Ilona Kish With a wealth of experience in policy development and advocacy, Ilona has been a driving force behind numerous campaigns that have successfully highlighted the value of libraries to policymakers, funders, and communities across Europe and beyond. As Director of Public Libraries 2030, Ilona has been working to expand and reinforce the role of public libraries as beacons of citizen participation in science – and she sees the crucial role that advocacy skills play both in mainstreaming CS in Europe and in securing support for organisations working in the field. Session details: February 4th, 11:00 - 12:30 CET Online Format: Presentation from advocacy expert Ilona Kish + interactive group activities Interested in joining? Enter your email address below to receive the invite.
During the past few years, the EU-funded project, I-CHANGE, has facilitated eight living labs in- and outside the EU. We’ve done so to work with citizen science in monitoring environmental risks related to our changing climate. The hope of this project is that we, by helping citizens better understand the scientific links between behaviour, climate change, and risks, push toward societal change for new patterns of behaviour. In this interactive digital event, we will be discussing our learnings and ask you to reflect upon them with us: Does knowledge change behaviour? How do we make for a more just transition? What are alternative ways of understanding and creating change? The event is open for everyone, and you will be able to speak and listen in your native language. By partaking in this event, you consent to let us document the event proceedings by taking notes and screenshots of the online meeting.
Life in a Changing Climate - How citizen science helps us understand environmental changes and risks
During the past few years, the EU-funded project, I-CHANGE, has facilitated eight living labs in- and outside the EU. We’ve done so to work with citizen science to deepen our understanding of environmental monitoring, and strengthening the climate perception of all citizens. In this interactive digital event, we will be discussing our learnings and ask you to reflect upon them with us: What’s the value of citizen science compared to regular environmental monitoring? Are there environmental areas, where we should advocate for a stronger connection between citizens and science? Does citizen science have any limitations? The event is open for everyone, and you will be able to speak and listen in your native language. By partaking in this event, you consent to let us document the event proceedings by taking notes and screenshots of the online meeting.
ECS project and ECSA at the Living Knowledge conference
The Living Knowledge Network – the formal international network of Science Shops and Community Based Research. The 10th conference of the network “Building and sustaining next generation engagement” will take place from 26-28 June, 2024 at the Universitat de Girona (Girona, Spain). ECSA and the ECS project will engage the public with a Playdecide (playdecide.eu) discussion game to explore the challenges of citizen science as an more democratic approach to research. Discussion games are participative formats designed to promote discussion between visitors, in a process of comparison of ideas and, at the same time, of learning facts, data and concepts. This Playdecide game is the first dedicated to citizen science, and it will be tested at the Living Knowledge conference.
Initiated seven years ago, the SDG Summer School offers students a framework for engagement and training in sustainability issues through the prototyping of solutions to concrete problems. For several years, this training program has been carried out in partnership with the University of Geneva This immersion program supported by the Institute of Challenges, co-founded by the Learning Planet Institute and the Université Paris Cité, will run from June 24th to July 19th. It is exclusively based on project-based learning and will be taught mainly in English. It is intended for students of legal age enrolled in a higher education institution in France or abroad. The diversity of profiles is an asset, so participants coming from natural sciences, humanities, medicine, computer science, design, gaming or arts are encouraged to apply.
'Introduction to Citizen Artist™ and Art-Based Research Methods'
In this online hybrid and experiential course, you will be introduced to Art-Based Perceptual Ecology (ABPE) research methodologies, non-conventional field-based research methods grounded in multimodal knowledge systems, sensory-based learning and framed within ecological and biological principles. The ABPE methods and tools have application to studying changes in ecological systems and addressing critical environmental issues such as biodiversity decline, habitat loss and effects from climate change. Contrary to our name, there is no need for an art background or art experience to take the course.
How to make the best of citizen science for your research
You have heard about the term citizen science but you are not entirely sure what it means? Are you curious to know how citizen science can be applied to your research but you don't really know how to implement it? Join this webinar and find out more about citizen science! The webinar will tell you about the European Citizen Science (ECS) project, an EU-funded project that is building the European Citizen Science Academy among other things and hear from three researchers about how they have used citizen science in their research. The program: 13:00 to 13:10: General introduction by Pooja Khurana, MCAA 13:10 to 13:20: Presentation of the ECS project by Claudia Fabó Cartas, Project Manager of ECS 13:20 to 13:30: Q&A about the ECS project 13:30 to 13:50: Pitches about the use of citizen science in research Baptiste Faussurier, PhD candidate, M.Sc. Biotechnology, AgroParistech Amélie Dakouré PhD candidate, University Jean-Moulin Lyon 3, EVS-CNRS, and IPHC -CNRS Florence Gignac, PhD Environmental Epidemiology, Project assistant at Stickydot 13:50 to 14:10: Presentation on Citizen science and frontiers researcher by Muki Haklay, Professor at the department of Geography, University College London (UCL) and a team leader at the Université Paris Cité (UPCité)/Learning Planet Institute (LPI), Paris 14:10 to 14:30: Final Q & A REGISTRATION CLOSES ON WEDNESDAY 8TH NOVEMBER - the Zoom link to attend the event will be sent to you via a separate email This event is part of the MCAA Around the World Webinar Series and it has been created between the Marie Curie Alumni Association and the Université Paris Cité/Learning Planet Institute. If you have more questions about the event, feel free to reach out to ecs@mariecuriealumni.eu
Peyresq, Thorame-Haute, Castellane, Alpes …
Alternet Summer School: Biodiversity and Society: science, policy and transformative change
Open to graduate and postgraduate scientists (as well as professionals in related fields), the Alternet Summer School creates an innovative atmosphere for considering and resolving the sustainability challenges that society is currently facing. Peyresq, a picturesque village in the Haute-de-Provence Alpes, provides an unparalleled setting for dynamic discussions and transdisciplanry learning. This year’s programme theme is entitled: Biodiversity and Society: science, policy and transformative change. Registration is open from 1 March – 15 April.
The European Citizen Science project, which connects a rich citizen science community, wants to provide a space to exchange practical experiences in integrating and using citizen science practices in universities and to gather recommendations for the European Commission and other stakeholders in ways of supporting citizen science in the high education sector. To do so, the project is organising an online event for everyone (such as academics, educators, university staff, citizen science practitioners, early career researchers, policy makers, civil servants, general public and industry representatives) interested in learning about and discussing the role of citizen science in transforming universities in Europe. The event will take place on 3rd July 2023, 10:00-15:00 CEST.