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.

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.

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.

Citizen engagement TRANSFORMing regional R&I policymaking

Citizen engagement can strengthen trust between institutions and citizens. In the TRANSFORM project (funded under Horizon 2020) citizen science, co-design and co-creation have been applied to regional R&I decision-making in Lombardy, Catalonia, and Brussels-Capital. Through sharing of experiences and promising outcomes of citizen engagement in regional R&I policies, this participatory lab will provide examples and suggestions on how to create more open, transparent and inclusive regional R&I governance processes. Join us in an interactive session and learn more about the benefits of citizen engagement, get your questions answered by experts, share your experiences and suggestions for further applications in regional decision making. Registration opens on 30 August!

ECSA & EU-Citizen.Science webinar: Introducing new citizen science projects launching in 2021

Our webinar on the 26th May 2021 (14.00-15.30 CEST) will highlight new citizen science projects starting in 2021, with short talks from three early career researchers: – Famke Mölenberg (she/her/hers) (Erasmus MC, Netherlands) is an epidemiologist working on SEEDS, which aims to engage teenagers from Spain, the Netherlands, Greece and the United Kingdom in their health education and science literacy by directly empowering through citizen science. She tweets as @FamkeMolenberg. – Dr Cristina Zaga (she/her/hers) (University of Twente, Netherlands) is assistant professor in human-centred design working on Incentive, which links project partners and citizen science to co-create sustainable transdisciplinary hubs for stimulating and supporting excellent citizen science and responsible research and innovation (RRI). She tweets as @Zaga_daga. – Isabelle Freiling (she/her/hers) (University of Vienna, Austria) is a communication scientist working in the YouCount project, which aims to identify positive drivers for social inclusion of youth at risk of exclusion, and cocreate innovations and policymaking using cocreative youth citizen social science. She tweets as @isa_freiling. The webinar will finish with a Q&A and discussion. The event will be in English with a live transcript and you can register for free via the website.