Awarding citizen science projects par excellence
Three outstanding initiatives recently received the 2024 European Union Prize for Citizen Science for their contribution towards a pluralistic, inclusive and sustainable European society. The prize was launched in 2023 and is awarded by the EU-funded Impetus project as part of its efforts to support citizen science. This year’s winners were selected out of a total of 288 applications, for their initiatives addressing challenges in the fields of agricultural biodiversity, mental health and marine pollution.
The top three
The winner of the ‘Grand Prize’, worth EUR 60 000, was the EU-funded INCREASE project. INCREASE earned this recognition for its remarkable efforts in advancing knowledge on seed preservation by empowering civil society and citizens, in particular from rural areas. The project implemented a participatory research model in which levels of engagement were tailored to accommodate participants’ diverse levels of expertise. According to a statement by the competition’s jury, INCREASE’s “extensive cooperation across countries, the involvement of citizens from different regions, and engagement with regional platforms emphasize its European dimension and importance.” The Digital Communities Award (EUR 20 000) was given to the EU-funded CoAct project. The prize was awarded to CoAct for its use of digital technologies to improve the quality of life of people facing mental health problems. “The project developed an open-source chatbot as a tool for autoethnography, demonstrating great innovation and creativity in using digital technology to support and foster inclusive community building,” report the jury in their statement. “This project allows citizens to play an active role in research that directly impacts their lives and harnesses the power of technology to include marginalized voices as active participants in the transformation of mental health care. Technology in this case facilitates the participation of citizens in developing a personalized approach to healthcare and medicine.” The winner of the Diversity & Collaboration Award (EUR 20 000) was SeaPaCS, a project funded by Impetus that explored the consequences of marine plastic pollution on local biodiversity in the coastal city of Anzio, Italy. According to the jury, “SeaPaCS is especially exemplary for centering a community-led grassroots approach and for its attention to overcoming extractive tendencies in Citizen Science (citizens as ‘sensors’), by involving citizens beyond plastic sampling and data collection” in a diverse range of activities. These activities include “plastisphere DNA analysis, documenting underwater ecological niches, creating photo and video exhibitions, testing DIY microplastic trawling instruments, and building marine plastic recycling stations. SeaPaCS hereby demonstrates how we can involve citizens not just in mapping problems but also in taking collective action towards restoring biodiversity and ecological resilience in European oceans, with attention to social inclusion and cultural diversity.” European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Iliana Ivanova congratulated the winners, acknowledging the initiatives’ successes in addressing some of Europe’s most urgent challenges and showcasing the transformative potential of citizen science. “They improve the excellence and impact of our research, and also deepen the relationship and trust between science and our societies,” she stated. The CoAct (Co-designing Citizen Social Science for Collective Action) project ended in 2022. Impetus (Impetus) and INCREASE (Intelligent Collections of Food Legumes Genetic Resources for European Agrofood Systems) end in 2026. For more information, please see: Impetus project website INCREASE project website CoAct project website SeaPaCS project website
Keywords
Impetus, INCREASE, CoAct, SeaPaCS, science, citizen science, European Union Prize for Citizen Science, digital community, diversity, biodiversity, mental health
