August, 2023
August, 2023
We have entered the last year of ISEED! Headlining the month of August are ISEED member Michael O’Grady’s participation in the VERITY focus group, the newly published article “Citizen Science for Public Deliberation of Local Environment Policies” and the upcoming ISEED Inclusion, Science and Democracy webinar introducing Ceibal institute and its engagement in the development of Digital Citizenship.
Events
The VERITY Focus Group – Developing Scientific Research with Ethics and Integrity
VERITY (deVEloping scientific Research with ethIcs and inTegritY) is an EU project funded under the HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01 programme. The VERITY project seeks to increase trust in science, research, and innovation by developing recommendations to engage stakeholders and citizens in the scientific process, which could have far-reaching implications in areas such as public health and the environment.
ISEED, represented by Michael O’Grady from University College Dublin, participated in an online focus group that explored the issue of trust and mistrust in science. The Covid crisis and climate change were among the topics discussed. In particular, the role of scientists in communicating scientific findings and actively countering disinformation was highlighted.
The results of this focus group will aid the VERITY consortium in developing recommendations to promote social trust in science, research, and innovation. These results will be documented, shared with the EU Commission, and published on the Verity website (https://www.verityproject.eu/) in early 2024. For ISEED, the potential of citizen science as a means of increasing trust in science, and, implicitly, government institutions and democratic processes, has a particular resonance.
Research
Citizen Science for Public Deliberation of Local Environment Policies
Last July, the article “Citizen Science for Public Deliberation of Local Environment Policies” was published within the XXV volume of the Ethics & Politics journal titled “Citizen science with and within the social sciences and the humanities”. The article was based on ISEED’s Deliverable D4.2, developed through the collaboration of MNHN members Baptiste Bedessem, Céline Pelletier and Romain Julliard.
In the study, the team presents a novel theoretical framework for democratization through citizen science, where participatory data collection is linked to open online discussion. They make the case that citizen participation in contributing to science could aid in fostering an environment for high-quality public discussions by drawing on both studies on online political deliberation and citizen science literature.
Additionally, the project involves a collaboration with two municipalities designed to involve citizens in the policy-making process on the control of public lightning, showing in a practical example how citizen science-based deliberative procedures could be practically implemented.
Overall, the authors are hoping that their contribution will inspire the creation of participation initiatives that aim to use citizen science not only as a data gathering technique but also as a strategy to encourage public discussions of policy decisions at the local level.
Action
Webinar Series: Ceibal and the Development of Digital Citizenship
We are excited to announce our next webinar encounter! Happening on the 28th of September at 2:30-4pm (CET)! The speaker Roberto Porzecanski will give us an introduction to the Ceibal Institution, Uruguay!
This episode will shed light on the crucial role of education in citizenship, civic engagement, and youth participation. By exploring the work of Ceibal, we will gain insights into how education can empower individuals to become active and informed citizens, driving positive change in their communities.
Roberto will present us Ceibal’s evolution, its main areas of action in supporting digital literacy among Uruguay’s students and institutional development. The process of scaling up its activities from the local to the national level in Uruguay will be mentioned, as well as the diversification of its programs and projects. In addition, Roberto will bring the path taken by Ceibal in the development of Digital Citizenship with teacher training programs and skills for the exercise of full citizenship from a human rights perspective.
Save the date and join us in this interesting episode!
Text: Baptiste Bedessem, Carolina Llorente, Céline Pelletier, Enzo Frissa, Michael O’Gray and Romain Julliard
Edit: Chiara Lovati, Michael O’Gray, Sarah Santos and Sophia Efstathiou
Last updated: 29/08/2023
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