About two weeks ago, the staff of the OeAD Center for Citizen Science visited the ECSA Conference 2022. Finally, it was time again for intensive exchange and many break talks, which went by way too fast. The conference two years ago had to be held online due to corona, so the joy of meeting the European Citizen Science community in person in Berlin was all the greater. The Austrian actors were very well represented. At the Welcome Dinner in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, numerous participants listened to Brigitte Baptiste's (Universidad Ean, Colombia) opening keynote on "Transecology" between impressive dinosaur skeletons.
Great and rich program
The following two conference days offered a diverse and rich program including two exciting keynotes. The first was given by Sabine Gabrysch (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) on "Planetary health, climate crisis and what we can do about it", presenting the Earth as her patient receiving diagnosis and treatment. The second was presented by Peter Elias (University of Lagos, Nigeria), in which he spoke about "Citizen Science in the Global South" and showed citizen science approaches and practices in Africa.
After the keynote of each day, the approximately 400 participants were faced several times a day with the difficult decision of having to choose from no less than four parallel sessions. The many presentations on the main theme of "Planetary Health" formed a focal point. The topics "Evaluation of Citizen Science", "Trust in Citizen Science Data", "Citizen Social Science" and "Diversity & Inclusion" particularly stood out. Thanks to the great input and the opportunity to make new contacts as well as refresh old acquaintances, we went home with new ideas to continue working on strengthening citizen science in Europe.
Recordings
- Day 1 | 6 Oktober 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GA1d5tgmxQ
- Day 2 | 7 Oktober 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOfnTbQpCIY
ECSA Conference 2024
At the end of the ECSA conference, the next venue for 2024 was announced: Vienna! More info is available HERE.