*Breaking down Boundaries with Citizens:
Una.Resin webinars series*

March-May 2022

Introduction

Citizens' participation in scientific development and knowledge production, commonly referred to as "participatory science" or "citizen science", has received unprecedented attention in recent decades. While growing bigger, more ambitious and more networked, citizen science has also adopted more and more varied forms. In this context, citizens are emerging as key contributors to an increasing number of projects, not only as passive data collectors but also as active agents of research and scientific agendas.

The Una.Resin project aims at facilitating citizens contribution to science in all its diversity by building a community of good practice inside Una Europa's alliance, encouraging institutional changes necessary to promote citizen science, and implementing a program of actions for knowledge sharing and mutual learning.

To achieve this goal, a first step will be taken with our webinars, in which participants will confront their habits, share the difficulties that they had to face and how they can be overcome, to create a broader understanding of what is – and what could be – citizen science.

The main purpose of this webinars series is thus to provide a space for:

- field feedback

- sharing experiences

- reflecting on limitations, and how to overcome them

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- identifying good practices and tools to promote within Una Europa

At the end of those webinars, we should be able to identify how to support and develop citizen science within the Una Europa Alliance. This will drive us through the next steps of our project: a workshop in June 2022 and pilot action(s) in 2023.

## Overall Programme and Timeline

<table><thead><tr><th>Webinar n°</th><th>Date</th><th>List of projects</th><th>Quick description</th><th>Univ</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2">#1: "STEM" projects: data collection</td><td rowspan="2">March 21 14.00-15.30</td><td>My Garden Lab</td><td>a platform for citizen science in gardens</td><td>KUL</td></tr><tr><td>SimRa</td><td>data collection of bicycle accident statistics with a dedicated app (and collective analysis with researchers, citizen, and municipality)</td><td>TUB</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">#2 Humanities and social sciences: museums and participatory research</td><td rowspan="2">April 20 14.00-15.30</td><td>DIVERCITY</td><td>Diving into diversity in museums and in the city</td><td>UCM</td></tr><tr><td>AMULOP</td><td>Museum of public housing made by and with inhabitants</td><td>UP1, U le Mans, U Nantes</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">#3 Health and Citizens</td><td rowspan="2">May 18 13:00-14:30</td><td>Citizen Science at Fukushima</td><td>Science by, with and for citizens: rethinking 'citizen science' after the 2011 Fukushima disaster</td><td>KUL</td></tr><tr><td>My depression your depression same name different story</td><td>Digital stories co-created by researchers, adults with lives experience of depression, family members and young people who explored the topic.</td><td>UoE</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Practicalities:

- webinars will be recorded (for archival purposes), if agreed by participants

- project presentation: 15-20 minutes

- informal discussions (20 minutes) with Cluster members will follow each project presentation

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# Webinars series #1 :
## Citizen science and data collection in STEM projects

March 20, 14.00-15.30, on zoom

## My Garden Lab, Research in the backyard

Invited speaker: Professor Ben Somers (KU Leuven)

On average, 12% of Flanders consists of gardens. An enormous potential for nature and science. But what grows in those 12%? Nobody has a clue about this blind spot in Flanders. Besides being a place for relaxation, gardening, sport and play, gardens also provide many benefits. Services such as water storage, habitat for animals and plants and even a buffer against climate change. We call these 'ecosystem services' or nature benefits. My GardenLab wants to map out these nature benefits and make sure that inhabitants can enjoy a healthy garden at the same time.

Mijn
Tuinlab.be

Projecten Resultaten Natuurvoordelen Tuin tips Nieuws Educatie Over ons

e-

### Welkom Paul

Her sted je tuin tip, niks wees op projecten op maat van jeen tias. In je eigen tuin lab kan je jeew projecten opvolgen en de veranderingen in je tuin documenteren.

Bekijk mijn gegevens

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /></figure>

Mijn tuinlab

Bekijk mijn gegevens

### Meest waargenomen soorten in en om tuinlabs

<table><thead><tr><td>Soort</td><td>Waarnemingen</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1 Houtduif</td><td>2001454</td></tr><tr><td>2 Merel</td><td>1693278</td></tr><tr><td>3 Gewone Dwerglaermus</td><td>1600950</td></tr><tr><td>4 Koolmees</td><td>1570676</td></tr><tr><td>5 Roodborst</td><td>1390207</td></tr><tr><td>6 Kaum</td><td>1339884</td></tr></tbody></table>

### Mijn tuinscore

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /></figure>

Is je tuin verandert? Bereken je tuinscore opnieuws.

The strategic objectives of this Citizen Science project are:

1) to bring scientific research questions into peoples' backyards,

2) to be a catalyst for interdisciplinary scientific research on gardens, and

3) to bring about involvement and behavioral change of garden owners. We hope that this will lead to long term improvement of the ecosystem functions of the garden landscape and to a higher appreciation of gardens as a fully-fledged part of the living environment.

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In order to achieve our goals, we set up
My Garden Lab, a platform for citizen
science in gardens. People can register
their garden on this platform, where
they find a variety of information about
their garden and the surrounding
garden landscape and where they are
invited to participate in citizen science
projects. Also schools are encouraged to
participate in the context of a STEM-
project.

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /></figure>

Data from the own garden can be consulted in the garden profile. Participants get semi-personalized gardening tips and gain a better insight in the role of their own green space in the entire green-blue network, and get aware of the effects of their own actions on, among other things, climate and biodiversity. After completion of the project, the data are published as open data on the website and/or offered to relevant external open data portals.

The project is a collaboration between the Coordinator Knowledge Center Garden+ (Erasmus Hogeschool Brussels), Natuurpunt and KU Leuven (Departments 'Forest, Nature and Landscape', 'Geography and Tourism', Spatial Applications Division Leuven).

More information:
[https://mijntuinlab.be/](https://mijntuinlab.be/)

# SimRa project - Safety in Cycling

Invited speaker: Professor David Bermbach (TU Berlin)

Comparable to other major cities worldwide, Berlin aims to reduce traffic emissions. Foremost mechanism for this is to increase the share of bicycle traffic. However, polls show that a lack of safety and fear of accidents keeps people from using their bikes more frequently. Furthermore, it is also quite hard from a city planning perspective to get a good overview of location, time, frequency, and kind of hazards in bicycle traffic since official accident statistics only cover crashes but do not provide information on near crashes.

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In this project, we collect – with a strong focus on data protection and privacy – data on such near crashes to identify when and where bicyclists are especially at risk. We also aim to identify the main routes of bicycle traffic in Berlin and other cities. To obtain such data, we have developed a smartphone app that uses GPS information to track routes of bicyclists and the built-in acceleration sensors to pre-categorize near crashes.

The collected data offers detailed insights into bicycle traffic and hazardous situations to public administrators and other interested entities so that the number of near crashes (and hence also crashes) can be reduced. The data can also be used to optimize traffic flows to make bicycle traffic more attractive. Since the start of the project, more than 65,000 rides have been recorded. Today, The "SimRa" project is also continuously growing: Cyclists from close to 100 partner regions can now collect data on near misses via the smartphone app.

The project is funded within the scope of TU Berlin's citizen science initiative, and has grown thanks to many partnerships with regions, municipalities and other civil society organisations.

More information:

https://www.digital-future.berlin/en/research/projects/simra/

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**Webinars series #2 :**
**Humanities and social sciences: museums and**
**participatory research**

April 20, 14.00-15.30, on zoom

**DIVERCITY: Diversity in the museum and the city**

*Invited speaker: Professor Marian Lopez Fdez.Cao. (Complutense University of Madrid)*

"DiverCity" addresses inequalities in access to culture, in particular for young people in disadvantaged situations. The main goal of DiverCity is to develop specific and scalable methodologies to: a) re-establish museum pedagogy as an innovative source of learning and help use exhibitions as pedagogical support to tackle the diversity characteristic of our societies, b) adapt to the reception and engagement of new audiences (in particular of disadvantaged backgrounds, migrants, not regular audiences of the museums), c) to valorize cultural diversity as a common European resource and to propose art mediation as a grassroots method for re-appropriation of the city and its districts.

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In this project we examined the museum and its surrounding together, as part of the same network which can help us to look at the city and the museum from an inner (emic) and an outer (etic) view as well. By cooperating with (mostly inner-city) cultural and art institutions on the one hand and focusing on the city outskirts or deprived areas on the other hand, we tried to build a bridge between two parts of the city that usually do not intersect. Our target group in this project were young adults that are outside of the educational system (youths in NEET – Not in Education, Employment or Training). Every partner organisation worked with a core group of 12-15 young adults on a regular basis. To that end, several workshops were organised, in order to share experience based on activity and empathy and as a platform for the diversity of the citizens' experiences.

We created an environment filled with million stories and an ability to notice them. We also created social and institutional critique and as a follow up new methods and a new museum pedagogy. The ways we tried to reach our goals became a general methodology during the process, transferable to other cases with similar goals. The initiative, for instance, found a natural follow-up in the MUSacces

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consortium, whose objective is to improve the accessibility of the Prado Museum's for groups with specific needs: blind, deaf and inmate.

More information:

https://divercitysite.weebly.com/final-results-of-the-workshops-in-the-museum.html

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nroLMlxJy2h4X50oYqALA/videos

# AMULOP: Association for a Museum of Working-Class Housing

Invited speakers: Professors Muriel Cohen (Le Mans University) and Gaid Andro (University of Nantes)

The Association pour un musée du logement populaire (Association for a Museum of Working-Class Housing), or AMuLoP, brings together a collective of second- and third-level educators, historians and sociologists, professionals from the cultural and heritage world as well as citizens. It works to develop a leading museum of working-class life and housing in the Paris area. The project aims at highlighting the history of the Parisian working class suburbs in the 20th century through the daily life of their inhabitants.

<figure><img src="image_12.png" /></figure>

To set the ground for this museum project, AMuLoP is producing a temporary exhibition called 'La vie HLM. Histoires d'habitant·e·s de logements populaires. Aubervilliers, 1950-2000' (Life in Public Housing: Stories of Inhabitants from Working-Class Dwellings in Aubervilliers, 1950-2000). Far from the classic formula of an exhibition, the museum offers an immersive experience in the lives of those who occupied these places, combining the reconstitution of physical spaces to the restoration of a tangible sense of the life of those who inhabit them. Following the example of the New York's Tenement Museum, this is done through written, visual and oral archival material and relies on a socially-focused participative approach.

This exhibition speaks above all to the inhabitants of the working-class areas of the Paris region, that is to say those who are most intimately connected and concerned with this history. The guides were recruited for their social skills and their personal experience of working class neighborhood, and have been associated with the development of the exhibition through a series of organised workshops. Counting a large number of teachers among its members, AMuLoP also reaches out to students of every age, from primary school to university. Workshops are proposed to complement the

<figure><img src="image_13.png" /></figure>
exhibition. The project is currently reaching a wider audience and attracts a growing number of regional, national and international visitors.

More information:

https://amulop.jimdo.com/eng/

# Webinars series #3 :
## Health and Citizens

April 18, 13.00-14.30, on zoom

## My Depression your Depression – Same Name, Different Story

Invited speaker: Dr. Iona Beange, University of Edinburgh

Depression is very common with one in ten people being diagnosed with the illness at some point in their lives. But rather than being just one condition – experts believe clinical depression is a collection of different disorders with one common symptom – low mood. In the My depression your depression project, in order to explore depression & mental illness from a variety of angles, digital stories (3-6 minute videos with images and a voice-over) were created by:

* Researchers who study depression;

* Adults with lived experience of depression;

* Mothers of young people with mental illness;

* Young people (16-25) who explored the topic of mental health and wellbeing.

Now, more than ever before, we need stories. We need stories of courage and compassion, love and loss, triumph and tragedy, hope and resilience. One of the main goals of the My depression your depression project is to have these stories seen by as many people as possible. To this end we aim to:

* Show them at public events to inspire others, and reduce stigma around depression

* Share them with policymakers and clinical staff to increase their awareness.

* Use them to bring a human perspective to scientific conferences and meetings.

To achieve these aims, a number of activities have been carried out or are planned for the near future including:

* Online & in-person screenings at science festivals and other public events.

My Depression, Your Depression
Same Name, Different Stories

<figure><img src="image_14.png" /></figure>

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This project has received funding from the
European Union's Horizon 2020 Research
and Innovation Programme under grant
agreement No 101017416
* An online self-guided walking tour which leads the visitors to a collection of the digital stories

* Use of the digital stories during scientific meetings to bring in a patient perspective.

* Presentations to clinicians and clinical researchers.

* Discussions about how they may be included in the Medical Teaching Curriculum.

This project was funded by a ScotPEN Wellcome Engagement Award (217078/Z/19/Z) and is run by Dr Iona Beange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Officer at The Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Patient voices and:

* Parenting Mental Health

* Glasgow Clyde College and The Princes Trust

More information:

Digital Stories: https://www patientvoices org uk/mydepyourdephtm

Walking Tour: https://storymaps arcgis com/stories/1de63957b36346ad8d785baaaaf37332

# Science by, with and for citizens: rethinking ‘citizen science’ after the 2011 Fukushima disaster

Invited speakers: Joke Kenens, PhD and Prof. Ine van Hoyweghen

The 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident was one of the most severe nuclear accidents in the history of nuclear energy. It pushed ordinary citizens to collect their own radiation pollution data in unprecedented ways. Aided by technological advancements, including the Internet and the development of cheaper sensors to monitor the environment, citizens used measurement devices to generate open-source data and radiation maps. The organizations that are born out of these citizen initiatives are referred to as Citizen Radiation Measuring Organizations (CRMOs).

Recognizing the broad diversity of citizen science initiatives, this project examines CRMOs as instances of grassroots (or bottom-up) citizen science, whereby citizens organize themselves independently from experts, using their own technologies and methods to produce knowledge about pressing problems such as radiation pollution. It examines the issues and questions regarding citizenship, scientific practices and science-society relations that grassroots citizen science unearths. To this end, it analyses past and present citizen science initiatives connected to nuclear accidents, including not only the Fukushima disaster, but also the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe. It does so with the aims of 1) mapping the evolution of Japanese grassroots citizen science

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after nuclear accidents; 2) identifying the social spaces in which grassroots citizen science emerges; and
3) probing the potential of citizen science for crisis management and recovery after a nuclear accident.

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, it highlights the multifaceted character of these bottom-up, citizen-led efforts, contrasting these initiatives with the emergence of “citizen participatory” science policy discourses in Japan. Recognizing the contested nature of citizenship in Japan and in the nuclear arena, the article considers how terms and definitions shape the participation of citizens and other stakeholders (local communities, public authorities, regulators, and professional scientists) in science and technology in culturally and historically specific ways. It builds on these observations to open up new spaces of expertise, which engage all stakeholders through social-scientific intervention.

More information : https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-0434-3

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