The LIBER CeOS Multiplier Event concludes a long series of stakeholders’ consultation initiated in Spring 2024. Building on two vision-building workshops, an online mutual learning exercise with Dutch experts, an in-person consultation in Limassol, Cyprus, and multiplier events across Southeastern Europe, the multiplier event will provide an engaging platform to discuss the core themes that emerged throughout the project. It will also promote the intellectual results of CeOS and consolidate the outcomes into actionable policy recommendations for sustainability.
The event will focus on three central themes that have driven the CeOS project over the past three years:
- Citizen Science in Curricula
- Citizen Science Networks
- CeOS Recommendations and Policies
Citizen Science in Curricula
Addressing Citizen Science into higher education curricula and promoting Open Science practices has been a key objective of the CeOS project. This segment will explore current academic practices, highlighting their benefits and challenges, and showcase how research libraries can engage citizens as active contributors to Citizen Science initiatives.
- Dr. Giannis Tsakonas, LIBER vice-president, and Theodora Karaiskou, from the University of Patras, will share their findings from the “Uptake of Citizen Science in Higher Education Curricula and Open Science Practice in SE Europe“, a report they wrote for the CeOS project.
- Thomas Kaarsted, LIBER Board member, and project partner in his role of Deputy Library Director of the University Library of Southern Denmark (SDU), will share his experience in teaching Citizen Science in Denmark and explain how it aligns with library skills.
- Researchers from the University of Twente will share their experience from the three-year project INCENTIVE during which they aimed to bring citizens, public administration and private sector closer to the research community and demonstrate the potential of Citizen Science by establishing Citizen Science Hubs.
A panel discussion, moderated by Elena Giglia, from the University of Turin, will explore the incentives for updating curricula to incorporate Citizen Science and emphasise the importance of multidisciplinary approaches.
Citizen Science Networks
This session will highlight synergies and gaps on skills building for different groups
- Dolores Mumelas, from the National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK), Croatia, will introduce the newly established Citizen Science Working Group (GZUK) in Croatia and its support to librarians exploring Citizen Science.
- Margaret Gold, Senior Researcher at Leiden University, will present the growth and achievements of the CS NL Network, which she coordinates, and its role within the Dutch research landscape.
- David Oldenhof, Policy Advisor at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam, will discuss the future Citizen Science Hub in Amsterdam and its complementary role alongside other initiatives.
CeOS Recommendations and Policies
The final segment will examine the project’s intellectual results – skills, policies, practices and infrastructure – and how to maximise their uptake.
- Anne Kathrine Overgaard, Head of Health R&I Support at SDU, will reflect on the project’s early recommendations and their relevance to support and affect change within libraries.
- Drs. Nataša Dakić and Aleksandra Trtovac, library advisors at the University Library “Svetozar Markovic” of Belgrade, Serbia, and authors of the Roadmap on CeOS in the Balkans. Their document, one of the main outcomes of the project, outlines the potential for Citizen Science, as a component of Open Science, to be more broadly used in the Balkan countries. It highlights the importance of knowledge exchange, trust-building, and long-term collaboration in the region.
- Alisa Martek, from NSK, as the representative of the LIBER Citizen Science Working Group, will conclude the session by showcasing the achievements of the working group, and its role in fostering collaboration and dynamic exchanges among European libraries.
