The WeObserve Communities of Practice (CoPs) started paving the way for a sustainable Citizen Observatories (CO) ecosystem by launching their activities within the Citizen Science Workshop Day of the 2nd International ECSA Conference, on 6 June 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The WeObserve CoPs, organized in the framework of the WeObserve H2020 project, will serve as a mechanism for exchanging knowledge, providing valuable information on key thematic topics as well as strengthening the knowledge base of Citizen Observatories. During dedicated sessions, the first three CoPs were kicked-off, covering the following topics:

Co-creating citizen observatories and engaging citizens (CoP1)

Impact and value of citizen observatories for governance (CoP2)

Interoperability and standards for citizen observatories (CoP3)

The main goal lies on the definition of potential barriers and incentives for citizen engagement, the delineation of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of citizen science to governance and the evaluation of applicability of open standards to citizen science data.

Uta Wehn from IHE Delft led the workshops for CoP1 and CoP2, while Joan Masó from CREAF led the workshop for CoP3. They first introduced WeObserve, explaining the key challenges of mainstreaming citizen science that WeObserve addresses: awareness, acceptability and sustainability. Subsequently, it was the participants’ turn to introduce themselves. The three launch workshops were successful, enabling cross fertilization and bringing together experts and stakeholders from different environmental disciplines. Each CoP identified sub-topics that need to be addressed, drafted CoP-specific objectives and identified activities that are linked to the WeObserve CoPs in order to streamline and coordinate CoP efforts.

In total, five CoPs are foreseen to be organized throughout the project period, offering the opportunity to various citizen science practitioners to participate in the consolidation of knowledge in the field of citizen science and to demonstrate the added value of citizen observatories.

Sign up for the WeObserve Communities of Practice and help us develop a citizen-powered ecosystem for environmental monitoring. Indicate your interest through the online registration form available here.

 

Download the press release full text here: WeObserve_CoPs_Press Release_final