First International ECSA Conference 2016
Citizen Science –
Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy
19–21 May 2016 | Berlin
Welcome Reception
Thursday, 19 May, 19:15–22:00 h | Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
For a pleasant finish of the first conference day, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin warmly invites participants to continue discussions with food and drinks at the feet of dinosaurs. The idea of this evening is to create an informal space for getting to know each other and current activities of ECSA, our members and partners. After a brief welcome and scene setter, we’ll have three half-hour networking sessions with dedicated tables including
• Joint Citizen Science action on the Zika virus
• Journal “Citizen Science: Theory and Practice”
• How to engage with ECSA in the upcoming H2020 projects “Landsense” and “DITOs”
• COST Action Citizen Science to Promote Creativity, Scientific Literacy, and Innovation throughout Europe
• Engage with the ECSA Working Groups on Policy and on Data, Tools and Technology
• International co-operation on Citizen Science Data and Metadata Interoperability
• Meet the ECSA Board
• And more!
Parts of the museum exhibition, including the one with our stunning T-Rex “Tristan – Berlin bares Teeth”, will be open for a walk. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Download overview networking tables and more information
How to get there: After the closing on Thursday (18:00 h), please join our helpers to get from our conference venue Kulturbrauerei to the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin by public transport. Tickets will be provided. Address: Museum für Naturkunde, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin. Please take tram no. M 10 from stop Eberswalder Straße to the stop Naturkundemuseum.
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ECSA General Assembly 2016
Friday, 20 May, 16:30 – 19:00 h | Conference Venue, Kesselhaus
Dear ECSA members, supporters, and interested guests,
We are delighted to invite you to the ECSA General Assembly 2016 on Friday, May 20th 2016, at the international ECSA conference. The General Assembly is ECSA’s main annual event and decision making body of the association. We’re looking forward to address the following items with you:
- Annual report 2015 & update on-going activities
- Future strategy & ECSA Working Plan 2016/17
- Approval of budget for 2016 and 2017 & determination of membership fees
- Reports of ECSA Working Groups & adoption of new Working Groups
- Election of ECSA Executive Board
- Election of ECSA Board of Directors
- Election of new Advisory Board Members
- ECSA General Assembly 2017
You can find an updated programme, reference documents and lists of candidates on the ECSA website.
Citizen Science Disco
Social event with local Berlin grassroots science communities. Lightning Talks, Intro to Citizen Science ThinkCamp, Drinks & Flammkuchen.
Friday, 20 May, 19:00 h | Conference Venue
This will be an open social evening to kick back, get inspired and make connections. The invitation will be extended to the local Berlin grassroots science communities and we will have a line-up (to be announced) of inspiring lightning talks from interdisciplinary co-created community projects, both local and international, followed by the chance to mingle and make new friends. This event includes free snacks, a cash bar, and a live DJ following the talks.
Lightning talks
- The Open Evolution Machine: Johann Bauerfeind (Biohacker, founder of iGEM Berlin)
- MovLab: Reinventing Human Sensing for Virtual Realities DIY: Byrke Lou (Physics, digital media and dance)
- Public Lab: The creation of a community: Cindy Regalado (Community organiser, Public Lab)
- But what is it?! Exploring the chemistry of the world with others: Kat Austen (Artist in Residence at Faculty for Maths and Physical Sciences, University College London)
Hosts: Lucy Patterson Science Hack Day Berlin, Germany; Margaret Gold The Mobile Collective, UK. Music: DJ Audiodiversity
Citizen Science ThinkCamp
Saturday, 21 May, 11:00 h | Conference Venue, Kesselhaus
The ThinkCamp is an ‘unconference’ style event-within-the-event, to which the local Berlin grassroots science & maker communities are invited to collaborate together with Conference attendees on a number of Citizen Science Challenges.
The style is similar to a World Cafe, with an emphasis on providing an open and creative environment for working together on new ideas, Citizen Science projects, and technology platforms.
It’s a great opportunity to work together with people with different perspectives, skills, and expertise – not to mention getting fresh inspiration, meeting potential new collaborators, and even getting involved in exciting new projects!
During the ThinkCamp, conference attendees and local Berlin community members are collaborating together on a range of Citizen Science Challenges to launch new projects, address challenges, apply technologies, and take advantage of new opportunities. These include:
1. The ECSA Inclusiveness Challenge – How can we ensure that ECSA becomes an inclusive organisation?
2. The WeCureALZ ‘Engaging Diversity’ Challenge – Help us design unique & effective strategies to engage and retain diverse communities.
3. The CitSci Communities of Europe Challenge – Mapping the citizen science communities of Europe: how and why should we do this?
4. The Overleaf Collaborative Writing Challenge – How can Overleaf support collaborative writing between academics and citizen scientists?
5. The Museum Data Visualisation Challenge – How can the visualisation of observation data gathered in the field be made more engaging and dynamic for participants?
6. The HealthSites.io ‘CitSci for Health’ Challenge – What Citizen Science projects become possible with the health facilities geo data being mapped on the HealthSites.io platform?
7. The Motion-sensing Camera Trap Challenge (to be confirmed)
8. YOUR Citizen Science Challenge – Would YOU like to pose a Challenge at the ThinkCamp? We’ll have paper and pens ready for you to pitch your Challenge on the day, and kick-off a new discussion!
Facilitators: Muki Haklay UCL, UK; Lucy Patterson Science Hack Day Berlin, Germany; Margaret Gold The Mobile Collective, UK
Berlin Citizen Science Fest
Saturday, 21 May, 17:00 – 23:00 h | Berlin’s Gleisdreieck Park
At the close of the ECSA Conference, ECSA and conference partner Wissenschaft im Dialog warmly invite you to an interactive Citizen Science Fest. In a Citizen Science Safari, visitors to Berlin’s Gleisdreieck Park will be led on a discovery tour to experience the research process and findings of a diverse array of citizen science projects. The festival is open to the intellectually curious of all ages from 5 pm to 11 pm.
Organisers: Thorsten Witt, Wiebke Volkmann & Irene Schütz Wissenschaft im Dialog, Germany
Promenade Tempelhofer Feld – Public Space in the City
Nowhere the clouds are higher and the look further than on the Tempelhof Feld. Our walk through the largest outdoor exhibition area of the city combines history and modernity, politics and pioneering spirit, sports, culture, art and sweet idleness. In this experiment citizen participation plays a major role. We will visit an urban gardening project and a culture project, we will talk about our own experience as citizen knowledge project at Tempelhof Feld. And we will report on the petition for a referendum and the law developed from the referendum itself. Current result is the development and care plan, which is committed to the Senate of Berlin at May 18th.
Start: 17:00 h at main entrance Tempelhofer Damm| Duration: 1.5 – 2 h | End: 7:30–8:00 pm at Pioneerproject Nuture Mini Art Golf (Columbiadamm).
Public Transport: U-/S-Bahnhof Tempelhof (Underground/U-Bahn 6, Surburban Train/S-Bahn 41, S2, S5, S6, Bus 140, 184)
Max. number of participants: 30
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Eat your city
Eat your city – literally! Did you know there are over 500 edible plants growing right under your nose? Learn how to identify, harvest and prepare delicious edible herbs, flowers and fruits growing right in the city of Berlin. During the two hour walking tour you’ll learn how to make your own fresh leaf salad plucked from your immediate surrounds and topped with the mouth-watering (Mundraub) dressing. Tracking lost and forgotten fruit trees throughout the hippest parts of the city, your host “Mundräuber” Magda will open your eyes to the art of urban foraging showing you that many of the young tender green leaves you see around you are edible, healthy and tasty too! You’ll learn all you have to know to be a legal and sustainable forager and discover to a whole new world of fresh sustainable food! See the city with new eyes that can be as big as your stomach! Go to Mundraub.org for more info.
Start: 16:30 h pm at conference venue Kulturbrauerei; walking tour
Max. number of participants: 25
