From open and citizen science to activism: roles of academic staff

Poster for the event, including the speakers' pictures, affiliations and the title fo the event

From open and citizen science to activism: roles of academic staff

Date: 24/08/2022
Venue: Online
Registration page: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcu2grTIsGNfqUtBPNN9MdqDQboEO8odQ 

About the workshop

In times of climate change and biodiversity loss, science communication and conventional advocacy by academic and research staff may not be sufficient to drive change in these emergency conditions. 

The Erasmus+ INOS project organizes a hands-on workshop on forms of social action undertaken by contemporary academic staff to address patterns of social and environmental injustice in collaboration with citizen communities. In particular, our workshop aims to question the traditional roles of contemporary researchers in action-taking and in the translation of their scholarly findings in real social action. We will specifically discuss the role of civil disobedience and non-violent activism as effective means to engage citizens, including scholars, in climate action.  

Our workshop is a follow-up event of the successful webinar on the same topic that served to openly discuss themes that will be further explored at the workshop, namely civil disobedience, non-violent activism and how the notion of “emergency status” can foster change in the academic world.

The core statement of our event is “Science is not enough, Time for activism” (by Julia Steinberger), as a motto that raises both the struggle citizen communities and academic staff face when trying to translate their research and knowledge into demonstrable change.

Speakers of the webinar

The webinar will host a panel of speakers coming from a wider spectrum of the academic and scientific community. Specifically:

Moderator: Michael Peter Edson

Convenor: Katerina Zourou

Who is it for?

The workshop is open to anyone who is interested in getting a better understanding on how academia can lead and foster social action triggered by pressing social issues, like climate change and environmental challenges. Moreover, the workshop is designed so as to encourage and generate meaningful knowledge exchange among speakers and participants. 

What is INOS?

The Erasmus+ project, INOS (Integrating Open and Citizen Science into Active Learning Approaches in Higher Education), aims to foster the social impact of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as knowledge creation, sharing and (re-) use ecosystems in the digital economy and to better situate their role in current demands for civic engagement, societal impact and learning opportunities for all.

INOS is funded under the Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnerships program. Project Number: 2019-1-DK01-KA203-060268