HEROINES: Heritage of Emancipation – Empowering Roma Women through Building Networks of Solidarity / Ivan Đorđević (RS), Slavica Vasić Mitrović (RS), Lada Stevanović (RS), Bojana Bogdanović (RS), Miloš Rašić (RS), Milena Jokanović (RS), Marija Đorđević (RS), Svetlana Ilić (RS), Svetlana Marinković (RS), Photo: ISO DUO
2025 Winners
The European Union’s Citizen Science Prize makes a statement. It honors, presents and supports outstanding projects whose social and political impact advances the further development of a pluralistic, inclusive and sustainable society in Europe. The European Commission has entrusted Ars Electronica in Linz with the task of staging this prestigious and highly remunerated competition.
Congratulations to the prize winners!
Grand Prize
Diversity & Collaboration Award
Digital Communities Award
The 2025 Jury & Jury Statements
Grand Prize
Awarded for outstanding achievements in the advancement of knowledge through the empowerment of civil society and citizens in the development of the future.
HEROINES: Heritage of Emancipation
Empowering Roma Women through Building Networks of Solidarity
Ivan Đorđević (RS), Slavica Vasić Mitrović (RS), Lada Stevanović (RS), Bojana Bogdanović (RS), Miloš Rašić (RS), Milena Jokanović (RS), Marija Đorđević (RS), Svetlana Ilić (RS), Svetlana Marinković (RS)
„At a time when the grassroots, student-led civil movement in Serbia shines as a beacon against the backdrop of authoritarianism advancing across the world, recognizing and celebrating the transformative power of Citizen Science projects such as HEROINES is crucial. The HEROINES project — short for Heritage of Emancipation: Empowering Roma Women through Networks of Solidarity — is a Citizen Science initiative led by the Institute of Ethnography SASA in close collaboration with two community-based partners, the Roma Women’s Center Bibija and the Successful Women of Kostolac association. The Roma are Europe’s largest ethnic minority and are still routinely victims of prejudice and social exclusion. The project’s primary aim is to understand the process of emancipation of Roma women in Serbia through participatory research and data collection of rarely shared oral stories and individual experiences in three urban areas, the capital Belgrade, Kostolac, and Pirot. The project uses community mapping methodology to interpret and reflect on the data collected while recognizing the importance of community voices to take control of their own development and offer new ways to shape their own future.“
Photo: Uspešne žene Kostolca
Diversity & Collaboration Award
Awarded for excellence in grassroots approaches, explorative collaboration, cultural and gender diversity, community participation, stakeholder engagement and social inclusivity.
MoFWaste—The Museum of Food Waste
Because food waste should be in the past.
Rio Neiva – Environmental NGO (PT), António Rodrigues Sampaio School Group (PT), António Correia de Oliveira School Group (PT), Henrique Medina Secondary School (PT), Monte da Ola School Group (PT), ATAHCA – Association for the Development of Terras Altas do Homem, Cávado e Ave (PT), Municipality of Esposende (PT), Municipality of Viana do Castelo (PT)
„In the project, students, educators, and school canteen staff in Esposende, Portugal, work together to identify, measure, and reduce food waste. […]
With its playful title, Museum of Food Waste draws attention to the urgent need to make food waste a thing of the past—especially in light of the growing importance of global food security. […]
The jury emphasized the fact that the project stands out for its strong stakeholder collaboration—from schoolchildren to food providers to policymakers, for its solid Citizen Science methodology, and for its potential to scale. The jury decision is based on the project’s commitment to participant ownership. It offers a replicable, inspiring model for addressing food security and responsible consumption across regions and borders.“
Photo: Rio Neiva – Environmental NGO
Digital Communities Award
Awarded for demonstrating excellence in creating and supporting communities, delivering social benefits, and fostering an open and inclusive civil society through the innovative or alternative use of digital technologies.
Antiquake Risk Hunter Community
Yelda Ademoglu Gulkilik (TR / XK), Vincent Bouvard (TR), Umut Koca (TR), Isin Malhas (TR), Uluc Ali Demir (TR)
„The jury highlighted the wide range of collaborators involved: residents, schools, municipal authorities, and disaster management professionals allowing Anti-Quake to foster a collaborative, bottom-up approach to risk assessment and community resilience throughout a digital space. Youth engagement played a central role […]
The jury encourages the project to serve as a model for how to responsibly handle and share sensitive geospatial information—such as mapped vulnerabilities or risk zones—that may influence perceptions, property values, or insurance.“
Photo: Antiquake
Honorary Mentions
Achieving a New European Energy Awareness
Ana Belén Cristóbal López (ES), Luis Narvarte (ES), Luis Miguel Carrasco (ES), Martin Brocklehurst (GB), Marta Victoria (GB), Zhe Zhang (GB), Marko Topic (SI), Matevz Bokalic (SI), Emma Jayne Williams (GB), Luis Fialho (PT), Afonso Cavaco (PT), Joana Mouquinho (PT), Megan Blyth (GB), Lars Lorenz (DE), Alex Gerber (DE), Manuel Castillo (ES), Óscar Anchorenea (ES)
„AURORA is a large EU-funded project focusing on energy, supporting citizens to take actions ranging from crowd-funding local energy projects to building and using sensors to monitor energy use behaviour. The jury was pleased to see the important topic of energy being explored using citizen science approaches, and how AURORA builds strongly on existing social communities, fostering sustainable engagement by adapting its citizen science model to local contexts and community-driven interests.“
Acting4DHH: Citizen social science for the benefit of the Deaf community
Katerina Zourou (GR), Stefania Oikonomou (GR)
„This is a citizen social science project led by deaf and hard of hearing people in Greece. The main goal was strengthening collaboration between Deaf and Hearing citizens as a crucial component for inclusion and community engagement. The jury was pleased to see a citizen science effort focused on this under-served group. The project mapped challenges and opportunities for communication, and spaces that were not accessible, and participants made videos to communicate about the barriers they faced.“
Baltic Sea 3D Wrecksite Ontology
Markku Luoto (FI), Maritime Archaeological Society of Finland (FI)
„This project is creating digital twins of wrecks in the Baltic Sea, some of which are deteriorating due to warming seas. The data have been used in an impressive number of publications and allow those not privileged enough to be able to visit them in person to experience them. The jury were particularly impressed by the volunteer-led nature of this work.“
Care PartIES
Marie-Therese Schultes (AT), Dina Hediger (CH), Deborah Scharfy (DE), Irene Rilko (CH), Julia Bänziger (CH)
„Through workshops, the project explored research priorities and participation models, showing how parents offer unique and often overlooked perspectives in clinical neonatal care. The jury greatly appreciated the project’s focus on an important and often underrepresented topic, as well as its thoughtful, participatory approach. Though small in scale, Care PartIES has strong potential to inspire similar initiatives and to shift how neonatal research engages with those most affected.“
Deep Time—Collective Intelligence for Nature Recovery
Brendon Wilkins (GB), Jonski Millar (IE), Anna van Nostrand (GB), Maiya Pina-Dacier (GB), Lisa Westcott Wilkins (GB)
„This UK based project is using human-in-the-loop AI technology to explore sites for habitat restoration. It has an impressive array of partners including government agencies, landowners and non-governmental organisations. The jury particularly appreciated the different tiers for participation (and associated names for the different groups!).“
Dingle Peninsula Living Lab
Deirdre de Bhailís (IE), Dinny Galvin (IE), Tommy Reidy (IE), Brendan Tuohy (IE), Muireann Kelliher (IE), Clare Watson (IE), Connor McGookin (IE), Evan Boyle (IE), Aoife Deane (IE), Alexandra Revez (PT), Julia Blanke (DE), Archishman Bose (IN), Brian Ó Gallachóir (IE), Jerry Murphy (IE)
„Since 2018 the Dingle Peninsula Living Lab in Ireland empowers local communities to co-create solutions for a just energy transition […], generating insights that inform both local development and national climate strategies. The jury appreciated this well-established project for its wide-reaching and multiple pathways of influence. Its strong community engagement, combined with scientific collaboration, serves as a powerful example of how place-based citizen science can contribute meaningfully to climate action and policy development.“
Hollandse Luchten
Waag Futurelab (NL), Provincie Noord-Holland (NL), RIVM (NL), TNO (NL), GGD Amsterdam (NL), AethiQs (NL)
„In this long-duration project, citizens groups are monitoring air quality in an industrial part of The Netherlands using low-cost sensors and a data commons platform which make the invisible visible. Over the years the citizens measurement groups build up an impressive knowledge base with which they become a respected stakeholder in the political arena. Recently they added an AI community tool that analyses pictures of suspicious clouds that might contain toxic substances. The jury was pleased to see that citizens were involved at multiple stages of the scientific process and noted the importance of long duration projects to monitor air quality.“
INPN Espèces
PatriNat (OFB, MNHN, CNRS, IRD)
„INPN Espèces mobile application is an impressive effort on the part of the French National Museum of Natural History, that has been running for close to 10 years, engaging over 38,000 collectors for collecting over 1.4 million observations. The jury is appreciative not only of the project longevity, and scale, but also of continued development, including adapting it to school audiences, and examining the socio-professional profiles of participants.“
Local and international citizen scientists for biodiversity mapping of the endangered Komarnica Canyon in Montenegro
Iva Njunjić (RS), Menno Schilthuizen (NL), Jelena Popovic (ME), Taxon Foundation citizen science team (NL), Montenegrin Ecologists Society (ME), Save Komarnica (ME)
„Here, citizen scientists are documenting the biodiversity of this canyon whose existence is threatened by a proposed hydropower dam. The jury liked the combination of local environmental non-governmental organisations with others from across Europe. The jury also appreciated that this project emerged as a result of a real local need for data on the species residing in the area.“
Maldita.es contra la desinformación
Maldita.es Foundation (ES)
„This project is fighting disinformation and promoting transparency through journalism, research and public policy advocacy. The project successfully succeeds in building a well-structured participatory process in which different actors can bring in their own expertise in different steps and through different digital channels. As a jury, we find a lack of citizen projects addressing this very important topic which indeed allows for very different citizen science approaches and increases the number of roles that participants may take in a citizen science project.“
Mapping for Recreation with Temporarily Displaced Children (Map4Rec)
Ekaterina Egorova (RU), Kateryna Miller (UA)
„Map4Rec engages temporarily displaced Ukrainian children (ages 8–14) in the Netherlands in the Twente region through participatory mapping and creative exploration of their new urban environment. Building on previous initiatives, the project fosters shared decision-making, co-design, and community-building through activities such as data collection, game development, and public events. The jury especially valued the project’s deep commitment to engagement and its thoughtful use of shared approaches and materials. It shows how participatory methods can empower children in vulnerable situations while fostering creativity, learning, and connection to place.“
MatheConnect—Cross-curricular topics for the mathematics classroom, that matter to 21st century learners
Daniela Steflitsch (AT), Sandra Friederike Wieser (AT), Katrin Kanatschnig (AT), Students of the BG|BRG St. Martin Villach (AT)
„The project is student-driven, with learners acting as citizen scientists to explore, design, and evaluate interdisciplinary learning materials for mathematics education. The materials meet curriculum standards while reflecting students’ own interests. The jury especially appreciated the active involvement of key actors—particularly the students themselves—and the strong alignment between educators, researchers, and learners. Mathematics and education have rarely been the focus of citizen science, making this well-executed project a particularly welcome development.“
Mindful journeys to a shared past
Maria de Lurdes Rosa (PT), VINCULUM PROJECT TEAM (PT)
„This project worked with secondary school students, owners of historic houses, scholars and local municipalities to digitally document historical records. The jury was impressed with the range of partners, and the ways in which the project focused on rural or marginalised students, who were taught to be history guides. The jury appreciated the range of outputs from the work, spanning tours of houses to a book and podcasts.“
Monitoring Everchanging Environment in Katla UNESCO Global Geopark, Iceland
Jóhannes Marteinn Jóhannesson (IS), Ann Irene Peters (US)
„This project brings together local students with international visitors to monitor how the shoreline of the Katla Geopark is responding to climate change. The jury particularly liked this combination of citizen scientists – both helping to contribute to the sustainability of this citizen science project. The jury also appreciated the diverse ways in which the data were presented to different audiences.“
Nachtlichter (Night lights)
Nachtlichter collaboration (DE)
„This project is a strong example of how scientists can develop citizen science in a truly bottom-up way, taking on roles beyond mere project promotion. The jury appreciated the solid methods and their publication in scientific journals. New results are expected soon in a leading urban science journal, demonstrating citizen science’s value in a field often shaped by tech-driven smart city models. By addressing urban light pollution at high resolution, the project fills a key knowledge gap. The jury also loved the photos, highlighting the fun and engaging side of citizen science.“
Nürnberg forscht
Martin Dr. Bauer-Stiasny (DE), Derya Yıldırım (DE), Cornelia Yılmaz (DE), Jelena Torbica (DE), Thomas Kießlich (DE), Zeynep Deprem (DE), Nilgün Cevik (DE)
„This project took a social science approach and explored the experiences of around 200 immigrants to Nümberg, on the topics of racism, women’s health, political participation and cultural education. The jury was impressed by the range of institutions involved in the project and that participants were involved in nearly all of the stages of the scientific process. The jury appreciated the project’s strong commitment to inclusion and its participatory approach to exploring integration from within the communities themselves.“
Observadores del Mar
Observadores del Mar, CSIC (ES)
„This long term project considers divers as key for monitoring marine species and seeing how they are responding to the changing climate. The jury was impressed by the team’s ‘train the trainer’ approach ensuring scientific rigour while provoking a multiplicative effect in terms of numbers of participants. The jury was also pleased to see that the team had ensured the data are useful to researchers, policy-makers and other decision-takers through their integration into global databases.“
Oeiras Experimenta
Maria Leão (PT), Elisabete Brigadeiro (PT), Rubén Vicente (ES), Isabel Abreu (PT), Carlota Vaz Patto (PT), Ana Fortunato (PT), Omar Vergara (ES), João Reis (PT), Inês Sardinha (PT), Carmen Santos (PT), et al.
„This project is based on a farm which is being restored, with the local community involved in identifying drought-resistant crops and more resilient agricultural practices. The jury was impressed at the range of partners who have been reached through the project, including local food businesses who have been engaged to create new recipes based on the crops grown. The jury especially liked the format of the participatory visit, and the combination of academic outputs (publications) plus art and design outputs.“
Open Food Facts
Stéphane Gigandet (FR), Pierre Slamich (FR)
„This project has collected an impressive volume of data on different food products, including details on ingredients, nutritional values, allergens etc, covering 3.7m products, with citizens contributing from 180 different countries. The jury felt this project was an excellent example of how a European project can have global reach, and were pleased to see the role the project had played in developing scoring systems for different products.“
PAIR
Ariadna Laguna (ES), Silvia Enriquez (ES), Sara Mas (ES), Alba Jané (ES), Laura Teixidor (ES), Vall d’Hebron Insitute of Research (ES)
„This project brings together people with Parkinson’s disease with high school students. The jury was particularly impressed with the intergenerational nature of the project. The jury also liked the use of a range of different activities within the project, including games, creative workshops, and music, as well as physical exercise sessions, to enhance the emotional and cognitive well-being of participants.“
PECan—Partners of Experience in Cancer
Panagiotis Bamidis (GR), Despoina Mantziari (GR), Anastasia Gkartzoni (GR), Maria Nikolaidou (GR), Antonis Billis (GR), Nikolaos Kyriakidis (GR), George Kapetanakis (GR), Katerina Nikitara (GR), Maria Nomikou (GR), AUTH Lab of Medical Physics & Digital Innovation / Thessaloniki Active and Healthy Ageing Living Lab (Thess-AHALL) (GR), Hellenic Cancer Federation (ELLOK) (GR)
„The PECan initiative established a patient-led Living Lab in Greece, integrating patients as co-educators and co-researchers in the medical curriculum at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. […] The jury especially appreciated the meaningful collaboration between patients and students, and the project’s strong commitment to patient-led research design. PECan sets an inspiring example for how citizen science can reshape medical training and empower patients in healthcare innovation.“
RESTORATION (natuRE-based SoluTion flOod Risk mitigATION)
Payam Sajadi (IE), Di Nguyen (VN), Daniel Walsh (IE), Francesco Pilla (IE), Gerald Mills (IE), Salman Khan (IE), Jeremy Auerbach (IE), Mehdi Gholamnia (IE), Charlotte Deferrars (FR), Gabriel Oduri (KE), Nasim Eslamirad (IR)
„This project tackles the important issue of urban flooding, integrating citizen science with remote sensing and hydrological modelling, focusing on private gardens in Dublin. […] The jury particularly appreciated that the project had influenced the way households were thinking about flood resilience, and that the team had quantified the economic benefits that would arise if the solutions were all implemented.“
SERVET: Citizen Science in the Stratosphere
Enrique Torres Moreno (ES), Natalia Carmen Ayuso Escuer (ES), Laude Guardia (ES), Francisco Sanz (ES), Servet (ES)
„This project has created the infrastructure to make near-space exploration accessible to the public, as experiments are taken up into the stratosphere using large helium balloons. Citizens can define their own research question, scientists help to refine these and help citizens in analysing the data. The jury appreciated that this project has been running for many years and consequently has engaged many people taking approaches and manners from hacker communities.“
Sustainable and Healthy InFrastructure by reducing stress during active Travel (SHIFT)
Anna Molter (DE), Brian Caulfield (IE), Ciarán Ferrie (IE), Nakisa Soltani (IR), Peter Kearney (IE), Sonia Soubam (IN), University College Dublin (IE)
„In Ireland, where cycling is key to the green transition and community well-being, this project collects data on cyclists’ stress levels using wearable devices and video footage. Working closely with parents and local authorities, it identifies stress hotspots in road infrastructure to support safer routes for school commutes. The jury appreciated the project’s strong, family-centred approach to cycling safety. It demonstrates how citizen science can combine technology and lived experience to inform local decision-making and create safer, more inclusive active mobility promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing urban pollution.“
The Science of Sourdough – How Citizens are Helping Shape the Future of Plant-Based Fermented Foods in the HealthFerm Project
Christophe Courtin (BE), Nicholas Bokulich (US), HealthFerm Consortium (INT)
„This project started with co-created workshops where citizens helped design surveys, home experiments, and data collection methods relating to sampling sourdough. The project has also successfully expanded across Europe. The jury appreciated how this project is offering new ways to explore knowledge gaps relating to plant-based fermented foods. The active participation of home bakers and their contribution with their local knowledge across Europe represents an interesting approach to this important issue.“
‚Watch out! Don’t step on me!‘
Olatz Ortega Vidales (ES), Eider Bilbao (ES), Oihane Diaz de Cerio (ES), Belen Gonzalez Gaya (ES), Aitor Laza Martinez (ES), Ainara Achurra (ES), Zuriñe Baña Garcia (ES), Harkaitz Eguiraun Martinez (ES), Pamela Ruiz Rodriguez (ES), Mireia Irazola Duñabeitia (ES), Miren Bego Urrutia (ES)
„The project blends STEAM education—including arts and citizen science—with an inclusive, collaborative approach involving organizations near the Atlantic Basque coast beaches (Northern Spain). The jury valued its engagement of social groups often underrepresented in citizen science, and its use of scientific methods to autonomously sample and analyze bacteria, meiofauna, microalgae, microplastics, and plankton. […]“
XENOPIA
Alma Futura (IT)
„XENOPIA brings together some powerful societal actors: hacker communities, reproductive rights organizations and feminist collectives. It explores reproductive autonomy, hacking digital pregnancy tests and aims for taking back control in the face of an increasing tightening by political institutions of reproductive rights. The jury acknowledges the importance of this citizen science project that combines research, art and biohacking.“
The Jury
From left to right: Sarah West (UK), Katja Mayer (AT), Dusan Misevic (RS/FR), Marleen Stikker (NL), Josep Perelló (ES)