Citizen Science stands for scientific research that transforms the allocation of roles and agency in the research process. Citizens initiate, design, and implement investigations in collaboration with scientists, enabling all persons involved in the process to gain new perspectives as well as access to and understanding of data (volumes), and to design the solutions to the challenges of our times.
Citizen Science opens up an appreciative, transparent, and innovative interaction between science and the general public, which has great potential to contribute to a positive change in our society and living environment. Science and research carried out in this way is not only designed with the common good at the core of its mission, but enables society to become the initiator and protagonist of scientific endeavor.
POSTCITY
WED Sept. 4 – SUN Sept. 8, 2024
Access to this exhibition on the 1st floor of POSTCITY is free of charge.
Ars Electronica Festival is a space in which citizens are invited to become active citizen scientists. In this year’s Citizen Science exhibition Science through Society, we invite our audience to take a glimpse beyond their immediate surroundings. With Citizen Science becoming one of the cornerstones of the European research landscape, we present European lighthouse projects from the field and showcase the current dimensions of this approach in the European context.
ASD Publics: Playable cities for all / Raquel Colacios (ES), Blanca Calvo Boixet (ES), Photo: ASD Publics
Halldorophone / Esther Yr Thorvaldsdottir
The European Union recognizes the crucial role of citizens in the research process 
With the European Union Prize for Citizen Science, the European Commission wants to underline the importance of Citizen Science and to honor, present, and support outstanding projects whose social and political impact advances the further development of a pluralistic, inclusive, and sustainable society in Europe. Ars Electronica was commissioned to organize the competition as part of the IMPETUS project—which is being carried out in cooperation with King’s College London (GB), the European Science Engagement Association (AT), Zabala Innovation (ES), T6 Ecosystems (IT), Science for Change (ES), and Nesta (GB). In 2024, this prestigious prize is given for the second time. 
Our exhibition not only showcases the Grand Prize-winning project INCREASE: Intelligent Collections of Food-Legume Genetic Resources for European Agrofood Systems focusing on biodiversity, but also showcases the diversity of research disciplines shaped by Citizen Science approaches. ASD Publics: Playable cities for all is a project involving autistic children and their families in the design of parks and playgrounds, while Intelligent Instruments in Citizen Science: Understanding Contemporary AI through Creative Practice has an exceptionally forward-looking approach to citizen-driven technology development. In addition, our exhibition provides an overview of the sheer scope of citizen-driven research throughout the European continent.
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ASD Publics: Playable cities for all
ASD Publics and PAtB are pioneering initiatives aimed at enhancing the design and accessibility of public spaces for neurodiverse children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It employs a collaborative co-creation methodology involving autistic children, families, urban practitioners, policymakers, and autism experts.
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INCREASE: Intelligent Collections of Food-Legume Genetic Resources for European Agrofood Systems
The INCREASE CSE explores thousands of different beans PGR thanks to the help of citizens who contribute to data collection on an unprecedented number of different locations, helping to better understand, not only many phenotypic traits, but also the adaptation of common beans in different environments.
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Intelligent Instruments in Citizen Science
Artificial Intelligence is becoming increasingly human-like and is now proficient in a key human activity: musical creativity. But what does this mean? How does creative AI change our notions of art, culture and society? As new machine learning technologies begin to mirror ourselves, we need to look into that mirror and ask how this is…
Presented in the context of the IMPETUS project. IMPETUS is funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101058677.
