Katja Mayer: Can Citizen Science Teach Democracy?

This talk explores how citizen science—when taken seriously as a civic and educational practice—offers a unique entry point into understanding how knowledge is produced, how disagreement can be productive, and how participation shapes both facts and futures. Drawing on this year’s experiences from the European Citizen Science Prize jury, I argue that citizen science is not just about public engagement or better data, but about cultivating democratic sensibilities: curiosity, critique, responsibility, solidarity, and care. Especially for young people, participating in citizen science projects can foster essential competencies for living in uncertain times—not by erasing doubt, but by learning to engage with it collectively. Like democracy itself, citizen science is a balancing act: imperfect, sometimes fragile, but full of transformative potential.