The workshop “Sensing Our Environment Together: Citizen Sciences for Climate and Air Quality” (30 September–1 October 2025) brought together academics, associations, and local stakeholders committed to addressing climate and air‑quality challenges through participatory research. Designed as a prototype for future CIVIS Open Labs, the event fostered dialogue between diverse actors, encouraged the exchange of methodologies, and highlighted the value of inclusive, science-based action. By convening experts and communities across different territories, the workshop aimed to enhance transnational collaboration and strengthen the collective capacity to address environmental issues.
The workshop “Sensing Our Environment Together: Citizen Sciences for Climate and Air Quality” (30 September–1 October 2025) brought together academics, associations, and local stakeholders committed to addressing climate and air‑quality challenges through participatory research. Designed as a prototype for future CIVIS Open Labs, the event fostered dialogue between diverse actors, encouraged the exchange of methodologies, and highlighted the value of inclusive, science-based action. By convening experts and communities across different territories, the workshop aimed to enhance transnational collaboration and strengthen the collective capacity to address environmental issues.
Ahead of the event, a dedicated consultation process helped identify key expectations and needs from participants, shaping a series of hands‑on thematic sessions. These explored how to engage and sustain citizen participation, translate data into action, select appropriate measurement tools, and integrate citizen science within universities. Participants worked collaboratively to analyse challenges, co‑design solutions, and reflect on how citizen‑generated knowledge can meaningfully contribute to policy, education, and community empowerment.
The full workshop report—available as a downloadable PDF in this Resource section—serves as a comprehensive dissemination tool, capturing the session outcomes, methods, and insights developed collectively by participants. It is intended to support both CIVIS partners and external stakeholders, educators, and practitioners seeking to strengthen participatory research, replicate successful approaches, and further advance citizen science initiatives across Europe and beyond. The document illustrates how citizen science operates as both a scientific and social process, grounded in openness, inclusivity, and shared learning.
Authors: Christèle Aubry, Université de Lausanne & Robin Lebrun, Université libre de Bruxelles
Other resources
-
See more
Briefing paper: Building a bridge towards Africa and the Mediterranean Region (2021)
Building partnerships with African and Mediterranean universities outside Europe is an importantstrategic aim of CIVIS and one of its distinct features as a European University alliance (1). By 2022, the end of CIVIS’ “fabric phase”, our alliance seeks to win at least one partner institution in the target regions for each of its established thematic Hubs (2). This implies initiating some first joint pilot projects as well as to prepare and adopt longer-term strategic partnership agreements between CIVIS and partner universities.- Global partnerships
- Audiovisual materials
- Report
- Academics
- Researchers
- Administrators
- Policy makers
-
See more
Sensing Our Environment Together: Citizen Sciences for Climate and Air Quality (Workshop Report, 2025)
The workshop “Sensing Our Environment Together: Citizen Sciences for Climate and Air Quality” (30 September–1 October 2025) brought together academics, associations, and local stakeholders committed to addressing climate and air‑quality challenges through participatory research. Designed as a prototype for future CIVIS Open Labs, the event fostered dialogue between diverse actors, encouraged the exchange of methodologies, and highlighted the value of inclusive, science-based action. By convening experts and communities across different territories, the workshop aimed to enhance transnational collaboration and strengthen the collective capacity to address environmental issues.- Challenged-based approach
- Communication and Dissemination
- Civic engagement
- Participatory research
- Report
- Students
- Academics
- Researchers
- Civil society