ULusófona Joins European Project to Promote Citizen Science

Universidade Lusófona, through its R&D unit Terr.A.ID, is part of the consortium for the ECS – European Citizen Science project, coordinated by ECSA – the European Citizen Science Association and funded by the Horizon Europe programme.

The local coordination is led by Professor Carlos Smaniotto Costa, with research fellow Nagayamma Aragão as an integrated team member.

The initiative Citizen Science for the Future of Europe aims primarily to promote active societal participation in scientific research and to advocate for the inclusion of citizen science in the 10th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation of the European Commission.

So far, the project has successfully mobilised both the scientific community and European society through awareness campaigns and collaborative actions. This engagement has strengthened the role of citizen science as a strategic pillar in the EU’s research policy. The approach is highlighted in the publication “Empowering Citizens through Science: The Role of Citizen Science in Europe”, released on April 23, 2025.

The most recent position paper, developed by the ECSA Working Group on Policies, Strategies, and Partnerships in collaboration with the ECS Project, included contributions from Universidade Lusófona through the active participation of researcher Nagayamma Aragão. You can access the full document here and the executive summary here.

In Lisbon, a pilot programme is being developed with vulnerable groups, focusing on collaborative workshops that connect children with urban rivers, recognising them as active political agents in the construction of more inclusive public policies.
The next workshop is scheduled for July 2025 in Luanda (Angola), as part of a partnership with a research project in the Humanities and Social Sciences funded by the Institut Français d’Afrique du Sud. This will be the third collaborative workshop under the project and the first to take place in a Portuguese-speaking country outside Europe.