Excerpt: In her introduction to the round table, Dr. Katrin Vohland, Director of the Research Programme “Public Engagement with Science” and Executive Chair of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), reflected on the importance and challenges for CS in the current situation in Europe. Two opposing trends that can be observed: On one hand, science appears to be firmly established in European societies. More people than ever attend universities, newspapers have their own science sections, science festivals grow everywhere, and there is a boom in Citizen Science, do-it-yourself science, FabLabs and other forms of participatory knowledge creation and innovation. Scientific evidence plays an increasing role in political decisions, at least science-policy platforms that promote such aims multiply, e.g. the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
On the other hand, increasing scepticism towards science can be observed. While critical discussions, e.g. on the representation of different knowledge systems or access to the benefits of science and technology, and scrutiny regarding scientific integrity are much needed for healthy research systems. Caution is warranted when overly emotional rhetoric and populism gain ground, like when narratives of a post-truth or post-factual age take hold. Another observation is a coming
Source: Göbel, C., Agnello, G., Baïz, I., Berditchevskaia, A., Evers, L., García, D., Pritchard, H., Luna, S., Ramanauskaite, E. M., Serrano, F., Boheemen, P. v., Völker, T., Wyszomirski, P., Vohland, K., 2017. European Stakeholder Round Table on Citizen and DIY Science and Responsible Research and Innovation. Doing-it-Together Science Report. URI: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1563626