15 October 2024, by Transferagentur der Universität Hamburg

Photo: Jann Wilken / mit:forschen!

To open the event: An extraordinary keynote by community researchers from the Stadtteillabor Bochum and the Stadtteillabor on the Veddel, which is currently being set up.

The Citizen Citizen Science Forum 2024 took place from 8 to 10 October, bringing together the German, Austrian and Swiss citizen science communities in Hamburg – with 250 participants, a new record! This year's host and cooperation partner of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and Wissenschaft im Dialog was the University of Hamburg. The Transfer Agency's Co-Creation & Engagement Centre, which was responsible for the local organisation, was able to put a strong Hamburg stamp on the event.

The supporting programme began on Tuesday at JUPITER, the former Karstadt Sport building, with the ‘Department Store of Opportunities’. Here, the projects funded by the University of Hamburg's Transfer fund 2023 and the winners of the ‘Auf die Plätze – Citizen Science in Deiner Stadt’ competition presented themselves to the conference participants and networked in a relaxed atmosphere.

The official opening of the conference took place on 9 October at the Besenbinderhof by Prof. Sabine Maasen, Scientific Director of the Transfer Agency, together with representatives of the Berlin cooperation partners. The patron of the event, Senator for Science Katharina Fegebank, was unfortunately unable to attend in person, but emphasised in her welcoming address: ‘Hamburg is a city where science is alive. That's why the Citizen Science Forum is such a good fit for Hamburg. Because it builds bridges between science and society. This promotes understanding of scientific contexts. It brings new impetus to the scientific community and also to the public. And we need that to shape the future.’

Focus on participatory research

An extraordinary keynote speech by community researchers from the Bochum neighbourhood laboratory Bochum neighbourhood laboratory and the neighbourhood laboratory currently being set up in Veddel (Veddel neighbourhood laboratory) was followed by two days of intensive exchange in the form of traditional lecture panels, interactive workshops, short stories, a poster session and a methodology workshop. The numerous contributions from the University of Hamburg highlighted the diversity of co-creative research activities across a wide range of disciplines. The initiative to gauge the interest of stakeholders from universities and civil society in northern Germany in establishing a regional network for citizen science and co-creative research also met with a great response.

On the evening of 9 October, the forum hosted the award ceremony for the ‘Wissen der Vielen – Forschungspreis für Citizen Science’ (Knowledge of the Many – Research Award for Citizen Science), sponsored by the BMBF. After the laudatory speeches, Dr Claudia Mendes from the Co-Creation & Engagement Center engaged the award winners in a panel discussion with Dr Alexander von Vogel, State Councillor for Districts at the BWFGB. Von Vogel once again emphasised the topicality and relevance of participatory research for Hamburg's urban society.

Inspiring ideas

The event concluded with an inspiring keynote speech by Dr Marina Beermann, Managing Director of Cociety, a network of non-profit civil society organisations. In her presentation, she explained the impact(s) of citizen science from the perspective of organised civil society and Hamburg's foundation landscape. She sent the participants off with an encouraging message: ‘In this sense, you are all acting as “hopeful drivers of innovation for a resilient society”.’

The Co-Creation & Engagement Centre team would like to thank the many dedicated participants and all the helpers who together made the Citizen Science Forum in Hamburg a great success. The University of Hamburg and the entire metropolitan region proved to be a dynamic ‘hotspot’ for participatory research with civil society in many dimensions.