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Short Abstract

How can art and culture move citizen science from the margins to the centre of society? PULSE-ART shows how Cultural Awareness and Expression (CAE) empower people to reflect, connect, and act together—bridging disciplines, communities, and cultures.

Abstract

Citizen science thrives when people see themselves as active participants in knowledge creation. Yet many remain at the periphery of science, disconnected from processes that shape their lives. PULSE-ART explores how considering Cultural Awareness and Expression (CAE)—one of the EU’s eight key competences for lifelong learning—can bring new voices and perspectives into the centre of participation.

Through arts-based education and public engagement, PULSE-ART mobilises educators, artists, policymakers, citizens and youth across Europe to co-create spaces where creativity and science intersect. These “MOSAIC HUBs” and Case Studies act as laboratories of cultural and civic participation, where art becomes a method for inquiry, dialogue, and collaboration.

By integrating the reflective power of the arts into science, PULSE-ART redefines participation—not only as data contribution, but as shared interpretation and meaning-making. Creative practices become tools for questioning systems of knowledge, making invisible experiences visible, and connecting communities across social and geographic peripheries.

This pitch argues that fostering CAE is crucial to strengthen and widen citizen science impact, to strengthen democracy itself: enabling people to express their realities, bridge divides, and participate as co-creators of Europe’s cultural and scientific future.