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Poster Short Abstract

The Ciência + Cidadã Program (C+C) engages local communities in citizen science in an inclusive and equitable way, linking research, education and art. With eleven active projects in health, environment, agriculture, and microbiology, it fosters active citizenship and co-creates knowledge.

Poster Abstract

The Ciência + Cidadã Program (C+C) promotes an innovative and participatory approach to citizen science, integrating local communities into scientific institutions in an inclusive, equitable, transdisciplinary, and intergenerational way. An integral part of the “Open Science in Oeiras” strategy, it is coordinated by ITQB NOVA research institute in close collaboration with the Municipality of Oeiras in Portugal, and involves partnerships with different research centres (IST, CBR, GIMM, INESC-ID), social associations (CAIS, SEMEAR, Padre António de Oliveira Educational Center, Senior University – Oficina de Saberes, Bairro dos Navegadores), schools, and other local stakeholders. C+C aims to foster active citizenship through science by implementing research projects that directly engage citizens of different ages and backgrounds. It promotes the co-creation of knowledge by linking science with education and art and supports public consultation processes grounded in scientific evidence. Currently, eleven citizen science projects are underway with the support of the C+C Program, focusing on sustainable agriculture, microbiology, health, environment, and climate change. These include Oeiras Experimenta (agroecosystems), MicroMundo@Oeiras (antibiotic resistance), Carbon Tree (air quality in schools), Microbioma Comunidade Portugal and SCAR (gut microbiota), SEAMIC (microbial contamination in coastal areas), Fungi: Friends or Foes and SOILED (fungi biodiversity and plastic biodegradation), PneumoFam (respiratory health and pneumococcal surveillance), and partnerships with Sombra para Todos (skin cancer prevention) and DXHub (detection of pathogenic agents in water). To date, the program has involved over 30 researchers, 400 citizen scientists, and more than 2,500 participants in public activities, resulting in scientific publications and several national and European awards. C+C represents a transformative and replicable model of shared science, promoting inclusive and equitable community engagement and collaborative research at the municipal level.