Scivil was launched on 30 January 2019, which means Scivil turned six. As is tradition, we have once again created an annual overview to look back on the past year. But this time, it's a special edition: 30 January coincided with the start of the Belgian Poetry Week - the perfect moment to share a unique reflection on 2024 in the form of a poem!

Scivil is leaving X, just like many other academic institutions, non-profits, and government services. We are following the reasoning of EU Citizen Science, which you can read here. You can now find us on Bluesky, and of course, still on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon. Plenty of options to follow us on social media!

Still unsure about making the switch to Bluesky? Dr. Gefion Thuermer has created a starter pack for the citizen science community on Bluesky.

Would you like to share your citizen science project with policymakers, researchers, and the general public? Then join the Citizen Science Fair (organised by Scivil, ECS, and ECSA) on 18 June in Brussels!

We are still looking for projects with an interactive component, where visitors can actively engage or experience something themselves. Would you like to present your project at this unique event? Sign up before 21 March!

On 1 April, the 'Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) on Public Engagement in Research & Innovation' will take place. This hybrid event is organised by the European Commission, Belspo, and Scivil and will be held at the Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, as well as online.

During the event, strategies will be discussed for structurally embedding Public Engagement in R&I policy across Europe. Would you like to join? You can register for online participation until 31 March, registrations for on-site participation is closed.

In April 2025, ECSA is launching the very first European Citizen Science Month. Would you like to showcase your project, activity, or event? Fill in the form by the end of March, and your project will be featured on ECSA's social media channels throughout April.

The campaign will conclude with a special edition of the ECSA newsletter, entirely dedicated to the initiatives that took part. This initiative is part of SciStarter’s One Million Acts of Science campaign.

The MamaMito project, which mapped the mitochondrial DNA of hundreds of participants, concluded in November. The study provided unique insights into genetic ancestry and family connections through the maternal line.

Science Magazine dedicated an article to the groundbreaking research by geneticist Maarten Larmuseau, which, among other findings, revealed that Ludwig van Beethoven is not biologically related to his contemporary namesakes. A fascinating example of how genetic genealogy uncovers hidden family stories.

On 22 May, the Flemish Research Data Network (FRDN) will gather in Brussels for their Network Day 2025 to share knowledge and experiences on Open Science (including citizen science). This event will highlight milestones from the first Open Science Policy Plan and explore future policies and international developments. Registration opens on 18 March.

Are you interested in citizen science and want to deepen your knowledge? The Natural History Museum of Denmark is organising a five-day course on applied citizen science from 4 to 8 August 2025. The course is open to PhD students and postdocs from all disciplines, as well as anyone looking to upskill professionally in the field. Registrations are now open. For more information and to register, visit the website of the Natural History Museum of Denmark.

Can artificial intelligence and machine learning enhance citizen science? In NASA’s webinar on the special issue The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Citizen Science, experts in the field discussed the opportunities, challenges, and ethical considerations of AI in citizen science. The recording of the webinar is now available.

The webinar and special issue also feature amai!, a project by Scivil and the Knowledge Centre Data & Society.

From 4 to 7 March 2026, the ECSA Conference will take place in Oulu, Finland. This edition is organised by the University of Oulu in the year that the city is also European Capital of Culture.

Do you have ideas to make the conference even more interactive and engaging? ECSA would love to hear your suggestions on how to better tailor the sessions to the community.

Each month, Scivil interviews someone about their experiences with citizen science. This month, we spoke with the initiators of the COMPAIR project: Tom Callens, Jurgen Silence and Lieven Raes, about their air quality project, which was concluded at the end of 2024.

PataFEST is hosting a webinar series from 27 March to 3 April, focusing on citizen science and public participation in the agri-food sector.

On 1 April, the final event of the MLE 'Public Engagement in Research & Innovation' will take place.

Registrations are now open for upcoming Capacity Building sessions as part of the REINFORCING project, focusing on Open Responsible Research and Innovation (ORRI). Session focus on facilitation in ORRI, What's in it for the citizens, and the Roots and evolution of ORRI, and take place between April 2nd and June 17th. 

ACCTING's Final Conference, 'Empowering Change: Building a Fair and Inclusive Green Deal,' will take place on 29 April in Brussels.

The EUSEA Conference 2025 will take place on May 14 and 15 2025, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The theme of this conference is 'Crossing Oceans - Raising Our Sails. Navigating Public Engagement in Turbulent Times.'

The 6th Open Innovation in Science Research Conference will take place from 14 to 16 May 2025 in Vienna and invites discussions on the collaboration between research and industry.

The 6th Open Innovation in Science Research Conference will take place from 14 to 16 May 2025 in Vienna and invites discussions on the collaboration between research and industry.

The final conference of the OTTERS project, 'Waves of Change,' will take place on 23–24 May in Oeiras, Portugal.

From 27 to 30 May 2025, the Conference for Advancing Participatory Sciences will take place in Portland, Oregon, USA. This multidisciplinary event will bring together people designing, researching, and facilitating citizen science, community science, volunteer monitoring, and other related research initiatives.

The Citizen Science 4 Water (CS4Water) Conference will be held from 3 to 5 June 2025 in Delft, Netherlands. The conference will focus on the crucial role of citizen science in monitoring, managing, and governing water resources, as well as community-based actions.

On 18 June, the Citizen Science Fair, organised by Scivil, ECS, and ECSA, will take place in Leopold Park, Brussels. You can register your project for the fair until 21 March.

The ECS project is organising a Cluster Event on 19 June in Brussels, focusing on 'enhancing public engagement and citizen science in the European Research Area.'

The EuroGard10 Conference will take place from 22 to 26 September in Rome, Italy. The event will bring together experts, researchers, and practitioners to explore the role of botanical gardens in biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration projects.

On 6 and 7 November 2025 the second global conference on citizen science for health will take place in Zurich, Switzerland. 

From 4 to 7 March 2026, the next edition of the ECSA Conference will be held in Oulu, Finland. Share your ideas here to make the conference even more engaging and interactive!