Thirty-eight partners from 30 European countries that are participating in the Cimu­lact (Citizen and Multi-Actor Consultation on Horizon 2020) project, recently met at the University of Malta’s Valletta campus to discuss the future impact of citizens’ visions generated during workshops held in each country.

Between October 2015 and February 2016, workshops were held in the 30 participating countries, including Malta, in which 1,500 people attended. The result was 170 visions, which were later processed and clustered.

Various meetings were subsequently held, including an additional workshop in each country and a pan-European conference, where experts and European Commission programme officers attend­ed. Based on the issues that the participants had raised, 23 research topics and 40 policy recommendations emerged from this process. These reflect citizens’ expectations, desires and concerns for the future of Europe.

The 23 topics address different challenges European citizens find in their everyday life and specify how research may address these challenges. These include, for example, how to ensure equal and holistic health services for all; how to develop evidence-based personalised healthcare; how education can be a driver for social innovation and local development, and how to achieve smarter consumption.

The 23 topics address different challenges European citizens find in their everyday life and specify how research may address these challenges

The project is based on the premise that open science is not just about making science available to people, it is also about engaging people in setting the direction for research. This was the core idea behind the project, which released 23 citi­zens’ basic suggestions for Horizon 2020 topics during the meeting in Malta.

During the meeting in Malta participants also discussed ways to increase  citizen participation as a source of information for research, regularly solicit citi­zen feedback on projects and increase participatory practices.

Prof. Sandra Dingli from the University of Malta’s Edward de Bono Institute, who hosted the meeting, commented: “It is interesting to see that three future visions gene­rated and prioritised by Maltese citizens clearly address some of the European Commission’s grand challenges, in particular those related to the environment, health and wellbeing”. These visions are: At one with nature; Access to equal and holistic health services and resources for all citizens; and Evidence-based personalised healthcare. Education, transport and technology were among the concerns and visions that the Maltese citizens focussed upon.

As one of the Maltese participants said, “with education come healthier lifestyles”. Sustainable transport was a key issue as one of the visions expressed the desire for “less traffic due to self-driving cars, higher use of scooters and bicycles”. Concerns related to technology also emerged in the Malta workshops. One person commented: “Technology is not completely at our service… What makes humans is not what humans make, and our creations should not become our creators.”

The project aims to bridge the gap between citizens and policymakers and is funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Danish Board of Technology Foundation in Copenhagen. It involves 29 partners from 30 European countries. The University of Malta’s Edward de Bono Institute are the local partners in the project.

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