< Observatories and Laboratories
Civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship have specific histories and meanings, but they overlap to a large extent, constituting the necessary foundation for preserving and developing the autonomy and cooperation that are indispensable in the face of the current challenges of inclusion, sustainability and digitalization.
It is within this framework that CIES-Iscte's Public Sphere Laboratory has an interdisciplinary nature, with scientific and technical skills, focused on civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship.
The Laboratory aims to boost the knowledge, capacities and skills of institutions and individuals for more enlightened action in contemporary societies, specifically contributing to the fields of literacy, civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship, based on promoting research and training in these fields, and on bringing academia closer to society in general, namely by promoting citizen science and public sociology.
OBJECTIVES
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To encourage fundamental and applied scientific research into civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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Developing training on civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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Prepare and participate in projects and provide services in the areas of civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship, and in particular those involving the practices of citizen science and public sociology.
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Study and explore the opportunities created by the internet and digitalization with an impact on literacy, civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship.
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Create means of communicating scientifically generated information about contemporary societies to the public.
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To create a repository of materials on theses, measures and practices in the fields of literacy, civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology, to be made available to researchers, teachers and various operators.
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Organize events such as conferences, seminars, colloquia, etc. within the framework of civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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Create a network of partnerships involving national and international entities with a relevant role in work on civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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Publish and disseminate scientific and technical work on civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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Organize events such as conferences, seminars, colloquia, etc. on civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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Create a network of partnerships involving national and international entities with a relevant role in work on civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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Publish and disseminate scientific and technical work on civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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To build up a team of consultants with experience in civic culture, the public sphere, citizenship, citizen science and public sociology.
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To position CIES-Iscte on the academic scene as a leading player in the areas of civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship, as well as citizen science and public sociology, based on the experience and skills accumulated by its professionals.
BACKGROUND
Civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship have specific histories and meanings, but they overlap to a large extent, constituting the necessary foundation for the preservation and development of collective and individual autonomy and cooperation, which are indispensable in the face of today's challenges of inclusion, sustainability and digitalization.
The European Union, the United Nations Development Program, UNESCO and the OECD have taken a particular interest in increasing civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship.
In Portugal, some government initiatives within this framework stand out, such as the inclusion of the subject of Education for Citizenship in the educational curriculum from pre-school to secondary school, the publication of the National Strategy for Education for Citizenship, and the creation by the XXIV Constitutional Government of a new subject of “Literacy and Data” in the Pilot Project for Pedagogical Innovation (PPIP II) for secondary school.
One of the aspects of the development of civic culture, the public sphere and citizenship is citizen science, the active involvement of the public in scientific and technical tasks which, as well as enriching scientific work, fosters individuals' confidence in science and the empowerment of citizen action in society and communities, making a decisive contribution to the integration of academia and science into society as a whole.
The importance attached to citizen science in the European Union is clearly visible in the support for the creation of the EU-Citizen.Science platform and the foundation of the European Citizen Science Association, which includes a working group dedicated to the development of citizen science in universities. This importance is also reflected in the significance of citizen science projects for public policies in the European Science Hub and the Horizon Program projects.
The recent creation of the Portuguese Citizen Science Network and the variety of projects registered there demonstrate the growing interest in this practice in Portuguese society too.
In the particular field of sociology, the work carried out within the scope of public sociology as an expansion of sociology outside of academia is also widely recognized, as referenced in the Routledge International Handbook of Public Sociology, in the extensive publication of a series of books dedicated to public sociology by the University of Bristol, and in the development of specific branches of activity such as Community-Engaged Research (CER) within the scope of the American Sociological Association.
ACTIVITIES
“SemTxt” - CIES: publishing statistical information on social networks
“Blended Intensive Program” (BIP - Erasmus) on “Citizen Science and Urban Sustainability”, with Bern University for Applied Sciences, Universidad de Huelva, and University of Zilina (Pioneer Aliance).
TEAM
The lab's team includes researchers, teachers and technical professionals with experience working in various thematic areas such as education and training, literacy, science and citizen science, communication, politics and citizenship, and digitization.
Members of the Laboratory
provisional list
Cláudia Álvares
José Luís Casanova
Luis Capucha
Marta Entradas
Nuno Nunes
Patrícia Ávila
Teresa Patrício
Teresa Seabra
Tiago Carvalho
Tiago Lapa
Laboratory Advisory Board
provisional list
António Firmino da Costa – Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia, CIES-Iscte
Craig Calhoun – Arizona State University, United States of America
João Teixeira Lopes – Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Sociologia da Universidade do Porto
Maria das Dores Guerreiro – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Iscte-IUL, e Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia, CIES-Iscte
Nuno Videira – Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Virgílio Borges Pereira – Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Sociologia da Universidade do Porto
CONTACT
