Participation in Societal Impact of Science conference
The Societal Impact of Science conference is an annual event organised by the Network for Advancing and Evaluating the Societal Impact of Science (AESIS Network) that features experts from within and outside the science ecosystem discussing and connecting science to society. The 2023 edition was held on 19-21 June in Halifax, Canada. Matias Barberis, FUTURESILIENCE project manager, was invited to chair a session on citizen engagement, aimed at discussing on challenges and opportunities in engaging citizens to understand scientific evidence and its role in public policy.
The FUTURESILIENCE project was featured in the session, presenting an overview of the citizen engagement process in the process of building resilience. He explained that "Citizens should understand the impact of their participation in the science to policy process”. Moreover, he presented the ‘Future Resilience labs’ approach as way to connect citizens with science and policymakers. Matias explained that "increasing trust in science and empowering the public to understand and engage with scientific results can provide legitimacy to evidence-based policy solutions and increase resilience in the long term."