Workshop on requirements (WP2) in Malta, Valletta 25-27 November 2014

The aim of the workshop was to discuss requirements of the various stakeholders relevant to citizen science in cultural heritage institutions and suggest scenarios and use cases which illustrated the methods of engagement with citizens, and the user interaction within the technological solutions used for the various research lifecycle stages.

This workshop was hosted by the LIAS Department of the University of Malta.

The event was attended by representatives of almost all project partners and local representatives from the Cultural Policy Committee, National Archives, Friends of the National Archives, Notarial Archives, St James Cavallier Centre for Creativity, and University of Malta. In addition to these participants, the workshop had four external speakers who discussed in depth citizen science experiences outside of the project from the domains of music, libraries, historical research and general e-Infrastructure issues with speakers from the Netherlands, Wales, Luxembourg and Spain.

The event combined presentations with discussions and brainstorming sessions and visits to some local cultural heritage institutions. It helped to:

• Identify the key groups of users addressed by the project (CH professionals, academics, citizens, cultural industries) as well as key stakeholders (CH institutions, funders, media, academic institutions, citizens activist organisations);
• Arrive to a better understanding on some overlapping and some specific requirements of those groups;
• Discuss how to best document the requirements for future use within the work on the roadmap.

The final agenda of the Workshop is available here.

The Workshop ended with a Visit to the National Archives in Malta that has one of the largest archival collections in Malta, spanning from the 1530s up to the current day. It is currently working on the appraisal and cataloguing of an extensive backlog of records of post-Independence Malta. It is also preparing itself to face the challenge of managing electronic records.

Keynote spekers:

“An holistic view of Citizen Science infrastructures” by Fermín Serrano Sanz (University of Zaragoza, Spain)  (PDF, 2 Mb);

“Engaging the crowd in historical research: A case study from the CVCE” by Catherine Thomas, Ghislain Sillaume (Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance de l’Europe – CVCE, Luxembourg)

“Hooked On Music: Driving Public Engagement with Citizen Science” by John Ashley Burgoyne (Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, The Netherlands)

“Crowdsourcing experiences in the National Library of Wales” by Lorna Hughes (National Library of Wales, UK)

Download the full report of the Workshop (PDF, 911 Kb)

The Workshop was held in conjunction with a Plenary Meeting devoted to the WP3 works and to discuss the next appointments of the project.

Download the presentation of the meeting:

• Welcome message by Mauro Fazio, the Project Coordinator, (PDF, 575 Kb)
• Presentation of the Civic Epistemologies project, by Antonella Fresa (PDF, 965 Kb)

Please note that some presentations (included the WP3 Roadmap presentation by Borje Justrell) are available on the Reserved Area (only for partner’s consultation).

Digital Meets Culture, as official media partner of the project, followed the Workshop with images and news in real time.

See some pictures of the meeting below:

[Show as slideshow]