Lower levels of news use are generally understood to be associated with less political engagement among citizens. But while some people simply have a low preference for news, others avoid the news intentionally. So far little is known about the relationship between active news avoidance and civic engagement in society, a void this study has set out to fill. Based on a four-wave general population panel survey in the Netherlands, conducted between April and July 2020 (N = 1,084) during a crisis situation, this research-in-brief investigates the development of news avoidance and pro-social civic engagement over time. Results suggest that higher news topic avoidance results in higher levels of civic engagement. The study discusses different explanations for why less news can mean more engagement.
Workpackage 8.1 of the IANOS project is dedicated to developing a community engagement strategy that can be applied in the use cases on the lighthouse islands (Ameland and Terceira) and the fellow islands (Lampedusa, Nisyros and Bora Bora). This report is the deliverable of WP8.1.Within this report an approach to designing a community engagement strategy is formulated that is rooted in scientific research and enriched by best practices from the light house islands and fellow islands.The report describes a general approach to designing a community engagement strategy, that consists of three parts. The first part is dedicated to assessing the situation and project that the community engagement strategy is dedicated to. It describes several factors that are rooted in literature on community engagement and psychological theories. Thesefactors should be assessed in order to be able to design an effective community engagement strategy. The results of this assessment will be used in the second part of the general approach, which describes a method for designing a community engagement strategy. This method is rooted in community engagement literature and draws heavily on some earlier EU projects. The method describes about ten items that together constitutethe strategy and that encompass all relevant issues that need to be addressed in designing community engagement. Finally, the third part of the general approach, describes the way the method and the assessment can be applied in a methodic and robust way. Although the general method is described as a theoretically based approach, it is substantiated not only by theoretical studies, but also by many reports on practical application of various community engagement efforts. In addition to that, all participantsfrom the islands have identified some best practices on community engagement from their own region and/or experience. These best practices are analysed according to the method of meta-analysis. The information from this meta-analysis is used to check the suitability of the general approach and leads to emphasizing those aspects of the approach that are identified as more important within the best practices.
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Health in All Policies (HiAP), a horizontal strategy connecting all relevant policy sectors, is internationally recognised as a core policy approach to improve the population’s health. For HiAP to be effective, it is recommended that both a Whole of Government and a Whole of Society approach is applied. In the Netherlands, HiAP has been in place since the late eighties of last century. Initially the focus has been on the Whole of Government approach; more recently this is amended by a national Whole of Society program.This thesis addresses the possible role of Citizen Science as a possible contribution to the knowledge base underpinning HiAP and a Whole of Society approach. Citizen Science, as the active contribution of citizens in research, links up with asset-based approachesand community participation that are key elements in modern health promotion.Key questions of the thesis were:“What are possible methods to engage citizens in developing the knowledge base for Health in All Policies (HiAP), and what are challenges and benefits of such engagement?”This thesis draws, firstly, on a theoretical exploration in which the application of Citizen Science in public health is explored. Secondly, two case studies on the application of Citizen Science in the Netherlands were performed. Thirdly, two scoping reviews wereperformed. Finally, one case study was carried out focusing on perceptions of health professionals in a Dutch city district.
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Nature areas in North-West Europe (NWE) face an increasing number of visitors (intensified by COVID-19) resulting in an increased pressure on nature, negative environmental impacts, higher management costs, and nuisance for local residents and visitors. The high share of car use exaggerates these impacts, including peak pressures. Furthermore, the almost exclusive access by car excludes disadvantaged people, specifically those without access to a car. At the same time, the urbanised character of NWE, its dense public transport network, well-developed tourism & recreation sector, and presence of shared mobility providers offers ample opportunities for more sustainable tourism. Thus, MONA will stimulate sustainable tourism in and around nature areas in NWE which benefits nature, the environment, visitors, and the local economy. MONA will do so by encouraging a modal shift through facilitating sustainableThe pan-European Innovation Action, funded under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, aims to promote innovative governance processes ,and help public authorities in shaping their climate mitigation and adaptation policies. To achieve this aim, the GREENGAGE project will leverage citizens’ participation and equip them with innovative digital solutions that will transform citizen’s engagement and cities’ effectiveness in delivering the European Green Deal objectives for carbon neutral cities.Focusing on mobility, air quality and healthy living, citizens will be inspired to observe and co-create their cities by sensing their urban environments. The aim to complement, validate, and enrich information in authoritative data held by the public administrations and public agencies. This will be facilitated by engaging with citizens to co-create green initiatives and to develop Citizen Observatories. In GREENGAGE, Citizen Observatories will be a place where pilot cities will co-examine environmental issues integrating novel bottom-up process with top-down perspectives. This will provide the basis to co-create and co-design innovative solutions to monitor environmental problems at ground level with the help of citizens.With two interrelated project dimensions, the project aims to enhance intelligence applied to city decision-making processes and governance by engaging with citizen observations integrated with Copernicus, GEOSS, in-situ, and socio-economic intelligence, and by delivering innovative governance models based on novel toolboxes of decision-making methodologies and technologies. The envisioned citizens observatory campaigns will be deployed and fully demonstrated in 5 pilot engagements in selected European cities and regions including: Bristol (the United Kingdom), Copenhagen (Denmark), Turano / Gerace (Italy) and the region of Noord Brabant (the Netherlands). These innovation pilots aim to highlight the need for smart city governance by promoting citizen engagement, co-creation, gathering new data which will complement existing datasets and evidence-based decision and policymaking.
In dit project wordt onderzocht hoe je burgers niet alleen kunt betrekken maar ook aan het roer kunt zetten bij de invulling van de ambitieuze doelstelling om als stad energieneutraal te worden.Een Positive Energy District (PED) brengt alle elementen van de energietransitie samen op een locatie: energieopwek, energieopslag, energiegebruik, energiebesparing, balancering en transport. Ontwikkeling, eigenaarschap en acceptatie van dit nieuwe socio-technische arrangement zijn onderwerp van het onderzoek. In het nieuwe speelveld komen volgens Grunneger Power niet 2 helften, maar drie helften bij elkaar: burgers, bedrijfsleven en overheden. Wij menen dat er nog een vierde belangrijke speler is: kennisinstellingen. Dit betekent dat een transdisciplinaire benadering van het onderzoek gewenst is, waarin het centrale thema wordt benaderd vanuit verschillende disciplines enerzijds en diverse maatschappelijke stakeholders anderzijds.In het onderzoek wordt een aanpak ontwikkeld die aansluit bij de beleving van gewone burgers. De aanpak identificeert concrete stappen die burgers kunnen nemen en benoemt randvoorwaarden die borgen dat zij daartoe ook de ruimte krijgen. Deze randvoorwaarden hebben onder meer betrekking op het beleid van de gemeente, de manier waarop het PED, inclusief technische en sociale aspecten, wordt ingericht, welke oplossingen bedrijven aanbieden, en tenslotte hoe de lokale energiebeweging en hun achterban optimaal bij het PED betrokken kunnen worden.De ontwikkeling van de City Vision 2050 in WP1 begint met het betrekken van burgers: 'Launching a co-creation process, engaging stakeholders and citizens from the very beginning. This can facilitate the early identification of social barriers and foster future acceptance of the changes.' Ook in de 'Follower Cities' is dit het geval: 'Citizen and stakeholders engagement. Once the area is selected, the engagement strategy will be launched to ensure a relevant participation of local actors in the process, in order to maximize acceptability and replicability. At least civic centres and individual citizens will be invited to participate in some sessions, focused on collecting needs and opinions and making them participants of the definition process.'(p.46).In dit project wordt onderzocht hoe je burgers niet alleen kunt betrekken maar ook aan het roer kunt zetten bij de invulling van de ambitieuze doelstelling om als stad energieneutraal te worden.Een Positive Energy District (PED) brengt alle elementen van de energietransitie samen op een locatie: energieopwek, energieopslag, energiegebruik, energiebesparing, balancering en transport. Ontwikkeling, eigenaarschap en acceptatie van dit nieuwe socio-technische arrangement zijn onderwerp van het onderzoek. In het nieuwe speelveld komen volgens Grunneger Power niet 2 helften, maar drie helften bij elkaar: burgers, bedrijfsleven en overheden. Wij menen dat er nog een vierde belangrijke speler is: kennisinstellingen. Dit betekent dat een transdisciplinaire benadering van het onderzoek gewenst is, waarin het centrale thema wordt benaderd vanuit verschillende disciplines enerzijds en diverse maatschappelijke stakeholders anderzijds.In het onderzoek wordt een aanpak ontwikkeld die aansluit bij de beleving van gewone burgers. De aanpak identificeert concrete stappen die burgers kunnen nemen en benoemt randvoorwaarden die borgen dat zij daartoe ook de ruimte krijgen. Deze randvoorwaarden hebben onder meer betrekking op het beleid van de gemeente, de manier waarop het PED, inclusief technische en sociale aspecten, wordt ingericht, welke oplossingen bedrijven aanbieden, en tenslotte hoe de lokale energiebeweging en hun achterban optimaal bij het PED betrokken kunnen worden.De ontwikkeling van de City Vision 2050 in WP1 begint met het betrekken van burgers: 'Launching a co-creation process, engaging stakeholders and citizens from the very beginning. This can facilitate the early identification of social barriers and foster future acceptance of the changes.' Ook in de 'Follower Cities' is dit het geval: 'Citizen and stakeholders engagement. Once the area is selected, the engagement strategy will be launched to ensure a relevant participation of local actors in the process, in order to maximize acceptability and replicability. At least civic centres and individual citizens will be invited to participate in some sessions, focused on collecting needs and opinions and making them participants of the definition process.'(p.46).
The primary objective of this research is to develop the new practical methodology of "Vocalising Resonance", as a development of existing methods. The approach intends to involve artists and citizens in a multi-sensory engagement with their surrounding environment, by collectively utilizing the 'physical', non-semantic voice as a tool for communication. This methodology's creation is rooted in the application of artistic research to well-formulated arguments within contemporary humanities studies. It also incorporates existing approaches for engaging with sound and voice in a multisensory and multidisciplinary manner. Musicologist, Nina Eidsheim argues that music research should not solely focus on the figure of sound, but should also delve into the materiality of sound as vibration (Eidsheim, Sensing Sound). Similarly, this research aims to explore the voice as an experience connected to the whole body and senses, rather than simply hearing. Several existing strategies offer starting points. The second objective of this research is to investigate how the proposed methodology of "Vocalising Resonance" may have a transformative impact on participants' consciousness, by increasing their exposure to diversity and facilitating their realisation that persons in the literal meaning of the word are “the speaking through - sonare + per- the masks that make up our social selves”(Scapp, A Question of Voice). Broadening the scope beyond traditional norms, the project paves the way for a more inclusive, sensorially rich understanding of performing arts, inviting a holistic approach that goes beyond typical categorisations, enhancing the immersive nature of performances. It prompts reflections on the significance of an audience to define a voice, the essence of a voice irrespective of language, and how the non-semantic use of voice serves as a powerful interdisciplinary communication tool within abstract performance contexts. This process seeks to offer a new perspective and transform our practices.
