PHAROS at ECSA 2026: Building Connections for Blue Schools and Citizen Science

• March 5, 2026

The PHAROS project was represented at the European Citizen Science Association Conference 2026 (ECSA 2026), held from 3 to 6 March at the University of Oulu, Finland.

The conference, themed “Citizen Science between Centre and Periphery,” brought together more than 600 participants and featured over 325 contributions spanning workshops, panels, roundtables, and poster sessions.

Sharing the MINKA Challenge

The CSIC PHAROS team took part in a workshop session dedicated to teaching citizen science and building capacity through education and training. During the session, the team presented the PHAROS MINKA challenge, highlighting how the platform supports students and teachers in engaging directly with environmental monitoring and marine biodiversity. The discussions underlined the role citizen science can play in making ocean literacy practical and accessible in educational settings.

Expanding the Blue Schools Network

Beyond the formal programme, the conference provided space for a series of informal exchanges with European initiatives working at the intersection of citizen science, marine biodiversity, and ocean education. The CSIC team connected with projects including ICEBERG, MEDiverSEAty, ProBleu, Citizens4Waters, and CSMATCH.

These conversations focused on identifying shared approaches to participatory environmental monitoring and exploring opportunities to expand the network of European Blue Schools. Of particular interest were contacts with practitioners and organisations based in Ireland and Iceland, regions where PHAROS is actively looking to develop new Living Lab connections in the coming phase of the project.

A Growing Network

ECSA 2026 reinforced what the PHAROS project continues to demonstrate across its activities: that citizen science is most effective when it is embedded in communities, schools, and local networks rather than applied from the outside. The connections made in Oulu will feed directly into efforts to grow the Blue Schools network and strengthen the reach of the MINKA citizen science observatory across Europe.

The PHAROS project is funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe and works to restore marine ecosystems across the Atlantic and Arctic basins through nature-based solutions, citizen science, and community engagement.