EU-CONEXUS RFS seeks to engage public through science popularization in a new online open access journal

Popular science plays a pivotal role in making scientific research accessible to individuals of all ages. It disseminates complex information in a language that appeals to youth and adults alike, reaching towards the ultimate goal to democratize science.

In line with its mission to bring science closer to the society, the EU-CONEXUS Research for Society (RFS) project partners have launched an online open access popular science journal, titled Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability. It is available to all stakeholders, industry representatives, policy makers, researchers, students, and the general public.

Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability aims to popularize and deconstruct peer-reviewed scientific articles written by researchers from EU-CONEXUS partner universities. Articles published in this journal have already been published in open access repositories and/or scientific journals. The journal features 7 articles, covering diverse topics such as seismic risk, smart cities, adaptation to climate change on the coastline, and others.

In a society driven by knowledge, ensuring that scientific information is understandable to the wider public is crucial for:

• Building trust in science;
• Generating a strong, lasting interest in relevant topics;
• Encouraging citizens to engage with current and upcoming issues in the field of science.

Doc. dr. sc. Drahomira Cupar, University of Zadar, Croatia
It is crucial to bring science to citizens and make our scientific achievements more approachable and useful in everyday life. This journal gives researchers a unique opportunity to speak to a broader audience, share their thoughts and ideas beyond scientific communities, and see how they can make an actual impact in our environment. It also challenges researchers to present their work in a more approachable way. Finally, this journal can also serve as a sandbox for rethinking ideas and presenting them in new angles. We hope that this journal will be recognized by the EU-CONEXUS Alliance as a trustworthy, open platform where science is presented to non-scientists in an appealing manner, seeking to make a greater impact.    

This initiative aims to raise public awareness of societal, economic and environmental challenges in urban coastal areas and share the scientific endeavours of the EU-CONEXUS Alliance with the society. Explore!