CA17127 - Building on scientific literacy in evolution towards scientifically responsible Europeans (EuroScitizen)

As citizens, we are confronted with a deluge of information and misinformation from the internet and the mass media. Scientific literacy, i.e. the ability to critically evaluate, apply and understand scientific knowledge and how it is produced, is therefore vital for responsible citizenship. It is a prerequisite for generating a knowledge-based society and for allowing citizens to make informed decisions.  One of the most important fields of science is evolution, the foundation of modern biology. Evolutionary biology has great societal relevance and its findings have far-reaching implications for how we respond to climate change, drug resistance, issues of food security and controversies in modern medicine. However, it is frequently misunderstood or even rejected outright. This makes scientific literacy in evolution an ideal model to research approaches to improve the state of European scientific literacy. This Action will, for the first time, leverage the strengths of diverse stakeholders (evolutionary biologists, education researchers, educators, museum professionals and the media) to generate and analyse  approaches used to improve public scientific literacy. Bridging differences in culture and education systems including participants from a wide range of countries and backgrounds is a source of innovation in itself. The expected result is to identify targeted strategies to raise levels of scientific literacy in Europe, thereby maximising Europe’s innovation potential. The Action will contribute to a culture of responsible, research and innovation (RRI) and will result in a more scientifically literate European citizenship, instrumental to implementing Europe 2020’s smart, sustainable and inclusive goals.