Our partners from XTeam are making good progress on the development of the Scent Explore gaming app. The app will be launched this summer, and you can already have a sneak peek at the game by checking out the cute animal characters:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIsYktdt5p8RJUwCMA_ESFg
We recently spoke to Harris Georgiou, volunteer with the Hellenic Rescue Team of Attica (HRTA).
HRTA is an independent non-profit organisation, a union of citizens and a community centre consisting entirely of volunteers who offer their time, expertise, knowledge and personal effort to assist fellow citizens in cases of emergency. Read more →
Mapping and the Citizen Sensor (2017) is a new publication on the role of citizens in mapping. It offers interesting insights into citizen science in mapping and into engaging citizens and sustaining participation in scientific activities and environmental policymaking. Read more →
One of the contributions of Scent is to add data to Earth Observation systems such as GEOSS, with an overarching objective of improving the monitoring of changes in the environment, in particular in relation to land use. To this end, the latest European GEO Workshop EuroGEOSS: shaping the European contribution to GEOSS held 19th-21st June 2017 in Helsinki was an invaluable opportunity to learn of the impact that contributions to GEOSS have had on policy making and on livelihoods across Europe. The opportunity to network with fellow citizens’ observatories (CO) projects and to collaborate to produce helpful discussions about the value of citizen data in GEOSS was immensely valuable as well. Read more →
5 Northumberland Road Web: www.carrcommunications.ie
Ballsbridge
Dublin 4
Ireland
Twitter: @CarrCommsLTD
C.C.I.C.C., founded in 1973, is one of Ireland’s leading providers of dissemination, communications, exploitation, training and consultancy with over 30 full time and contract employees. The company currently provides dissemination and exploitation consultancy to a large number of private and public sector clients across Europe. The team at C.C.I.C.C. has extensive experience, understanding and qualifications in user requirements analysis, environmental protection, safety, and risk management from an operational perspective. They have also gained considerable expertise in developing and implementing communication and engagement programmes that seek to influence citizen/consumer behaviour. They have been involved in a large number of FP7 projects and are engaged in a number of H2020 projects and proposals. C.C.I.C.C. works extensively in large communication contracts requiring strategy and policy dissemination to targeted audiences and the wider population. The company is also involved in the development of strategic management, communications and exploitation plans for a number of industrial, environmental, government and public sector clients, as well as the provision of training, consultancy and exploitation support needed to implement those plans.
As experts in achieving high impact communication and exploitation success, C.C.I.C.C. will lead the work package on communication, education and exploitation activities. In addition, they will lead key tasks dealing with incentivising citizens’ participation in Scent. Furthermore, they will contribute significantly to the research, design and implementation of the citizen engagement movement.
10-12 Agonaridou & Mastracha Str. Web: www.eodathens.gr
11744 Athens
Greece
Twitter: @HRTAttica
HRTA is a purely volunteer-based Greek citizen association. The organisation, whose mission is to assist people in danger both locally and internationally, was founded in 1999 and has been growing ever since. It was created by a group of friends who voluntarily joined forces to assist the state bodies in their relief efforts during a devastating earthquake in Athens in 1999. Today HRTA has trained more than 600 members, all of whom are volunteers, and many of whom work in business or are lawyers, physicians, doctors, teachers, mountaineers, lifeguards, divers, whitewater guides, instructors, or people with diverse experience in these areas. When helping people in danger, HRTA volunteers cooperate with government and other security forces. HRTA is currently organised and trained to react in three key fields: Wilderness Search and Rescue, Water Search and Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue Assistance. Constant training in search and rescue procedures, self-rescue techniques, aid provision, medical first aid and similar topics during weekends and after working hours enables the team to be pro-active in their prevention work and prepared to provide emergency assistance as well as post-emergency humanitarian aid and relief. HRTA highly values the role Scent plays in educating the public and strengthening social responsibility and the spirit of volunteerism.
Hellenic Rescue Team Attica (HRTA) is one of Scent partners aiming to provide the perspective of a volunteer-based citizen association on the optimal characteristics of a ‘citizen observatory’. Their main focus will be on the crowd-sourcing and gaming applications of the Scent toolbox. Their input will be based on their views as normal citizens, but also as a group with extensive experience as rescuers in flood-related events and disasters. Field trips, text input and environmental data through Scent portable sensors are also part of their duties as well as mapping its networks across the EU/globe and organising local training sessions with citizens in the Kifisos area.
Via Luigi Einaudi 99 Web: www.xteamsoftware.com
45100 Rovigo
Italy
Twitter: @XteamSoftware
XTeam, based in Italy, has been operating as game production company for the past 20 years. The company specialises in the design and development of entertainment. They develop software, video games, educational software, multimedia and serious games for desktop, mobile, web and consoles. They focus on the development of algorithms, engines and visual technologies for marketing and entertainment. XTeam’s priorities include technological innovation and social justice, and they design ethical games. XTeam carries out both commercial and research activities in the area of gamification. The company is active in EU-funded research projects, such as in 3D-Tune-In, where gamification techniques are used to help fine tuning hearing aids. XTeam’s slogan is “Games are for everyone”.
XTeam will lead the work on incentivising citizens’ participation in Scent. They will oversee and lead the design and implementation of each component of the work package. XTeam will also lead an initial phase where best practices will be identified, and contribute to the definition of the game mechanisms and the citizen engagement strategy.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 688930.