Welcome to Citizen Science Vienna

CitiSEn - Citizen Science Engagement of Refugees – is a research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund’s (FWF) Top Citizen Science initiative. Through CitiSEn we aim to learn more about the situation of displaced persons from Ukraine in Austria and how they experience social inclusion.

While Austrians and other residents might have institutionalized possibilities for political and civic engagement (e. g. voting rights), displaced people usually need to rely on other means to engage within the host country’s society. But what opportunities are actually available for those who have recently left Ukraine for Austria? What initiatives or other participation options are there, and who are the actors behind it? And do these existing possibilities meet the Ukrainian refugees’ needs to feel socially included or are there gaps that should be filled out?

To answer these questions, we invite those with the most knowledge about this situation to collaborate with us in this research project: displaced persons from Ukraine currently living in Austria. You are the experts for this topic; therefore, we want to know what you are experiencing. This kind of research is what we call Citizen Science. The goal is to build a database of existing opportunities for civic and political engagement – and which options are missing.