Dear MARMAM community, On behalf of the organizing team of the workshop Mobilizing citizen science for marine education and conservation(ID#19/20PM4) at European Cetacean Society (ECS) 2026, we warmly invite you to participate in our workshop, which will take place on Monday, April 20th from 14-17:30 in Dundee, Scotland. This workshop is designed as an interactive space for researchers and practitioners interested in exploring how citizen science can contribute to marine mammal research, public education, and conservation. The session will combine short presentations, participatory discussion, and breakout activities to reflect on current experiences, shared challenges, and future directions in the field of citizen science. We also hope this session will provide an opportunity to exchange ideas, identify best practices and foster new collaborations among participants working in related areas. Provisional AGENDA: 14:00–14:45 – Welcome, participant introductions, and workshop overview (What even is citizen science?) 14:45–15:30 – Short presentations and case studies Speakers: Sofia Bonicalza, Lorenzo Gordigiani, and Emily Cunningham 15:30–15:45 – Plenary discussion 'Benefits and challenges in citizen science projects for marine mammal conservation' 15:45–16:00 – Coffee break 16:00–16:30 – Breakout group discussions on (1) data quality, (2) participant engagement, (3) ethics and (4) from data to conservation impact. 16:30–17:15 – Plenary synthesis and identification of best practices for effective citizen science 17:15–17:30 – Closing discussion and networking If you are interested in attending, we would be delighted to welcome you. You can find more information about the workshop and how to register on the website of the ECS Conference: https://www.europeancetaceansociety.eu/conference-workshops-37. The deadline to register is April 10. We particularly encourage participation from colleagues working across different taxa, regions, and methodological approaches, as we believe that a broad exchange of perspectives will greatly enrich the discussion. Thank you very much for your attention. We hope to see many of you there. With best wishes, Eleonora Barbaccia (Politecnico di Milano, Italy) & Wiebke Homes (Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, Germany) Eleonora Barbaccia PhD Candidate Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA) Politecnico di Milano Campus Leonardo, Ed/Bd 4 Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy eleonora.barbaccia@polimi.it | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleonora-barbaccia-0b294a230/> [https://www.areacre.polimi.it/logos/logo_polimi_135.png]<https://www.polimi.it/> [cid:7f891a99-a827-4da0-acfd-d5ba6fcf2694]
