Groundwater knowledge and research in the European Union is often scattered and non-standardised, because of different subjects involved and different approaches from Member States. The Horizon2020 project KINDRA has conducted an EU-wide assessment of existing groundwater-related practical and scientific knowledge based on a new Hydrogeological Research Classification System, identifying more than 280 keywords related to three main categories (namely Operational Actions, Research topics and Societal Challenges) to be intersected in a 3D-diagram approach. The classification is supported by a web-service, the European Inventory of Groundwater Research, which acts not only as knowledge repository but also as a tool to help identify relevant research topics, existing research trends and critical research challenges. The records have been uploaded during the project by 20 national experts from National Associations of Geologists, under the umbrella of the European Federation of Geologists. The total number of metadata included in the inventory at the end of the project are about 2300, and the analysis of the results is considered useful for producing synergies, implementing policies and optimising water management in Europe. By the use of additional indicators, the database content has been analysed by occurrence of keywords, type of document, level of innovation. Using the three-axes classification, more easily understandable by 2D diagrams as bubble plots, occurrence and relationship of different topics (main categories) in groundwater research have been highlighted. This article summarizes the activities realized in relation to the common classification system and to the metadata included in the EIGR, showing the distribution of the collected information in different categories and attributes identified by the classification.
<p>The Platform for Atlantic Geohazard Risk Management (AGEO) is a project co-financed under the Interreg Programme for the Atlantic Area that aims to launch five Citizens&#8217; Observatory pilots on geohazards according to regional priorities:</p><ul><li>Citizens&#8217; observatory on rockfalls and rockfall-triggers in the <strong>Canary Islands, Spain</strong></li> <li>Citizens&#8217; observatory on rockfalls and rockfall-triggers in <strong>Giants' Causeway and Carrick-a-rede, Northern Ireland</strong></li> <li>Multihazard Citizens Observatory in <strong>Lisbon, Portugal</strong></li> <li>Citizens&#8217; observatory of slope instability monitoring in <strong>Madeira island, Portugal</strong></li> <li>Citizens&#8217; observatory of vulnerability to coastal Risks in <strong>Brittany, france</strong></li> </ul><p>These pilots will demonstrate how citizens&#8217; involvement in geohazard risks prevention can strengthen regional and national risk management systems. The consortium is led by the Instituto Superior T&#233;cnico (Portugal) andcounts with several other partners from Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom.</p><p>Experiences gained during the implementation of the Citizens&#8217; Observatory pilots will be used to formulate recommendations for the creation of future observatories in response to the widest range of hazards (both natural and human-induced) faced in the Atlantic region. Engaging citizens in Citizens Observatories requires the development of outreach strategies seeking to understand expectations and develop attitudes, behaviours and competencies relevant for the aims and activities of the observatories.</p><p>The AGEO Consortium identified and targeted relevant stakeholders using Mendelow&#8217;s (1991) power-interest matrix, and developed perceptual maps of stakeholders, adapted for each of the five Citizens&#8217; Observatory pilots. This approach was the basis for the development of tailored value propositions formulated to raise awareness on geohazards&#160; and mobilize citizens participation.</p><p>AGEO is also using storytelling to inspire the general public to action and emotionally implicate non-specialised audiences. This approach is being used to educate children at school age and to reach their parents (in the pilot regions).</p><p>&#160;</p><p>&#160;</p><p>Mendelow, A. L., 1991. Environmental Scanning: The Impact of the Stakeholder Concept. Proceedings from the Second International Conference on Information Systems 407-418. Cambridge, MA.https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis1981/20/</p>
<p>In recent years, several documents have been published in Europe on the shortage of skilled employees in key scientific professions. Geosciences, especially the raw materials and mining engineering sectors are no exception. One possible factor that contributes to this phenomenon is that the overall gender pattern in geosciences is imbalanced. It is characterised, more or less, by men in almost all parts of the business clusters, in society and professional communities as well as in education, research & innovation and in policy & decision making. The project ENGIE aims to improve the situation by turning the interest of young girls to study geosciences and geo-engineering with the help of a stakeholder collaboration network implementing a set of concrete actions in more than 20 EU countries.</p><p>The project is funded by EIT RawMaterials and started in January 2020 and, despite the challenges caused by COVID-19, it has achieved some significant results. First and foremost, the recent status of geo-education and the interest of young girls for geosciences was assessed via a concise survey targeting specifically secondary school students and teachers. This survey also aimed to identify any possible bottlenecks dissuading young girls to embark on a geoscientific profession. In addition to a comprehensive analysis and national workshops in 20 countries, an international online event was organised with the participation of successful women &#8211; all being role models within the global geoscientific and engineering community &#8211; in order to better understand the motivation that influenced their career choices, as well as obstacles that they were facing pursuing their career choices.</p><p>Regarding the actions focused on the target group, we organised an online video contest where girls were asked to film what they think geoscientists do at work. Additionally, some geo-activities linked to Researchers' Night events were held throughout Europe during autumn 2020. However, most of the ENGIE actions targeting young girls are planned to be carried out in 2021 and 2022 and should include the following: activities organised at University Open Days and Girls&#8217; Day side events, family science events and school science clubs, fieldtrips, mine visits, mentoring programmes, Researchers&#8217; Nights geoscience events, webinars, photo contest for girls, methodology course for science teachers and last but not least publishing the ENGIE Magazine. The current health crisis will, however, undoubtedly have an effect on the nature and or the schedule of the implementation of these actions as many of them might need to be moved to the online spheres or might be delayed by a few months.</p><p>The implementation of these actions at the national level will serve as the basis for the development of a long-term EU-level initiative, bringing together a stakeholder network focused on the continuous motivation of girls to embark on geoscientific careers.</p><p>Thus, the prolongation of project activities, supported by a sustainability plan, is envisaged. It is expected that future employers will be willing to invest in maintaining the ENGIE network, a 'network that works&#8217; and thus help create a strong and more gender-balanced workforce in Europe.</p>
<p>&#8220;ENGIE - Encouraging Girls to Study Geosciences and Engineering&#8221; is an EIT Raw Materials funded project aimed to raise the interest of girls aged 13-18 for studying geosciences and related engineering disciplines. The final objective of the Project is to achieve gender equality in the future of geosciences as well as understanding the reasons for the gender imbalance and early female disinterest in geosciences and creating best practices for the future.</p><p>In EGU 2021, ENGIE presented the objectives and key messages from the project. Since then, the project has organized actions in 25 countries counting with a total of 11.117 participants, 64% of them girls. &#160;During the implementation of the actions the participants and partners have been part of the Impact Assessment carried out during said activities. Out of 11.117 participants only 939 answered the questionnaire to its completion. The variations in countries, demographics and, most often, the type of activity they participated is noticeable and could point out to the reasons for this low participation.</p><p>There has been a double approach into ensuring the assessment is correct and the results are pertinent by gathering feedback both from participants and organisers of the actions. For the participants, a short questionnaire in their national language created specifically for the targeted age and expertise that allows for quantitative and qualitative analysis and is in the process of being reformulated taking into account the lessons learnt this year.</p><p>As for the organisers, ENGIE&#8217;s Impact Assessment is based on ensuring coherence with the objectives and the communication the three key messages of the project:</p><ul><li>Changing circumstances not individuals</li> <li>Challenging rather than reproducing inequalities</li> <li>Taking variations into account</li> </ul><p>The double analysis carried out through these questionnaires and the wide extension of the ENGIE actions can show a glimpse of the most interesting actions for girls, as well as creating a baseline for tackling gender inequality in geosciences during COVID-19 times. The reformulation of the questions and adding of new feedback measures (wordclouds, forum questions&#8230;) by applying lessons learnt and comments from the collaborating stakeholders in more than 20 countries has been considered..</p><p>In 2021, ENGIE presented the main concepts and objectives of the project as well as the actions planned. In 2022, the implementations and assessment of the project during the present running time is to be presented as well as evaluated and analysed in order to disseminate ENGIE&#8217;s recommendations to organize and assess actions targeted at improving gender equality in geosciences.</p>
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