GreenSCENT: Scope and Strenghs

Alessandra Aurelio (Engineering Ingegneria Informatica team) – 27th of February 2024

Citizens must actively address climate change and other harmful human actions that impact the environment on land, air, and sea. To promote sustainable behaviours among citizens, changes are necessary in their consumer habits. This can be achieved through education, raising awareness, citizen science, observing and monitoring environmental impacts, civic engagement, and social innovation. The GreenSCENT project primary objective is to create a comprehensive Competence Framework, but it also focuses on maximizing citizen involvement and engagement.

GreenSCENT offers a range of activities that involve different levels of engagement, from informative and awareness-raising methods to active observation, data collection, and processing through simulations, mobile apps, collaborative projects, and open innovation challenges. The participatory, experimental, and hands-on approach of GreenSCENT encourages behavioural changes and the adoption of ideas from the EU Green Deal.

The GreenSCENT project has several strengths. Firstly, it offers accurate technological solutions for environmental monitoring, enabling precise data collection and better the process of identification of potential problems. The platform is also efficient, allowing for quick actions when necessary.

Additionally, it is designed to be multilingual, ensuring accessibility to users in 5 official EU languages (more languages can be added). GreenSCENT prioritizes digital accessibility and aims to engage diverse user groups in designing and validating solutions. It incorporates accessibility standards and cross-cultural approaches in developing analogic and digital demonstrators to support the GreenSCENT Competence framework.

The web platform of GreenSCENT is robust and reliable, accessible through modern web browsers that support HTML 5 standard and WebGL. The platform is developed using an advanced open-source middleware stack called MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node), which enhances the user experience. The mobile app and platform provide a user-friendly interface, enabling easy navigation, data access, and interpretation.

The design and piloting of the GreenSCENT platform involve multidisciplinary participants from various education levels, leading to a broad and consolidated audience of end-users. Over time, the technology solutions developed within the project may prove to be more cost-effective than traditional environmental protection methods. GreenSCENT drives innovation in the field of environmental protection, fostering new ideas and approaches. It also aims to raise public awareness by actively involving society in discovering and implementing effective citizen science practices.

The project empowers students and citizens, nurturing a strong interest in climate, sustainability, and environmental protection. By challenging knowledge and understanding of Green Deal topics, GreenSCENT provides opportunities for individuals to learn through hands-on experimentation and practical engagement.