During the end of October until the beginning of November, biofaction and the EU Horizon project, deCYPher we have organised 4 citizen engagement events to let citizens decide which plant compounds matter most for them. They rated flavonoids and terpenoids based on what mattered to them – environmentally, socially, personally. The goal is to create a ranked list of compounds, of which the top 3-5 would be used to create open science starter kits.
Over 100 people joined us in Ghent, Vienna, Barcelona and Vilnius to have a conversation about AI, plant compounds, and synthetic biology. We partnered with some fantastic organizations to make it happen: Scivil in Belgium, Science for Change in Spain, and Vilnius University Library in Lithuania. And the event in Austria was hosted by Biofaction.
During the workshop, citizens learned about the deCYPher project and how we’re using AI to engineer microorganisms that can produce flavonoids and terpenoids more sustainably. With the whole team and in collaboration with the deCYPher scientist, we produced two films for two discussion blocks. In order to make the compounds tangible and meaningful to citizens, we also designed 14 character play cards to introduce them, how they are produced and what their applications are. People engaged in discussions with real curiosity about the research, as well as flavonoids and terpenoids in everyday life. They asked critical questions about EU research, how science gets funded and contributed to lively discussions.
These events brought citizens and scientists together to talk about research in ways that actually matter. Citizens took the opportunity to ask all their questions about synthetic biology.
Check out the full article with more photos on the deCYPher website.
