Under the umbrella of this year's annual theme, three sub-themes will be developed in respective working groups:
Working group ‘Research Data': Research data are essential components of scientific work. It is generated during the preparation, realisation and documentation of research processes and forms the basis of scientific findings. An interdisciplinary understanding of research data makes it possible to look at complex problems from different perspectives and to combine different data sources and methods when collecting and analysing them. ‘Open data’ and “open science” promote the efficiency, transparency and reproducibility of science. In addition, the open exchange of data can accelerate the research process, as resources are utilised more efficiently and duplication of work is avoided. We are interested in how scientists from different disciplines define research data and which specific types of data they use in their work and how. We are also looking at how ‘open data’ and ‘open science’ can be considered and implemented more often.
Working group ‘Rights of Nature’: We are looking at the question of who can and should speak for nature. In times of digitalisation and against the backdrop of increasing environmental problems, we are discussing how we can enforce the rights of nature in practice. We are particularly interested in the interfaces between law, ethics and technology. Specifically, we ask: Which actors are best suited to enforce natural rights? How can we ensure that decisions to protect nature are made at the right level? And what role do digital technologies play in this?
Working group ‘Democracy promotion’: Although most people in society and academia could agree on “more democracy”, democracy remains a contested concept. What exactly constitutes democracy is controversial - and perhaps that is in the nature of things. At the same time, we can observe how democracy is coming under pressure from various sides: from economic interests, from disinformation and conspiracy thinking or from violent ideologies. What degree of polarisation can democracy withstand and how much (dis)unity is necessary for a functioning society? As scientists, we also play a role in this discussion and influence social debates through our research and science communication. As an interdisciplinary working group, we deal with current challenges and threats to democracy, how democracy promotion measures can be effectively implemented and what effects and side effects certain measures have.
