Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation, Cristina Garmendia, has launched a voting process on the Science and Innovation Citizens Agenda project, an innovative science awareness initiative promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation as part of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.

The Science and Innovation Citizens Agenda is presenting 14 scientific and innovation challenges, presented by 14 leading European figures who have “changed our lives” thanks to their innovation, ideas or discoveries. Citizens are called to choose among those challenges the one that should be prioritary in EU's scientific policy.

This participative awareness campaign will allow European citizens to tell the heads of science and innovation in Europe what challenges they consider to be most important and that should be solved by 2030 in the areas of science and innovation.

During the event to mark the start of voting, Garmendia highlighted the value of scientific culture and social participation as necessary conditions to ensuring democratic quality in society.

She pointed out that “the participation of citizens can influence significant political decisions” and stressed the need for citizens to be able to transmit their preferences, concerns and proposals to the scientific system more clearly, something that the Citizens Agenda will allow.

Fourteen scientific challenges, fourteen European figures

These public figures include well-known personalities such as the architect Norman Foster, the biologist Jane Goodall or the physicist Juan Ignacio Cirac; as well as other less-known names whose contributions have certainly changed people's lives, such as Franck Biancheri (creator of the Erasmus grants), Karlheinz Branderburg (inventor of the mp3) or Matti Makkonen (main contributor to SMS technology).

From 22 April to 26 May people can vote for the challenge that they consider most important for the year 2030 on the initiative website. All voters will enter a prize draw for four scientific experiences, trips for two to European cities with important scientific facilities.

The European Ministers of Science and Innovation will reveal the results of this initiative during the European Council on Competitiveness, to be held in Brussels on 25 and 26 May.