Panel on ’The Role of Citizen Science in Advancing and Promoting Faunistics in Serbia’

Organised by the Academy Board for the Study of Fauna of Serbia, the panel titled ’The Role of Citizen Science in Advancing and Promoting Faunistics in Serbia’ is to be held on Tuesday, 18 November, at 10:00 a.m. at the SASA Hall 2.

A year ago, the first panel addressing citizens’ participation in faunistics research and their contribution to the advancement and promotion of this field in Serbia was held. The conference was organised for the broad public, with particular attention given to the representatives of the academic community, state authorities and institutions working in science and nature protection (relevant ministries, Centre for the Promotion of Science, Institute for Nature Conservation, Environmental Protection Agency, representatives of protected area management bodies). The conference was successful, sparked significant interest and brought together an impressive number of participants. In addition to the successful presentations, lively and constructive discussions were particularly noteworthy, as well as the conclusion that panels on this topic should be continued.

In line with this, the Academy Board for the Study of the Fauna of Serbia has included the panel ‘The Role of Citizen Science in Advancing and Promoting Faunistics in Serbia’ in its 2025 annual programme. The topics to be discussed include ‘Ways of Applying Citizen Science in Fish Research’, ‘Data on Diurnal Butterflies and Their Importance’, and ‘Citizens’ Contributions to Research on Vectors and Vector-borne Pathogens and Their Role in Raising Public Health Awareness’.

The Organising Board consists of Academician Radmila Petanović, SASA Corresponding Member Željko Tomanović and Mirjana Lenhardt, PhD, principal research fellow at the Institute for Biological Research ’Siniša Stanković’, a National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, who will also be the panel moderator.