Conference on Odour Management & Citizen Science | Speakers – October 14

French, born in Mexico, graduated from ‘Sciences-Po Paris’, the College of Europe (Bruges) and the MBA of Solvay Business School (Brussels), Colombe Warin has always worked in the field of European Affairs in Brussels.

Colombe began her professional career in the non-profit sector coordinating European projects, and organising EU-wide events. She then moved to a Communication Agency specialised in developing communication campaigns, such as the EU Sustainable Energy Week. 

She joined the European Commission in 2011, and is today Project Adviser in charge of a portfolio of research & innovation projects focusing on the European Green Deal.

She also gives lectures at Sciences-Po Paris, in the Master of Public Affairs (Policy Lab).

She speaks French, English and Spanish.

Linden Farrer is a Policy Officer in the European Commission’s DG Research & Innovation “Open Science” unit. For several years he has been promoting societal engagement, citizen science, and open scientific collaboration across the European Union’s research and innovation funding programmes and policies. Before joining the Commission he worked on EU-funded research projects for civil society organisations focused on public health and social affairs in Brussels, and for a local government in the south-east of England on employability and labour market activation. His background is in the social sciences and humanities.

Ms. Nora Salas Seoane, Psychologist, Psychotherapist and Master of Social Sciences in Anthropology. Social Sciences Researcher at Ibercivis Foundation and Social Researcher and Emotional Intelligence Officer at Science for Change. She has experience as a Psychologist in Clinical Psychology and social intervention projects facilitating group dynamics and community mobilization. She has worked as a Social Scientist coordinating social intervention and International Cooperation projects within Gender Studies, Migratory Movements & Interculturalism and Social Anthropology with communities across Europe and Africa. At the D-NOSES project, she has focused on the community engagement, participatory and co-creation strategies in the case studies plus its Gender Mainstreaming and Inclusiveness dimensions. Currently involved in conducting participatory qualitative research with women with endometriosis using participatory strategies and co-design methodologies in the TRANSFORM project as well as coaching in several citizen science initiatives in STEP CHANGE.

Ms. Rosa Arias, Chemical Engineer, Odour and Citizen Science expert, CEO and Founder of Science for Change, creator of the App OdourCollect (prize singular project #Prismas2021) and Coordinator of the D-NOSES project (Distributed Network for Odour Sensing, Empowerment and Sustainability), which has developed an innovative methodology to co-create alternative solutions to monitor odour pollution through citizen science and participatory strategies. She is also the Coordinator of the NEWSERA project – to co-design innovative communication strategies to reach quadruple helix stakeholders – and the Catalan cluster of the TRANSFORM project – to introduce citizen science into the Catalan S3 to boost innovation and evidence-based policies. She is an active member of the Spanish initiative “Science in the Parliament”, which has promoted the creation of a Science Office to inform the Spanish Parliament. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA).

Beatrice obtained her Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in 2020 with a thesis about the combination of the results obtained by the odour analyses of urine samples by means GC-MS and electronic nose for early prostate cancer detection. She is currently a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, working on the development of data processing and analysis methods for electronic noses industrial applications.

Louise discovered the power of maps through her early research in evolutionary genetics and the environment. She moved on from there to combine people, places, the environment and maps in her work and research, which led to the CREATION of Mapping for Change, a University College London spin-out SOCIAL ENTERPRISE. Louise has led over 60 bespoke projects to the public, private and third sectors over the last 20 years. She has worked extensively on PARTICIPATORY MAPPING; COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT and CITIZEN SCIENCE programmes on topics spanning local pollution monitoring to planning, from exploring issues of accessibility to looking at citizenship and social housing issues. She has extensive experience working with a diverse range of grass-roots organisations, in the UK, Caribbean, mainland Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Katharina BUSE is Project Advisor in European Research Executive Agency (REA). Within the unit ‘Reforming European Research & Innovation and Research Infrastructure’, she is in charge of a portfolio of citizen science projects, aiming at deepening the European Research Area. Before joining REA, she has notably worked for the European Commission and the European External Action Service in policy and programme management positions. Her background is in political science and public administration.

Seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience leading democracy strengthening initiatives in Latin America and the world on public participation, access to public information, conflict resolution and environmental issues. Has worked as an international consultant and advisor of NGOs and governments in strategic planning, program development, participatory processes, outreach and  advocacy campaigns. 

 Andrea was elected in 2014 Representative of the public of the Escazú Latin American and Caribbean Agreement on access to public information, participation and justice on environmental issues. The Escazú Agreement was adopted by 24 countries in March, 2014 in Costa Rica.

Andrea  is working with several local communities in Chile on advocacy strategies to address environmental problems they face and also on topics of open government.

María has got an academic background in environmental sciences and rural development. She has devoted her life to promote sustainable development and improved living environments both personally and professionally. With over eleven years’ worth of experience working for NGOs and Social Enterprises across Europe, María has delivered projects ranging from sustainable mobility to short food supply chains. She joined the Mapping for Change team in 2016 and embraced the power of maps as a tool to gather and to produce data as well as to enable interactions with various stakeholders. Aiming to improve her community engagement skills, she is currently receiving training in ‘group facilitation’.  

María has got an academic background in environmental sciences and rural development. She has devoted her life to promote sustainable development and improved living environments both personally and professionally. With over eleven years’ worth of experience working for NGOs and Social Enterprises across Europe, María has delivered projects ranging from sustainable mobility to short food supply chains. She joined the Mapping for Change team in 2016 and embraced the power of maps as a tool to gather and to produce data as well as to enable interactions with various stakeholders. Aiming to improve her community engagement skills, she is currently receiving training in ‘group facilitation’.