The First Edition of the 'Citizen Laboratories' of the Library ends

Raul Garcia Hemonnet

Finally there have been 14 projects that have been developed, of the most varied topics, although always related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

Many of the activities have been carried out in collaboration with schools and institutes of the municipalities where the URJC is based, others with citizen associations of the different localities

The activities that have been carried out are 'Math surrounds you', 'Commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the annexation of Vicálvaro to Madrid', 'Saving the planet waste by waste', 'Building the city: small urban planners', 'Basic media literacy : graphic design (design your own t-shirt or poster)', 'From reflection to action, the university as an agent of community mental health', 'Media Literacy Laboratory: advertising and education for the SDGs', 'Guide to Good Information and Communication Technologies Practices', 'Laboratory on Public Health Care Policies for people in situations of prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation', 'Landscape Resources Laboratory'. Three other laboratories, of the 14 selected, could not be carried out for reasons of participation or health.

According to Mayte García Ruíz, technical coordinator of the citizen laboratories of the BURJC, "the laboratories have been very well received and several of them will continue, although we have had difficulties due to the dates of completion when starting them up. ”.

The laboratories have been carried out on all the university campuses and have enabled "university professors and students to collaborate with other citizens", says Mayte García Ruíz, who adds that "this initiative has allowed the collaboration of the URJC, through its library, with institutes, schools and associations, creating links and opening the door to future joint projects”.

These actions are city projects, promoted by different agents such as librarians and teachers, who seek to create new knowledge through workshops where generational encounters take place that enrich the experience. The laboratories emerge as a meeting area, for free experimentation, where users and neighbors can share and promote skills that they cannot practice in other places.

These laboratories are part of the Distributed Citizen Laboratories initiative, a collaborative project between the General Subdirectorate for Library Coordination (Ministry of Culture and Sports of Spain) and Medialab Prado (Madrid City Council).