What are Urban Heat Stories?

It will get hotter and hotter in the city over the next few years. The impact of heat can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood. It depends not only on the building density or the degree of sealing in the city, but also on the age and state of health of the people and their immediate living environment.

The Urban Heat Stories research project therefore collects individual heat experiences of vulnerable groups in Vienna. The aim is to make the diverse concerns and demands of city dwellers visible. 

The aim is also to develop a chatbot pilot. It should provide insights into the social dimension of heat at city level. On this basis, recommendations for sustainable urban development in the face of rising temperatures can be expanded to include a social dimension, thus integrating the needs of vulnerable groups into planning in the long term

How does Urban Heat Stories work?

The main cooperation partners are the city's residents. In a two-part workshop, they first map their locations in the public space around their homes. The temperatures of the localized places are investigated using mobile sensors in a joint perceptual and exploratory walk. The measured temperatures are compared with the personal perception of heat. This provides a basis for discussion of the Urban Heat Stories. These stories are the foundation for the development of the new chatbot pilot on heat perception in the city. 

How can I participate in the research?

Starting in September 2023, four workshops with senior citizens as Citizen Scientists have taken place around Quellenplatz (10th district, Vienna). The format is to be continued in spring/summer 2024 in other districts with other target groups. A first chatbot pilot will additionally be launched in winter 2024. 

Upcoming events: 

• Urban Heat Stories at the Citizen Science Day at the Natural History Museum Vienna: As part of the Citizen Science Day (06.04.2024, NHM Vienna), interested citizens will have the opportunity to learn about the project, share their own stories and measure temperatures with us. We are looking forward to your visit!
• Citizen Science Award 2024: We are delighted to have been selected as one of eight projects for the Citizen Science Award 2024. Workshops with schools will take place between April and July 2024. Details on how to register at: www.youngscience.at/csa.

If you are interested in conducting a Citizen Science research on heat experiences (e.g. workshop participation, chatbot test) in your neighborhood, we would also be pleased to receive a short initiative mail.

Podcast episode

As part of the episode "The Citizen Science Award 2024 - behind the scenes", Sebastian Harnacker presented the project in the podcast Wissen macht Leute. You can listen to the episode on our blog or on the podcast app of your choice (the episode is in German). You can find all the details here.

What happens with the results?

The findings will provide the basis for recommendations in urban planning and will be incorporated into current Viennese planning projects (e.g. WienNeu+, 10th district). They will also be published on the website of the future.lab Research Center of TU Wien. For participants - as co-researchers - the results will also be made available free of charge as a print edition.

Who is responsible for the project?

The project team consists of researchers from the future.lab Research Center and TU Wien Bibliothek as well as residents as citizen scientists. Urban research does not take place in a laboratory, but together on site. Residents contribute their experiences and interests.

The project is being implemented - as part of the European research project "OPUSH" - in close cooperation with the partner project Heat Chronicles (Cròniques de la Calor) of Open Systems at the Universidad de Barcelona. There is cooperation at local level with the City of Vienna (MA 22, MA 25, GB*), the Vienna Chamber of Labor and the Natural History Museum.

What roles are there in the project?

• The transdisciplinary project team is made up of the research group of the future.lab Research Center and the TU Wien Bibliothek. The TU Wien Bibliothek can draw on experience in the fields of big data and urban heat, among others.
• The residents participate as citizen scientists in the development of content for the Chatbot and are central to the collection of data in the form of micro-stories.
• The Natural History Museum is involved as a local stakeholder with extensive experience with citizen science experiments. 
• Local project partners are also the municipal departments of the City of Vienna MA 21 and MA 22 (expertise and meteorological background data), the Vienna Chamber of Labour (e.g. social space monitor), OpenKnowledgeMaps (data visualization) and Wunderbyte (chatbot programming).

News from the projects, information on citizen science and the opportunity to join in the discussion - this and more awaits you on the Österreich forscht blog.

On our blog you will find a lot of information about project presentations, summaries of the latest project results or events in the context of citizen science in Austria. But there is also room for interviews, opinions and help on the blog. Some projects and research institutions have their own team blogs on Österreich forscht, where you can see all updates of these projects or research institutions at a glance.

We are pleased about the numerous contributions of different authors who deal with topics from the most diverse disciplines and thus also reflect the diversity of citizen science. So you will find a colourful mix of different contributions in the blog. 

As the blog is a central communication and information tool of the Austrian citizen science community, it is unfortunately only available in German. However, we cordially invite you to browse through the blog with a translation software of your choice.

What is the project about?

The crowdsourcing project "Letters 1920-1934" is about the transcription of the unique letter collection of the Vienna City Library from this period. In contrast to historical printed works, which are now subjected to automatic full-text recognition as standard, this is still not so easy to do for manuscripts - especially when the documents come from many different writers, as in this case. Since the democratization of knowledge plays a central role in the range of tasks of the Vienna City Library and the pilot project "Letters 1914-1919" has been a great success, we are again asking the crowd for help in indexing the content.

The Vienna City Library will digitize all correspondence - more than 200,000 items - by 2025 and make them freely available in the Digital Library in compliance with copyright law. Due to the alphabetical approach, the crowdsourcing project's holdings will successively expand up to the letter Z.

How can one contribute?

Participation is open to all interested persons. After registering, you can choose between two tasks: Transcribe letters or check letters already transcribed by others. If errors are discovered, they can be changed and a new version created. Three independent confirmations are necessary for a transcription to be classified as correct.

What happens to the results?

The finished transcriptions are integrated into the Digital Library of the Vienna City Library at regular intervals and can then be retrieved and searched at any time. This makes the contents of the letters accessible to all interested persons - something that was previously reserved for a limited circle of experts.

Crowdsourcing platform crowdsourcing.wien

The project "Letters 1920-1934" is part of the crowdsourcing platform crowdsourcing.wien – a cooperation of Wien Museum and Vienna City Library. The aim of this joint platform is to make original sources on the history of Vienna from various institutions accessible to all interested persons with the help of the crowd. Because only knowledge that can be read and comprehended can be brought to life and made available for inclusive debate.

More information: crowdsourcing.wien

Podcast episode

In July 2023, project coordinator Alexandra Egger was guest on the Österreich forscht podcast Wissen macht Leute - you can listen to the episode here (in German).

Picture gallery:

• Letter from Maria Herz to Elise Richter, 21.6.1921, HIN-108648, Vienna City Library Letter from Maria Herz to Elise Richter, 21.6.1921, HIN-108648, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Marianne Hainisch to Rudolf Beer for the Austrian Mother's Day Committee, May 1932, HIN-116120, Vienna City Library Letter from Marianne Hainisch to Rudolf Beer for the Austrian Mother's Day Committee, May 1932, HIN-116120, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Josef Jarno to the management of the German Volkstheater [Rudolf Beer], 2.12.1927, HIN-116144, Vienna City Library Letter from Josef Jarno to the management of the German Volkstheater [Rudolf Beer], 2.12.1927, HIN-116144, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Marie Eugenie delle Grazie to Adele Strauß, 27.12.1920, HIN-120252, Vienna City Library Letter from Marie Eugenie delle Grazie to Adele Strauß, 27.12.1920, HIN-120252, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Rudolf Goldscheid to Rosa Mayreder, 29.7.1928, HIN-120387, Vienna City Library Letter from Rudolf Goldscheid to Rosa Mayreder, 29.7.1928, HIN-120387, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Marianne Hainisch to Rosa Mayreder, 11.2.1933, HIN-121134, Vienna City Library Letter from Marianne Hainisch to Rosa Mayreder, 11.2.1933, HIN-121134, Vienna City Library
• Letter from August Heymann to Artaria and Compagnie, 5.6.1921, HIN-76007, Vienna City Library Letter from August Heymann to Artaria and Compagnie, 5.6.1921, HIN-76007, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Franz Eichert to Marie Eugenie delle Grazie, 31.10.1920, HIN-89136, Vienna City Library Letter from Franz Eichert to Marie Eugenie delle Grazie, 31.10.1920, HIN-89136, Vienna City Library
•  

It is an open secret that hardware operating on our smart devices contains not only plastic, but also conflict materials such as tungsten, tin, tantulum and gold. Technology is therefore not neutral. These resources are mined in conflict regions, assembled to electric circuits under harmful labour conditions and mostly ending up in contaminating landfills. This pollution is best understood as an enactment of ongoing colonial relations to Land. 

Arts-based research methods seize artistic practice to unpack complexity. Through opening up our artistic research project to citizens we want to make this phenomenon tangible. Intersecting Art and Science needs to be an experience of empowerment, of encouragement to find new ways.

This Citizen Science projecttackles sensitive issues through an online game that introduces the player to alternative technologies. Participants in our workshops (at the Technisches Museum Wien, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna children’s university, Maker Fair Vienna and three Viennese schools) can become players and navigate through different scenes to meet specific characters as avatars. These avatars represent real people from around the world, collaborators in our main research project. Through this form of interactive storytelling young people are invited to become inventors of green and fair hardware themselves, to network among each other and transform their ideas into actual prototypes in the next phase of the project. 

Through the term Ethical Hardware we want to describe technology that does not harm the environment, but embraces restorative practices for the benefit of nature and inhabitants alike.

There are strong social movements among teenage, female* and non-binary creatives who share similar values (Extinction Rebellion, Fridays For Future). Our Citizen Science Project addresses the lack of communication between academia and the youth movement. We would like to explore the creativity and transformative work performed by young citizens, specifically from minorities, by offering a playful entry point to our research. We hope that the visions contributed by CSs will transform our theoretical definition of what imagining future technologies entails, and vice versa give participants the chance to discover alternative futures. This way together we hope to gain the necessary strengths to face this crisis. 

Our research team composed by artists researchers Stefanie Wuschitz and Patrícia J. Reis at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and the citizen scientists will together with the Technisches Museum Wien (TMW), our national research partner, make the research results operative for use in classrooms and after school programs.

From alpine crested newt to sand lizard - gardening enthusiasts report please

Private gardens not only provide a place of peace and relaxation for humans but can also serve as important habitats and stepping stones for many animal and plant species. Especially the two endangered species groups of amphibians and reptiles can benefit from a garden designed with nature in mind. However, occurrences of common tree frogs, smooth newts, common lizards, and other species in residential areas are comparatively poorly documented. Reports from garden owners can fill knowledge gaps and contribute to the exploration of the herpetofauna. For this reason, the Austrian Society for Herpetology (ÖGH) annually invites people throughout Austria to participate in the campaign “Von Alpenkammmolch bis Zauneidechse – Gartenfreunde bitte melden“. Observations from one's own garden, school or community gardens are welcome. This year, the campaign will take place from May 8^th to 14^th, 2023. Observations can be submitted via the platforms naturbeobachtung.at, inaturalist.at, or herpetofauna.at. Incoming reports will be verified by experts, and the reporters will be contacted in case of misidentification. The collected data will then be transmitted to the herpetofaunistic database of the Herpetological Collection of the Natural History Museum in Vienna (HFDÖ) and thus will be available for research and nature conservation in the future.

What happened so far

In the past two years, over 200 occurrences of amphibians and reptiles were reported, with over 1000 individuals from 22 species. On average, two observations per garden were submitted. Although all states were represented, most of the reports came from Lower Austria. The most common reptile species were slow worm, common lizard, and grass snake, while the smooth newt was the most frequently observed amphibian species, followed by the common toad and the group of water frogs. A brief summary of the previous years can be found in the ÖGH-Aktuell issues 59 and 62.

With your ideas towards a innovative social sector for all 

Our society is facing numerous social challenges and the public administration, charities & social service providers, civil society and (social) enterprises are already working to solve them. In the face of increasingly complex challenges, there is a need for more collaboration and dialogue across sectors. Together we can achieve more! 

UpdateSocial is designed to provide the framework for collaboration!

In all sectors of our society, there are people who either already have an idea for solving a challenge or want to develop new approaches (e.g. new products, social services). With UpdateSocial, we bundle the innovative power of all sectors and create a breakthrough together. We thus combine the wealth of ideas of civil society with the implementation power of charities and public administration. 

To begin with, we (you and I, and many people from different sectors) come up with ideas and approaches to solutions for the previously defined social challenges in a collaborative 48 hour “Ideenwerkstatt” (Ideation Lab). A support program (Accelerator Program for approaches to solutions to social challenges) will accompany the further development of these approaches to make them ready for collaboration with piloting and scaling partners such as Volkshilfe Upper Austria, other social service providers or public administration. 

ALL are called to participate. Co-creative, local and digital.

Join the update of the social sector by citizens for citizens!

Together we can drive innovative solutions and strengthen the community for social innovations in Upper Austria. 

Role as participant: 

Become part of the community of makers, benefit from a public-supported, collaborative and solution-oriented cooperation, help to develop new solutions for the social challenges of our time or commit yourself to take it to the next level with your idea. Curious? Then visit us at https://updatesocial.org/mitmachen/.

Role as mentor / ambassador / implementation partner:

• Support the participants with your knowledge and network. Work with the community at eye level and contribute to a livable future for all. 
• Join us in calling on all citizens in Upper Austria and everyone who wants to come to participate in the 48h “Ideenwerkstatt” (Ideation Lab). Whether it's a newsletter or social media - anything works and helps us.
• Do you know other role models who stand for change? Invite them to become part of UpdateSocial. 

If you are interested, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

These partners are already part of UpdateSocial: https://updatesocial.org/team/#partner.

Our mission

With UpdateSocial we want to strengthen the social innovation ecosystem in Upper Austria. The core element of this ecosystem is a strong and transformational community in which there is trust in each other. Thus, this initiative serves as the basic building block for an organically growing movement that drives the digital and green transformation of the social service sector.

How does UpdateSocial work?

Form alliances and define challenges

• We form alliances with leading actors from all sectors to pool everyone's innovative power and foster collaboration. 
• The focus is on social challenges that need to be solved. Together with key players in public administration (Land OÖ - Upper Austrian provincial government, Stadt Linz) and with the expertise of Volkshilfe Upper Austria, we identify relevant social issues that we address to civil society. 

Mobilizing civil society and (further) developing solutions

• Through an open call at the beginning of March, civil society is to be mobilized for UpdateSocial. Thus, a community will be built to advocate for a sustainable social service sector.
• In mid-April (21. - 23. April 2023), the 48h “Ideenwerkstatt” will take place, where existing and new solution approaches for the identified challenges will be developed. Selected solutions will then be awarded by a jury in diverse categories. 

Supporting and scaling ideas with potential

• Initiatives can apply for a support program after the “Ideenwerkstatt” (until 04. April 2023). This starts at the beginning of May (10. Mai 2023) and helps the teams to further develop their solutions through e.g. expert inputs, community meetings and the help of mentors.
• Following the support program, the pilot program will start in October 2022. On October 3, 2023, the project groups will have another opportunity to present their solutions at the Community Celebration. Joint successes will be celebrated, the next steps will be targeted, and the future of the social innovation community will be shaped. What works will be piloted with united strength, e.g. with the help of an implementation partner from our network for social innovation.

Derive and process insights 

• Throughout the process of UpdateSocial, which is funded as a scientific project by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, we are collecting insights for a comprehensive "Learning Report" for shared learning on the one hand and for basic research of Open Social Innovation on the other hand.

More information about the project can be found here:

• https://updatesocial.org
• https://updatesocial.org/linktree/
• https://ooe.orf.at/stories/3200196/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/updatesocial/
• https://www.instagram.com/updatesocial_ooe/

We at Österreich forscht also congratulate Maria Peer on her well-deserved award: https://www.citizen-science.at/blog/auszeichnung-fuer-die-masterarbeit-von-maria-peer

The lack of sustainability in human activity is leading to the global destabilisation of our natural systems. The resulting biodiversity and climate crises require a transformation to an environmentally sustainable society. However, the expertise in the field of taxonomy required for this transformation is often only shared by a few experts. This leads to a bottleneck in biological species knowledge, where, depending on the group of organisms, often only a few citizen scientists have the expertise to identify species. The ABOL-BioBlitzes have set themselves the goal of making these rare competences available to society.

Correct species identification of organisms is the basis for recording biodiversity and its changes. Traditional identification using morphological characteristics is very time-consuming and requires many years of experience and expertise; as a result, very many species can only be reliably identified by a small number of people. DNA barcoding is an innovative, resource-efficient form of species identification. DNA barcodes are standardised, species-specific DNA sequences from clearly identified individuals and thus serve as comparative references for DNA-based identification. The ABOL BioBlitzes help to populate the "digital identification book" (reference database) on the basis of DNA barcodes. This makes it possible to identify species even from tissue residues, larvae or environmental and mixed samples, such as a water sample from a pond. DNA barcoding helps to better fulfil the increased monitoring requirements (e.g. insect mortality, climate change). Scientists around the world are working on filling the reference database. The ABOL initiative (Austrian Barcode of Life) coordinates the creation of DNA barcode references for animals, plants and fungi that occur in Austria and ensures that this data is made available to the general public. ABOL works together with many national research institutions and private experts and is also networked with European and international initiatives.

With the ABOL-BioBlitzes everyone has the opportunity to help building up this reference database! The ABOL BioBlitzes are (usually) linked to annual "Biodiversity Days", which are organised by national parks, biosphere reserves or associations and take place in various regions of Austria. Biodiversity experts and scientists meet at these events to record biodiversity in a defined area within 24 hours. As part of the ABOL BioBlitz, species are not only documented, but also genetically analysed, i.e. DNA barcodes are created. Tissue samples of organisms that have been collected and identified by experts are handed over to the ABOL team, which initiates the creation of the DNA barcode. The corresponding data is then published in the international open database "Barcode of Life Data System" (BOLD).

The ABOL BioBlitz not only fills the reference database as a basis for future monitoring, but also secures the knowledge acquired by private and institutional experts in the long term. The results of the ABOL BioBlitz are published in a scientific journal approximately every two years, with all participants being able to contribute. 

What happened so far

The first ABOL BioBlitz took place in 2019 at the GEO-Tag der Natur in the Biosphere Reserve Nockberge. Since then, 4-6 ABOL-BioBlitzes followed each year throughout Austria. A summary of the results was published in the journal Acta ZooBot with the collaboration of many ABOL BioBlitz participants. Forty experts collected 2,172 individuals or 1,040 species. DNA barcodes of most individuals could be generated and are available to national and international researchers and nature conservation experts in the barcoding reference database BOLD. The results of all previous ABOL BioBlitzes are summarized on the ABOL homepage, where reviews of each ABOL BioBlitz can also be found on the ABOL blog.

If you don't want to miss future ABOL BioBlitzes, you can also subscribe to the ABOL newsletter!

What is the project about?

The crowdsourcing project "Letters 1914-1919" is about the transcription of the unique letter collection of the Vienna City Library from this period. In contrast to historical printed works, which are now subjected to automatic full-text recognition as standard, this is still not so easy to do for manuscripts - especially when the documents come from many different writers, as in this case. Since the democratization of knowledge plays a central role in the range of tasks of the Vienna City Library and only readable and comprehensible knowledge can be brought to life, the idea arose to ask the crowd for help in indexing the content. The historically significant period from 1914 to 1919 was chosen as the starting point.

The Vienna City Library will digitize all correspondence - more than 200,000 items - by 2025 and make them freely available in the Digital Library in compliance with copyright law. Due to the alphabetical approach, the crowdsourcing project's holdings will successively expand up to the letter Z.

How can one contribute?

Participation is open to all interested persons. After registering, you can choose between two tasks: Transcribe letters or check letters already transcribed by others. If errors are discovered, they can be changed and a new version created. Three independent confirmations are necessary for a transcription to be classified as correct.

What happens to the results?

The finished transcriptions are integrated into the Digital Library of the Vienna City Library at regular intervals and can then be retrieved and searched at any time. This makes the contents of the letters accessible to all interested persons - something that was previously reserved for a limited circle of experts.

Crowdsourcing platform crowdsourcing.wien 

The project "Letters 1914-1919" is part of the crowdsourcing platform crowdsourcing.wien - a cooperation of Wien Museum and Vienna City Library. The aim of this joint platform is to make original sources on the history of Vienna from various institutions accessible to all interested persons with the help of the crowd. Because only knowledge that can be read and comprehended can be brought to life and made available for inclusive debate.

More information: New platform crowdsourcing.wien and "Letters 1914-1919" www.wienbibliothek.at/ueber-uns/presse/presseaussendungen/neue-plattform-crowdsourcingwien-briefe-1914-1919

Podcast episode

In July 2023, project coordinator Alexandra Egger was guest on the Österreich forscht podcast Wissen macht Leute - you can listen to the episode here (in German).

Picture gallery

• Letter from Franz Josef Böhm to Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, 24.4.1914, HIN-130022, Vienna City Library Letter from Franz Josef Böhm to Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, 24.4.1914, HIN-130022, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Herberg Eulenberg to Franz Servaes, 13.6.1917, HIN-137743, Vienna City Library Letter from Herberg Eulenberg to Franz Servaes, 13.6.1917, HIN-137743, Vienna City Library
• Postcard from Raoul Auernheimer to Johannes Wilhelm Auernheimer from Constantinople, 8.5.1914, HIN-154569, Vienna City Library Postcard from Raoul Auernheimer to Johannes Wilhelm Auernheimer from Constantinople, 8.5.1914, HIN-154569, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Friedrich Bitterlich an Richard Weiskirchner, 26.3.1915, HIN-214005, Vienna City Library Letter from Friedrich Bitterlich an Richard Weiskirchner, 26.3.1915, HIN-214005, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Richard Beer-Hofmann to Theodor Reik, 23.11.1917, HIN-247438, Vienna City Library Letter from Richard Beer-Hofmann to Theodor Reik, 23.11.1917, HIN-247438, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Peter Altenberg to Margarete Frenzel, 27.9.1917, HIN-248841, Vienna City Library Letter from Peter Altenberg to Margarete Frenzel, 27.9.1917, HIN-248841, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Lily Braun to Friedrich Umlauft, 1.4.1914, HIN-35245, Vienna City Library Letter from Lily Braun to Friedrich Umlauft, 1.4.1914, HIN-35245, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Leo Ascher to Ben Tieber, 9.9.1918, HIN-39713, Vienna City Library Letter from Leo Ascher to Ben Tieber, 9.9.1918, HIN-39713, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach to Auguste Wilbrandt-Baudius, 25.1.1914, HIN-56820, Vienna City Library Letter from Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach to Auguste Wilbrandt-Baudius, 25.1.1914, HIN-56820, Vienna City Library
• Letter from Henriette von Bombelles to Richard von Kralik, 13.4.1914, HIN-97626, Vienna City Library Letter from Henriette von Bombelles to Richard von Kralik, 13.4.1914, HIN-97626, Vienna City Library
•  

Language is one of the most important means of human communication, an essential part of our culture and it can also fulfill an identity-forming function. At the same time, it is constantly changing with the society that uses it. There are words that were used a century ago, but that no one knows today. Simultaneously, there are other words are still in use but have changed their meaning.

With the "ABCs of Dialect" you can rediscover old German dialect words and help us process the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Bavarian-Austrian language area!

What is it about?

Citizens have always played a significant role in linguistics. Especially in the field of lexical variation – long before the term Citizen Science was established – they were not only passive suppliers of linguistic data, but actively participated in its collection. A prominent example is the “Wörterbuch der bairischen Mundarten in Österreich” (WBÖ) (‘Dictionary of Bavarian Dialects in Austria’), whose data was originally gathered by citizens. Already since 1914, this project has been dedicated to the comprehensive documentation and lexicographic analysis of the rich and unique dialect landscape of (historical) Austria. Now we want to invite citizens back to process and evaluate the data and to (re)discover their linguistic and cultural heritage.

The basis for the WBÖ is data from the so-called ‘Hauptkatalog’ (‘main catalogue’), a collection of paper slips covering approximately 3.6 million entries with dialect samples that were collected in the first half of the 20^th century. The major part of the dialect data in this collection was obtained indirectly with the help of so-called collectors (“Sammler”) on the basis of questionnaires. While a large part of the paper slips (from letter D onwards) has already been digitized for editorial and archival reasons and is publicly accessible as a database via the Lexikalisches Informationssystem Österreich (LIÖ) (‘Lexical Information System Austria’), only the physical paper slips for letters A, B/P and C as well as scans exist. At this point, the project “The ABCs of dialect: exploring historical notes digitally” starts.

What are the tasks of the citizens?

• Citizens transcribe original WBÖ paper slips (collection of letter A to C) and thus help complete the already existing WBÖ database.
• Citizens reflect on the content of the 100-year-old paper slips with regard to current dialect usage and hence are integrated into analyses of dialect change in the course of the last 80-100 years. (e.g.: Is a dialect word still in active use in Austria? Has the meaning of a particular word changed?).

In this way, interested persons (particularly from Austria, but not limited to) should be given access to their linguistic and regional heritage. In addition, by dealing with the historical information, a reflection on current language use and a connection to current research on vocabulary, language use and language change should be established.

How can I participate?

Citizens can participate via the Zooniverse platform by transcribing old paper slips and the handwritings on them. In addition, they can reflect on their own or general current language use by answering questions about the words they have copied, e.g. whether they still know the word or even use it themselves.Participation is possible anywhere and anytime via the Zooniverse platform. The only requirement is internet access. Not necessary but very helpful is the ability to read Kurrent handwriting, which was used on some of the paper slips.

At introductory workshops, citizen scientists are familiarised with the platform and the paper slips and trained in the tasks. In the course of this, some participants are trained as experts who other participants can then turn to. However, it is also possible to contribute to the project without prior training.

Who can participate?

Everyone who is interested in language or dialects and the cultural heritage of Austria is invited to contribute to the “ABCs of dialects”. We want to involve both younger and older Citizen Scientists, since older people typically have high dialect skills and are still familiar with the diverse handwriting systems that we find on the paper slips in the collection, while younger people have high digital skills. In this way we bring generations and their skills and abilities together and encourage intergenerational collaboration. At the same time, their competence and knowledge are not only valued, but also made visible to the outside world in a linguistic and cultural context.

A special added value of the project consists in that the historical material, which was collected about 100 years ago using citizen science methods (even if they were not called such at the time), is made accessible to the citizens and they contribute to the evaluation and transcription of this historic material.

 Further information at https://abc-mitmachen.acdh.oeaw.ac.at/.

Podcast episode

As part of the episode "The Citizen Science Award 2024 - behind the scenes", Cornelia Sommer-Hubatschke, teacher at BG & BRG Stockerau, who took part in the ABCs of Dialect with a school class, talked about her experiences in the project in the podcast Wissen macht Leute. You can listen to the episode on our blog or on the podcast app of your choice (the episode is in German). You can find all the details here.

Picture gallery

• paper slip from Vienna on the word Erdapfel paper slip from Vienna on the word Erdapfel
• paper slip from Moschendorf on the word alles paper slip from Moschendorf on the word alles
• paper slip from Reidling on the word Federpennal paper slip from Reidling on the word Federpennal
• paper slip from Weidenthal on the word Pfiffikus paper slip from Weidenthal on the word Pfiffikus
•