‘Science in the city’ will be the motto to involve the general public with research activities and scientific knowledge that are underway to help answering to major concerns of urban communities related to global changes, and to shape and improve quality of life for the next decades. This motto is highlighted given the increasing levels of concern perceived in urban society, in particular among young people, on how to overcome global changes, while preserving natural and cultural heritage in the attempt to reach sustainability. By adopting this vision for the European Researchers' Night, this proposal intends to respond to Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and societal goals of the EU framework program. It aims therefore to raise public awareness on the relevance of science to assure quality of life in the future and to bridge the gap between scientists and society, giving researchers the opportunity to perceive the main concerns of citizens and how they see and understand their work, while engaging young people with science. The project will reflect on this problematic in the context of cultural heritage preservation. The consortium of this project, coordinated by the University of Lisbon through the National Museum of Natural History and Science (MUHNAC-ULisboa), combines efforts between researchers of major universities in Portugal – University of Minho, University of Lisbon, Nova University in Lisbon, University of Évora and the Lisbon University Institute. The Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies in Estoril will contribute to the cultural heritage preservation approach while disseminating food security practices and the Lisbon municipality will be a central partner for the engagement of diverse audiences and civil society stakeholders. The project will cover urban areas in Portugal from north to south, bridging the gap between researchers and society and contributing to bring societal actors together for the research and innovation process.

Below 10 is a project promoted by a partnership of nine organizations in six different EU countries. The partners include schools, education networks, NGOs, and university research centres. The project aims to prevent and combat Early School Leaving (ESL), through a territorially based process of action research and the development of collaborative strategies among diversified local institutions.

Over the last decade the problem of participation in policies has taken on a new relevance in the European countries, largely due to the decrease in electoral participation and the tendency for citizens tl lose confidence in political institutions. This is the context within which we are submitting this research proposal, albeit from a perspective which involves comparative work at European level.