Following up on our very first SecREEts Citizen lab in Ellesmere Port, UK, in January 2019, Prospex Institute went to Porsgrunn, Norway on 21 August 2019. Together with our partners Yara, REEtec and SINTEF, Prospex Institute has joined forces with Vekst i Grenland to organise the first Norwegian SecREEts Citizen Lab. This meeting took place at the DuVerden Martime Center and Science Center, where a new exhibition on Rare Earth Elements was inaugurated in the morning of the Citizen Lab.
During this meeting, we introduced members of the local community to the SecREEts project. Discussions were based on presentations by SINTEF, Yara, REEtec and Vekst i Grenland, with interactive exercises dedicated to help the audience understand the strategic role of Rare Earth Elements in our everyday life and the impact of the SecREEts project at a local and European level. Participants were given the opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns and highlight opportunities related to SecREEts for the local community.
The feedback received during the Citizen Lab will help SecREEts understand the information needs of the local community, and co-design our engagement strategy. Future Citizen Labs will allow the project to integrate at a local level, building trust and transparency through continuous dialogue.