The Louis De Pauw Award — A first recognition for citizen scientists in Belgian palaeontology

Abstract

On Saturday, 2 October 2021, Palaeontologica Belgica presented Belgium's very first palaeontological citizen science award. In collaboration with and with the support of professional research institutions and the federal government, the award aims to valorise the achievements of citizen scientists in palaeontological research. Together with Scivil, the governmental platform for citizen science in Flanders, and the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), the promoters hope that this initiative will be followed by other scientific domains (biology, archaeology, astronomy, history, linguistics, earth and environmental sciences, etc.) where citizen scientists selflessly contribute to fundamental scientific research.