Citizen Science in the Promotion of Sustainability: The Importance of Smart Education for Smart Societies

Maria José Sá, Sandro Serpa and Carlos Miguel Ferreira
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Maria José Sá: CIPES—Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies, 4450-227 Matosinhos, Portugal
Sandro Serpa: Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences—CICS.UAc/CICS.NOVA.UAc, Interdisciplinary Centre for Childhood and Adolescence—NICA—Uac, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of the Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Carlos Miguel Ferreira: Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences—CICS.NOVA, Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, 2769-510 Estoril, Portugal

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-22

Abstract: Digital society is already a reality and is increasingly shaping many aspects of social, economic and political life, among other aspects. The concept of Society 5.0 is a proposed form of a possible political nature to fulfil this digital society through a super-smart society. Based on document analysis of articles and books on this topic, this conceptual paper aims to critically discuss some aspects of Society 5.0, such as the dimensions of digitalization and sustainability. It is concluded that Society 5.0 is not an inevitability, and that the transformations it entails, as well as its advantages, also have challenges and limitations that should be considered, such as the risk of reproducing old forms of micro, meso and macrosocial inequalities within each country and between countries and regions, and, at the same time, creating new forms of social, cultural, economic and political inequalities, among others. A critical spirit seems to be necessary in the follow-up of this Society 5.0 and for which citizen-science logic, in an interdisciplinary way, can potentially provide tools for previous and prospective analysis of its implementation. We justify the need for smart education in these smart societies as a way of contributing to responding to the pressing problem of sustainability. It is smart education in and for a super smart society.

Keywords: society 5.0; digital society; smart education; super-smart society; sustainability; digitalization; citizen science (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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