"Why do we need public trust in times of crisis?"

In recent years, we have been living in an almost permanent state of crisis, and it has had a profound impact on European societies. Modern crises cross borders and sectors, and have cascading and overlapping effects on populations, economies and the environment. 

Evidence shows that trust is an important factor in crisis management. It increases citizen cooperation with government regulations and recommendations, and encourages citizens to use more prosocial options in social dilemmas.
This event will particularly look into issues of trust between citizens and public institutions. It will discuss why trust in turbulent times of crisis is such an essential principle, how to build it and when, who we trust and why.

Three recently published reports will give the impulse to this conversation: 

• SAPEA Evidence Review Report “Strategic crisis management in the EU”
• Scientific opinion from the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors to the European Commission “Strategic crisis management in the EU”.
• Statement from the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies “Values in times of crisis: Strategic crisis management in the EU”. 

This event is free and open to all, but particularly suited for Irish and European policymakers, academics working on trust and crisis management and civil society representatives active in crisis management and prevention. It is organised as a part of the PERITIA final conference “Rethinking Policy, Expertise and Trust”. PERITIA is an EU-funded project investigating public trust in expertise. View the draft programme here.

Speakers:

• Prof. Dominika Latusek-Jurczak, SAPEA working group 
• Prof. Alberto Melloni, Chief Scientific Advisor to the European Commission  
• Prof. Pete Lunn, Economic and Social Research Institute, Ireland  
• Denis Naughten TD, Galway/Roscommon

Moderator: Alison O'Connor, journalist and broadcaster