The ValuesML project is an integral part of a broader JRC initiative with the goal to empower policymakers with a deeper comprehension of citizens' values and aspirations concerning policy matters. Recognizing the pivotal role of values and identities in shaping citizens' perspectives on policies, our project aims to dig deeper into this dimension.

Through an innovative approach utilizing machine learning, the ValuesML project endeavours to explore expressed values within news media and political manifestos. By establishing meaningful connections between these values, policies, significant events, and political landscapes, we seek to provide policymakers with a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying factors at play when formulating effective policies.

Collaborative and multidisciplinary, the project brings together over 70 researchers, research assistants, and students of the realm of values under the lead of the JRC. Leveraging the vast data resources of Europe Media Monitor (EMM) and a collection of political manifestos, we curate a gold standard dataset as a foundational element for training a more sophisticated algorithm for values detection. Among others, the algorithm will then be integrated into the full EMM system to extend the ability to deduct from the vast news landscape what matters to citizens and how.

The project is run in collaboration with the JRC's Text Mining & Analytics Competence Centre (TMA-CC), which is specialised in making sense of vast amounts of text through computing and analytics. For more information, see: Political Intelligence | Knowledge for policy (europa.eu).

Additionally, in an open competition hosted as part of the CLEF conference, researchers and practitioners from all over the world will submit their trained algorithms to collaboratively inquire which algorithm works best. For more information, see https://touche.webis.de/clef24/touche24-web/human-value-detection.html and https://clef2024.imag.fr/.

Publications

1. Values in News and Political Manifestos: Annotation Guidelines

Team

Project coordinators

From the JRC:

• Bertrand De Longueville
• Theresa Reitis-Münstermann
• Mario Scharfbillig
• Paula Schulze Brock
• Nicolas Stefanovitch

From Bauhaus-Universität Weimar: Johannes Kiesel

Language Leads

• Murat Ardag, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences
• Sharon Arieli, The Hebrew University Business School
• Ella Daniel, Tel Aviv University
• Henrik Dobewall, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
• Anna Krasteva, New Bulgarian University
• Thomas Peter Oeschger, University of Basel
• Luana Russo, Maastricht University
• Antonella Seddone, University of Turin
• Joanne Sneddon, The University of Western Australia
• Aurelia Tamo-Larrieux, Maastricht University
• Hester van Herk, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
• Johannes Karl, Dublin City University
• Georgios Petasis, NCSR "Demokritos"

Annotators and Curators

• Sandrine Astor, Pacte research centre, School of Political Studies Univ. Grenoble Alpes 
• Petra Auer, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
• Nazan Avcı, Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus
• Anat Bardi, Royal Holloway University of London
• Fiorella Battaglia, University of Salento, Lecce & Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München 
• Constanze Beierlein, Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences
• Maya Benish-Weisman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Giuliano Bobba, UNITO
• Christina Christodoulou, NCSR "Demokritos"
• Dr Patricia (Trish) Collins, Edith Cowan University
• Irene Coppola, ReCEPL-Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II-
• Ahmet Çoymak, Abdullah Gul University
• Maria Dagioglou, National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos"
• Mafalda Dâmaso, Erasmus University Rotterdam
• Meike Morren, University Amsterdam
• Einat Elizarov, The University of Haifa
• Naama Erlich, Bgu
• Uwana Evers, The University of Western Australia
• Peculiar Tochukwu Ezeigwe-Ephraim, ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa
• Ronald Fischer, IDOR - D'Or Institute for Research and Education
• Maria Cristina Gaeta, Research Centre of European Private Law (ReCEPL), Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples
• Lucilla Gatt, Università degli STudi Suor Orsola Benincasa
• Noam Gerera, Tel Aviv University
• Sjoukje Goldman, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
• Frederic Gonthier,  Sciences Po Grenoble - School of Political Studies, Grenoble Alpes University, France
• Stefanie Habermann, Royal Holloway University 
• Mina Hristova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
• Demet Islambay Yapali, Independent Researcher
• Luigi Izzo, Suor Orsola Benincasa
• Panos Kapetanakis, NCSR 'DEMOCRITOS'
• Agathi Karadima, NCSR Demokritos
• Dora Katsamori, National Centre for Scientific Research 'Demokritos'
• Reşit Kışlıoğlu, Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus
• Chaya Koleva, Policy and Citizens' Observatory
• Roberta Koleva, New Bulgarian University
• Joshua Lake, University of Western Australia
• Ingmar Leijen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
• Vanina Ninova, Policy and Citizens' Observatory
• Elif Sandal Önal, Bielefeld University
• Berna Öney, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
• Shani Oppenheim Weller, Hadassah Academic College 
• Duygu Ozturk, Istanbul Medipol University
• Ioannis Elissaios Paparrigopoulos, NCRS Demokritos
• Vladimir Ponizovskiy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Tim Reeskens, Tilburg University
• Maria Francesca Romano, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
• Torven Schalk, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington
• Ricarda Scholz-Kuhn, University of Basel
• Alina Shitrit, Tel Aviv University
• Oscar Smallenbroek, Joint Research Centre
• Evelina Staykova, New Bulgarian University
• Maite Taboada, Simon Fraser University
• Ömer Topuz, Abdullah Gul University
• Christin-Melanie Vauclair, Iscte - University Institute of Lisbon
• Adam Wyner, Swansea University
• Sheng (Charice) Ye, East China University of Science and Technology
• Emilia Zankina, Temple University