UNESCO RIELA: The sounds of integration

UNESCO RIELA
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Welcome to the podcast series of the UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Languages, and Arts (RIELA) at the University of Glasgow. We bring you sounds to make you think about integration, languages, culture, society and identity. A collection of academic musings, poetry, lesser heard voices and personal stories for you to enjoy and expand you horizons with. In short: a podcast for everyone with stories from the world, about the world, released fortnightly. We work in collaboration with Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet) and its partners. Together, our aim is to promote creative, practical multilingual action for change at all levels of society to build capacity in research and action focused on fostering cultural expressions of heritage and diversity with displaced peoples, and academic freedom for those at risk. Please subscribe to get notified of new episodes coming out! Full show notes can be found on the University of Glasgow's UNESCO RIELA pages: bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration

  1. SS26 Day 1: travelling plates

    May 27

    SS26 Day 1: travelling plates

    A mini poem created at the UNESCO RIELA Spring School: The Arts of Integrating, in the workshop The Story of the Travelling Plate, led by Dilara Özel and Erdem Avşar.

    13 sec
  2. E92 - Patrick M. Michel, Oana Șerban, and Brittnee Leysen on the VERIS project

    May 22

    E92 - Patrick M. Michel, Oana Șerban, and Brittnee Leysen on the VERIS project

    In this episode, we explore the story, challenges, and outcomes of the VERIS project — VERIS – Voices of Palmyra: Engaging in Tangible Memorial Heritage in Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion — through a conversation with Patrick M. Michel, Oana Șerban, and Brittnee Leysen. Together, they reflect on the collaborative process behind VERIS, a CIVIS Open Lab, the inclusion of Syrian refugees in participatory heritage practices, and the opportunities and limits of using virtual reconstruction as a tool for cultural memory and social innovation. Starting from the reconstruction of tangible heritage associated with Palmyra, the discussion addresses a central question: how can digitally mediated encounters with endangered or destroyed cultural sites become a point of departure for recovering intangible heritage — memories, narratives, identities, and lived cultural practices? The episode also unpacks the ethical, methodological, and practical challenges of working with displaced communities, co-creation, trauma-sensitive engagement, and digital representations of cultural loss. VERIS emerged from a strong interdisciplinary and inter-university collaboration under the umbrella of CIVIS – Europe’s Civic University Alliance, bringing together University of Lausanne, represented by Patrick M. Michel, University of Bucharest, represented by Oana Șerban, and University of Glasgow, represented by Brittnee Leysen. This conversation offers insight into how heritage, technology, and civic engagement can intersect to support refugee inclusion, cultural resilience, and new forms of participatory knowledge-making. For the full show notes, including the biographies of the speakers, please head to our website www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/ and head to the podcast section.

    31 min
  3. E91 - When a Country Becomes a Choir

    May 12

    E91 - When a Country Becomes a Choir

    Can singing and dancing serve as non-violent responses to oppression? The Estonian song and dance festivals played a crucial role in the Singing Revolution, a series of peaceful mass protests that helped the Estonian people regain their freedom in 1991. Based on my experience as a singer and dancer in this year’s festival, I will provide an insider’s perspective on how these performances allow contemporary Estonians to confront the past and process intergenerational impacts of war, forced deportations, refugee migration, and occupation. This presentation explores how cultural performances can be used as non-violent responses to conflict and facilitate healing. Speaker biography: Dr Kalika Kastein (she/they) is a queer, non-binary Estonian-American who was raised in a multi-generational household with her parents and her grandparents, who fled Estonia as refugees. Kalika has participated as a singer and dancer in the Estonian national song and dance festival. Kalika has nearly 15 years of experience as an educator and is a certified primary teacher in both Aotearoa New Zealand and Hawaiʻi. Based at Ōtakou Whakaihu Waka University of Otago, they specialise in peace education and currently work in Te Kura Ākau Taitoka College of Education. This episode was recorded at the online UNESCO RIELA Spring School: The Arts of Integrating 2025. For more information about our Spring Schools, please visit www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/events/springschool/.

    26 min
  4. E90 - Decolonial Love pt 3: Tawona Sitholé

    Apr 29

    E90 - Decolonial Love pt 3: Tawona Sitholé

    In this podcast series, Dr Mukuka Kasonde and Dr Brice Catherin continue their exploration of the concept of decolonial love which they first engaged with as an art exhibition in 2025. In conversation with guests, they critically reflect on how to imagine and enact forms of love that unsettle colonial hierarchies and open space for transformation. In episode 3, Dr Tawona Sithole highlights how the intergenerational care shown by family can help formulate ideas about love. More about Dr Tawona Sitholé: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/staff/tawonasithole/#biography More about Dr Mukuka Kasonde: www.linkedin.com/in/mukukakasonde/ More about Dr Brice Catherin: www.bricecatherin.org More about the Decolonial Love exhibition: indd.adobe.com/view/9b19dbd9-ebd…a3c2-6b040d3446d9 Music credit: Christophe Schweizer (Switzerland) and Able Chanda (Banthu Ndiwo Traditional Dance Group, Zambia)

    52 min
  5. E89 - Decolonial Love pt 2: `Alison Phipps

    Apr 22

    E89 - Decolonial Love pt 2: `Alison Phipps

    In this podcast series, Dr Mukuka Kasonde and Dr Brice Catherin continue their exploration of the concept of decolonial love which they first engaged with as an art exhibition in 2025. In conversation with guests, they critically reflect on how to imagine and enact forms of love that unsettle colonial hierarchies and open space for transformation. In episode 2, Prof. Alison Phipps engages with love in liberation theology and how it is tied to resistance to oppression. More about Prof. Alison Phipps: https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/aboutus/corestaff/alisonphipps/ More about Dr Mukuka Kasonde: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mukukakasonde/ More about Dr Brice Catherin: https://www.bricecatherin.org More about the Decolonial Love exhibition: https://indd.adobe.com/view/9b19dbd9-ebd3-4725-a3c2-6b040d3446d9 Music credit: Christophe Schweizer (Switzerland) and Able Chanda (Banthu Ndiwo Traditional Dance Group, Zambia)

    57 min
  6. E88 - Decolonial Love pt 1: Caroline Lenette

    Apr 15

    E88 - Decolonial Love pt 1: Caroline Lenette

    In this podcast series, Dr Mukuka Kasonde and Dr Brice Catherin continue their exploration of the concept of decolonial love which they first engaged with as an art exhibition in 2025. In conversation with guests, they critically reflect on how to imagine and enact forms of love that unsettle colonial hierarchies and open space for transformation. In episode 1, Prof. Caroline Lenette takes inspiration from indigenous forms of knowledge to articulate ideas of love within and outside academia. More about Prof. Caroline Lenette: www.unsw.edu.au/staff/caroline-lenette More about Dr Mukuka Kasonde: www.linkedin.com/in/mukukakasonde/ More about Dr Brice Catherin: www.bricecatherin.org More about the Decolonial Love exhibition: https://indd.adobe.com/view/9b19dbd9-ebd3-4725-a3c2-6b040d3446d9 Music: Christophe Schweizer (Switzerland) and Able Chanda (Banthu Ndiwo Traditional Dance Group, Zambia)

    48 min
  7. E87 - We Care

    Apr 8

    E87 - We Care

    This episode was recorded at the online UNESCO RIELA Spring School: The Arts of Integrating 2025. We Care delves into the intimate world of elderly care in Colombia, revealing how these tender moments become powerful rituals that weave collective memory and nurture peace within communities. In Colombian families, caring for elders creates profound bonds that naturally transmit values and traditions across generations. This project illuminates how seemingly simple daily acts — like assisting with bathing or sharing a meal — transform into moments of deep reflection and connection. These caring rituals don't just meet physical needs; they create a tapestry of shared history that strengthens family ties and cultivates the empathy essential for lasting peace. Through this lens, caregiving emerges as both deeply personal and profoundly political — an essential act for building a more compassionate society. By documenting these intimate moments, We Care contributes to Colombia's ongoing peace process, demonstrating how the transmission of memory through care serves as a vital safeguard against repeating the violent patterns of the past. The project asks us to consider: in these moments of vulnerability and tenderness, who is truly caring for whom? The presentation was by Diana Agámez, Luisa Machacón and Isabella Corvino. For their biographies and some examples of the photos, please see the full shownotes on our website: bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration This episode was edited by Catherine McGrath.

    29 min
  8. E86 - Who gets the mic? The objectification of women in Persian rap and hip-hop culture.

    Mar 25

    E86 - Who gets the mic? The objectification of women in Persian rap and hip-hop culture.

    This episode is a recording of a presentation by Rezvan Sayyad, who presented a talk with this title at the 2025 online UNESCO RIELA Spring School: The Arts of Integrating. Rezvan is researching how rap music in Iran has become a contested space for representation, identity and resistance. For the full show notes, including the biography of the speaker, please visit bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration

    18 min
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About

Welcome to the podcast series of the UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Languages, and Arts (RIELA) at the University of Glasgow. We bring you sounds to make you think about integration, languages, culture, society and identity. A collection of academic musings, poetry, lesser heard voices and personal stories for you to enjoy and expand you horizons with. In short: a podcast for everyone with stories from the world, about the world, released fortnightly. We work in collaboration with Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet) and its partners. Together, our aim is to promote creative, practical multilingual action for change at all levels of society to build capacity in research and action focused on fostering cultural expressions of heritage and diversity with displaced peoples, and academic freedom for those at risk. Please subscribe to get notified of new episodes coming out! Full show notes can be found on the University of Glasgow's UNESCO RIELA pages: bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration

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