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: www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/podcast/

  1. 6d ago

    E101 - Looking for Loopholes: Using the Strengths Approach in Local Government Refugee Support in Germany

    This episode was recorded at the online UNESCO RIELA Spring School: The Arts of Integrating 2025. Abstract: This presentation draws on current research into the challenges and opportunities for peacebuilding in state-provided services in Germany where substantial public funds are still allocated for refugee integration. Using data from integration managers in Germany and immersive ethnography at Students and Refugees Together (START) a conceptual framework that links the strengths of people and communities with the resources of the social environment is offered with examples of practice that promotes social justice. Our aim is to encourage restorative integration through unruly practice. Speakers: Kathrin Warth has been working as a social worker in various municipalities for 20 years, currently working as a coordinator in the so-called integration management. She's a traveler, always looking for new ideas and challenges and recently completed a part-time Master's degree as a young mother. She's particularly interested in finding creative ways to overcome restrictive regulations, tries to build bridges or tear down walls while working within an uncritical system. Avril Bellinger is a grandmother, allotmenteer, social worker, honorary associate professor and honorary fellow at the University of Plymouth. She has been a social worker and academic activist for 50 years with interests in emancipatory practice, international education and climate change mitigation. She founded the NGO Students and Refugees Together (START) 25 years ago in Plymouth, UK and continues her unpaid work with them. Co-author of The Strengths Approach in Practice: How It Changes Lives she is keen to explore the strengths approach as a positive response to complex difficulties. For more information about our Spring Schools, please visit our website: www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/events/springschool/ The next one is coming up: 2-6 November 2026, tickets are free: https://events.humanitix.com/onlinerielaspring26

    E101 - Looking for Loopholes: Using the Strengths Approach in Local Government Refugee Support in Germany

  2. Oct 21

    E100 - A Guide to Jamaican Death Rituals

    In this episode, Esa Aldegheri interviews Predencia Dixon about her book A Guide to Jamaican Death Rituals. The guide came our of Predencia's PhD research and presents a practical guide to Jamaicans both in Jamaica and in the Diaspora, as well as to others interested in rituals more broadly. The book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Jamaican-Death-Rituals/dp/B0FS7BXW8W Predencia Dixon is a writer, poet, playwright, dancer and actor. She was born in Jamaica, moved to the UK at the age of ten, attended school in Manchester, moved to Birmingham for higher education and, despite several attempts to leave, still lives there. More information about Predencia can be found on her website http://predencia.co.uk. In April 2023, she completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham, researching the changing approaches to death rituals in Jamaica, and in the Jamaican diaspora in the UK. She has a passion for metaphysics; most of her musings can be found on her blog Writing Creatively With Spirit (https://writingcreativelywithspirit.com/). Predencia is an Affiliate Artist of the UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Languages, and Arts at the University of Glasgow. For more information about the UNESCO Chair project, our activities and the Affiliate Artist Network, please visit www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/

    E100 - A Guide to Jamaican Death Rituals

  3. Oct 14

    E99 - Playing Peace: Exploring Relational Approaches to Peacebuilding Through Music in Rwanda

    This episode was recorded at the online Spring School 2025: The Arts of Integrating. Abstract: This presentation explores how music-making can open spaces for reconciliation, dialogue, and relationship-building in post-conflict contexts. Based on qualitative research in Rwanda that took place earlier this year, it shows how music creates encounters – with others and with oneself – that nurture healing and reconciliation. Music’s unique ability to touch both individuals and communities enables a context-specific, holistic approach to peacebuilding that reflects complex local realities and individual experiences of conflict. This presentation is also an invitation to reflect on your own experiences: Have you experienced a musical moment that left a deep impression on you to this day? Biography of the speaker: Sophie Spickenbom recently completed the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s in Education Policies for Global Development (GLOBED), studying at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Glasgow. Her work centres on peace education, peacebuilding, and non-formal education, with a regional focus on East Africa. Inspired by an internship at the Goethe-Institut in Rwanda, she returned to Kigali to conduct her Master’s research with local music initiatives. Her study explored how music contributes to peace and reconciliation in the country, reflecting her broader interest in creative, context-sensitive approaches to education and social change. For more information about the UNESCO RIELA project and our Spring Schools, please visit www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/.

    E99 - Playing Peace: Exploring Relational Approaches to Peacebuilding Through Music in Rwanda

  4. Oct 8

    Bonus: Deborah Olivier performs Neil Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife

    Bonus: Deborah Olivier performs Neil Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife by UNESCO RIELA

    Bonus: Deborah Olivier performs Neil Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife

  5. Oct 7

    E98b - Okul Öncesi Dönemdeki Mülteci Çocukların Erken Okuryazarlık Gelişimi: Türkiye'den Bir Bakış

    Bu bölümde, Ocak 2026'da UNESCO RIELA ekibinde misafir araştırmacı olarak bulunan Elif Naz Altaş-Kuşhan'ı dinleyeceksiniz. Elif, Türkiye’deki okul öncesi dönemdeki mülteci çocukların erken okuryazarlık gelişimi üzerine yaptığı doktora araştırmasından bahsedecek; çocukların dili öğrenmek ve görünür olmak için kullandıkları stratejilerin yanı sıra, sınıf içerisindeki stratejilerine de değinecek. Elif, bu stratejileri ‘dilsel misafirperverlik’ ve ‘dil zenginliği’ perspektifinden analiz ediyor.

    E98b - Okul Öncesi Dönemdeki Mülteci Çocukların Erken Okuryazarlık Gelişimi: Türkiye'den Bir Bakış

  6. Sep 30

    E98a - Early literacy development of refugee pre-schoolers in Türkiye

    In this episode, you will hear from Elif Naz Altaş-Kuşhan, visiting scholar with the UNESCO RIELA team in January 2026. Elif will be talking about her PhD research on early literacy development of refugee pre-schoolers in Türkiye, looking at strategies employed by children to learn the language and be visible , as well as teacher tactics to teach the children Turkish. Elif is analysing these strategies through a lens of linguistic hospitality and language plenty.

    E98a - Early literacy development of refugee pre-schoolers in Türkiye

  7. Sep 23

    E97 - REWIND: Empowering a Narrative of Care

    This episode is a recording of Ramon Ayres and Alison Ribeiro de Menezes' keynote presentation at the online UNESCO RIELA Spring School 2025. Abstract: How can we tell stories of impossible suffering without losing hope? What potential can theatre offer to build empathy and connection, and to buttress memory? In this talk we discuss the development of REWIND, Ephemeral Ensemble’s award-winning production inspired by testimonies of refugees whose lives were affected by dictatorship in the 70s in Latin America and young adult migrants affected by human rights abuses in Latin America in 2019-2021. We explore how embodied theatre-making can take us beyond the rational and help to push aside arguments that impede peace-building. We propose a ‘dramaturgy of care’ that promotes connectedness, exchange, and mutual respect. Inspired by our concern for each other, for a caring relationship to society, and a vision of a better future, our work aims to see future potential in relatedness, and to build each from our unique positions to a shared vision of hope. Ramon Ayres is the director of Ephemeral Ensemble, a multi award winning, Global Majority and Migrant-led theatre collective. Their work has been acclaimed in 3 continents and named by The Guardian as having one of the best theatre shows of 2024, Ephemeral Ensemble makes unique work that smashes together raw physicality, electrifying original music and scorching visuals to craft a narrative that hits hard and sparks imagination. Inspired by fact-based stories, their work spotlights urgent social issues, and is created in collaboration with global communities to empower a narrative of care. Alison Ribeiro de Menezes is founding Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Warwick and Deputy Chair (Research) of the Faculty of Arts. Her research focuses on cultural memory in Spain and Latin America. She is PI on the AHRC-funded project, ‘Voices of Humanitarianism: British Responses to Refugees from Chile’. She is also currently completing a monograph on Poetics of Disappearance: Embodied Memory Work (which includes a chapter on Ephemeral Ensemble’s REWIND, for which she acted as advisor). Alison continues to collaborate with Ephemeral Ensemble on new work on memory and sustainability and to think about ways to use physical theatre to develop a dramaturgy of care. For more information about the Spring School and the work of the UNESCO Chair, please visit: www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/events/springschool/ This episode was edited by Catherine McGrath.

    E97 - REWIND: Empowering a Narrative of Care

  8. Aug 12

    E96 - Reimagining Peacebuilding through Decolonial Pedagogy and AI: Lessons from Nigeria

    This episode is a recording of Tola Benjamin Kehinde's presentation at the online UNESCO RIELA Spring School: The Arts of Integrating 2025, which took place in October 2025. The presentation explores how peacebuilding can be reimagined through decolonial educational practices and emerging technologies, with a focus on Nigeria. It draws on teaching experiences and research into AI ethics in Africa to examine how interdisciplinary approaches that combine history, language, digital tools, and the arts can foster inclusive and intercultural peace education. Using case studies of Nigerian historical education and civic engagement, the session highlights both the opportunities and challenges of using AI to support peacebuilding while addressing colonial legacies. Participants will gain insights into creating culturally grounded and sustainable non-violent strategies for conflict transformation. Kehinde Tola Benjamin is a historian and researcher specializing in African history, digital humanities, and peace education. He lectures at the Department of History and International Studies, Redeemer’s University, Nigeria. His research focuses on the relationship between AI ethics, decolonial pedagogy, and civic engagement, exploring how emerging technologies shape historical knowledge and peacebuilding in Africa. Kehinde has presented at international conferences and co-authored papers on digital governance, African studies, and sustainable development. He is passionate about promoting inclusive education that draws on local knowledge and digital tools to create equitable and transformative learning experiences. For the slides to the presentation, please visit: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/reimagining-peacebuilding-in-nigeria-through-decolonial-pedagogy-and-ai-lessons-from-nigeria/289189544

    E96 - Reimagining Peacebuilding through Decolonial Pedagogy and AI: Lessons from Nigeria
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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: www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/podcast/

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