Three successful events – MACIMIDE Incentive Grant from FASoS

This workshop asked what it meant to listen deeply and ethically – to our research, our collaborators, and our fields of work. We considered ways in which working in sound demanded a particular kind of careful, patient, and sustained engagement: a practice of listening, recording, and archive-building that fostered critical sensitivity and attention. Drawing on the work of sound theorists such as Pauline Oliveros, Salomé Voegelin, and Annie Goh, we approached the “sonic” as a technology that resisted being flattened or packaged into smoothed-out categories, instead offering knowledge and information through dynamic entanglements of “signal” and “noise.” 

We discussed how communication and transcription technologies such as Zoom and MS Teams deployed AI “cleaning languages” that removed the clutter and disorder of the voice and its environments. We asked what a critical school of listening might be, and how practice-led researchers could learn from research-led practitioners, and vice versa. Within our networks of communication, we asked: what kind of information was transmitted and received, and to whom? What were people listening to, how were they hearing, where were they tuning in? How might this have differed from what others heard – researchers, (non-)migrants, policymakers, governments, families, artists, institutions? 

In the second part of the workshop, we used accessible pocket technologies (phones, portable recorders) to meet and work with the sounds in our environment, with a particular invitation to listen to migration-related diversities in our local surroundings. We tuned in to “traces of transfer” and experimented with an approach to live mixing, sharing the information we recorded to gain new perspectives on voice, noise, assemblage, and sculpture. 

• 15 September 2025: MACIMIDE Retreat and communications workshop by Lorenzo Piccoli (EUI) 

To start the day, MACIMIDE organised an engaging “speed-dating” session designed to help researchers from across UM connect around shared interests. Over the course of an hour, participants rotated through short, focused conversations, guided by prompt questions that encouraged them to discuss their research themes, methods, and current projects. The format created a lively atmosphere and gave participants the chance to meet a wide range of colleagues beyond their usual networks. 

Following the speed-dating session, participants contributed to an Interest Board – a visual map of research connections across MACIMIDE. Each researcher added notes describing their areas of work, including topics, methods, and teaching interests. Participants then drew lines linking similar themes and approaches, revealing clusters of shared focus and potential collaborations. 

The activity provided a tangible representation of the diverse expertise within MACIMIDE and highlighted opportunities for future interdisciplinary cooperation. It set an energetic and collaborative tone for the day’s subsequent sessions and strengthened the sense of community among MACIMIDE researchers. 

In the afternoon, Lorenzon Piccoli from the European University Institute (EUI) led a workshop exploring the question: What communication strategies are most effective in providing accurate information and changing popular attitudes around migration? 

The session focused on developing and strengthening participants’ communication skills in the context of migration research and outreach. Drawing on comparative research, Dr. Piccoli presented findings on the drivers of public attitudes toward migrants and the psychological mechanisms that different communication approaches can activate. 

Participants examined how communication strategies can be designed to reach audiences who are neither firmly opposed to nor strongly supportive of immigration. Through discussion and practical exercises, the workshop encouraged researchers to reflect on how they communicate their work and to consider evidence-based approaches for engaging diverse publics. 

The session offered both theoretical insights and applied guidance, equipping attendees with tools to communicate migration research more effectively and responsibly in public and policy contexts. 

• 01 Otober 2025: Storytelling workshop by by professional storyteller Sahand Sahebdivani 

Research is about telling stories; how to do this in an engaging way is an art. This workshop reviewed the basics of telling a good story. What made a story ‘good’? How did you capture your audience’s attention? How did you communicate emotions, humour, sadness, fear, exhaustion, or exaltation? 

The workshop was run by Sahand Sahebdivani, founder of Mezrab, The House of Storytelling, in Amsterdam. Six days a week, Mezrab attract full audiences and both professional and amateur storytellers from all over the world for evenings of fun, passion, and learning. It has been foundational in bringing storytelling to the Netherlands as an art form combined with other disciplines such as music, dance, visual arts, and poetry. 

The workshop entailed some explanation but also a lot of hands-on practice, so participants came ready to roll up their sleeves and have a go at telling a story. It ended with a reflection on how storytelling could influence our research practice, our relationships with research participants, and the audiences we sought to reach.