Created by Matteo Pra Mio
This book concerns an experimental, transdisciplinary, situated and practice-based research which original aim is to investigate the relationship between young people, political participation and political education in the context of Bozen/Bolzano (South Tyrol, Italy), and which culminates in the design and enactment of the intervention called ṗolisfonia.
Ṗolisfonia is an educational format through which Sonic Practices (the creative interaction with sound as means of discovery, learning and expression) are explored as creative educational tools with the purpose of stimulating political dialogue between young people in the public space, generating engaging and inclusive spaces and chances of political expression and participation.
Drawing inspiration from the philosophies and practices of critical, feminist and libertarian education by Paulo Freire, bell hooks and Ivan Illich, it takes the form of a mobile participatory gathering, a modular system of workshops designed and enacted in collaboration with artists, designers, musicians and educators, each one uniquely combining the elements of political dialogue, Sonic Practices and public space.
The body of knowledge produced by this work is shaped, on the one hand, by a deep immersion in the research context and interaction with its young actors through participatory approaches and methodologies derived from action research, research through design and ethnography, and, on the other hand, by the co-design, enactment and analysis of four original ṗolisfonia workshops.
The value of this research is faceted: it produces new situated knowledges on the relationship between young people and the political sphere, that can provide insights for further scientific research; it serves as a toolkit for creative practitioners for the evaluation and new design of political education processes; it contributes to the broadening of the landscape of educational interventions centred on the creative interaction with sound and as a concrete example of how such interventions could be implemented; and, above all, it represents a concrete example of prefigurative, engaging and fun political education and participation, capable of generating spaces and chances of dialogue and togetherness.
Key aspects of this process and the educational format are documented and made publicly accessible also through the website polisfonis.org, which acts as a digital archive, toolkit and networking platform.
