During the first half of this year, the School of Listening began to be implemented. This initiative, promoted by the Millennium Nucleus in Musical and Sound Cultures, seeks to develop methodologies for the dissemination and transfer of social research based on sound, music, and listening. This program is aimed at educational communities located in three macro-regions of the country: north (Arica), center (Santiago and Valparaíso), and south (Araucanía).

The project consists of an initial phase of workshops aimed at secondary school students from first to fourth year, focusing on three thematic areas: Environment and Territory, Migration and Citizenship, and Culture and Gender Relations.

The School of Listening hopes these workshops will not only develop critical listening skills in students, but also foster a greater connection with their social and natural surroundings. According to Carla Pinochet, CMUS’s alternate director:

“This project connects our core academic research with school communities in diverse parts of Chile, testing the educational potential of these methodological explorations based on sound and listening. We believe it’s an innovative initiative that strengthens school learning processes, providing students with tools to explore their sonic and aural universes.”

This educational initiative has been running its pilot program during the first half of 2024, through six workshops implemented in four regions of the country. Each workshop explores different aural experiences, such as listening, sound memory, sonic futures, and the communication of these recordings.

In Arica, the workshop was held at the Antonio Varas High School in La Barra B4; in the Metropolitan Region, at the Pablo Neruda Bicentennial High School in Lo Prado and at the O’Higgins School in Melipilla; in the Valparaíso Region, at the Maitencillo School and the Andrés Bello Industrial School in Quilpué; and in Temuco, at the Gracia y Paz School.

This methodology seeks to be adaptable for different researchers and educational purposes, exploring the possibilities of sound and collective listening for social research and community reflection.

Meanwhile, educators from various schools have also emphasized the importance of this initiative. Wladimir Aplaza, a music teacher who led the workshops at the Pablo Neruda Bicentennial High School in Lo Prado, highlights the students’ participation and the final outcome of the process:

“I think one of the key activities of this project is the final presentation stage, during which students must connect their work to the environment in which they are working. During this presentation, the students have the opportunity to showcase their projects to peers, teachers, administrators, and assistants. This final presentation is where they can shine by presenting and sharing their creations, which is the most significant part of the entire process.”