Ethno USA and preparing for publication

Since the summer of 2021, our international team has achieved a huge amount, producing six final reports encompassing the theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and findings from their research into Ethno. As a collection, the reports from this phase of the research are multifaceted and rich in data, reflecting the complexity and diversity of the Ethno programme.

A number of these reports will be published in the weeks to come, and we are thrilled to be sharing such a wealth of knowledge with the Ethno community and beyond. Look out for their release here on the Ethno Research website, or e-mail Project Coordinator, Millie, on m.rawmackenzie@yorksj.ac.uk if you’d like to receive a direct notification when they are published.

Researchers on the ground

While some of the team have been focusing on the latter stages of their research, other newer members recently began theirs. We were delighted to welcome Huib Schippers to work with us on a discrete study of the very first Ethno USA gathering, which took place in October this year.

Huib attended the full gathering, the first of our researchers since March 2020 able to do so, where he observed activities and interviewed participants and artistic mentors.

Also able to attend an Ethno gathering this autumn was Gabriel Harmsen, currently undertaking an internship with the International Centre for Community Music at York St John University. Gabriel experienced Ethno Sweden 2021 (autumn edition), where he continued his research into the connections between Ethno Sweden and the Folk Musicians Against Xenophobia network.

Sharing the research

Dissemination of the research continues, with a number of recent online conference appearances by our teams based at York St John University (UK) and University of Toronto Scarborough (Canada).

• Dr Sarah-Jane Gibson and Dr Laura Risk presented a paper, ‘Performing Intercultural Dialogue and Understanding: Ethno World’s Festival Performances’, at the Open University’s ‘Festival Cultures: Imagined Pasts, Alternative Futures’ online conference.
• Prof. Lee Higgins presented online as part of the Guildhall School’s ResearchWorks series. His presentation, ‘Ethno Research: Understanding Youth Music Gatherings’, discussed broadly the recent findings of the three-year research project.
• The Toronto team (Dr Roger Mantie, Dr Laura Risk, Keegan Manson-Curry, Pedro Tironi) presented a panel at the online Society for Ethnomusicology annual meeting.  Their panel was titled ‘National Melodies, Global Harmony? Identity, Agency, and Youth Cultural Production at Ethno-World Camps’.

We were also pleased that Dr Sarah-Jane Gibson and Prof. Lee Higgins had an article published in the Journal of Music, Health and Wellbeing, titled ‘The Ethno Hope Sessions: Sustaining intercultural musical exchange during the COVID-19 pandemic’.

Images: Huib Schippers