Claude Schryer (Canada)
@ssoundscapes, [email protected]
 
I was one of the founders of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) at the Banff Centre’s Tuning of the World Conference in 1993 (TOTW1993) and was honoured to participate as a facilitator at The Global Composition 2018 (TGC2018). I mentioned at the opening event of TGC2018 that it was the interdisciplinary and exploratory nature of acoustic ecology that motivated me to help create the WFAE. Much has been accomplished by the WFAE over 25 years – thanks are in order - but what comes next? One of the goals of TGC2018 was to take stock of these 25 years of activity and to lay groundwork for future generations...
 
Some personal highlights and thoughts from TGC2018:

• Recalling the early history of the WFAE: 1991, first World Soundscape Project newsletter; 1993, founding of an international coalition of acoustic-ecology specialists at Tuning of the World and 1998, Stockholm Hey Listen! conference with the creation of national affiliates and the Soundscape Journal

• Acknowledging WFAE trailblazers, notably Nigel Frayne, Hildegard Westerkamp, Peter Grant, Gary Ferrington and Gayle Young and pioneers in the community such as the WFAE life member Walter Tilgner (attributed October 6, 2018)

• Remembering that the World Soundscape Project addressed noise issues by encouraging listening, analysis and new modes of design and that we now need to encourage the next generation to tackle acoustic ecology on their own terms and to adapt core concepts to new realities

• Encouraging ongoing dialogue about what is relevant in acoustic ecology, such as increasing accessibility, diversifying voices, mobilizing knowledge, rethinking the concept of noise, retooling listening, increasing networking opportunities, better communication of core messages, coordination of volunteers to undertake tasks, etc.

• Exploring emerging concepts, such as queering sound space, crafting 3D audio, connecting sound in a synthetic ecology, criticizing romanticism in soundscape studies, rethinking stereotypes in gaming … and sharing these findings broadly

TOTW1993 was an initial mobilisation of the global acoustic ecology community, whereas TGC2018, and other similar events, are steps towards broadening this community into a listening and sounding culture.

 Juliana Carla Bastos (Brazil)
@laboratoriodesons, [email protected]
 
Gathering the discussions and yearnings of three generations of acoustic ecology scholars, the The Global Composition 2018 (TGC2018) was an opportunity to broaden and deepen our understandings on the diversity of listening, an experience framed by the impressive silence of the Mediencampus of Dieburg.
 
Some aspects evoked during the four days of TGC2018 that are worth mentioning are:

• How the Global North/South situation stood during the plenary sessions and also in the papers highlighting features, tendencies and gaps on valuation and legitimization of listenings closely connected to historical, cultural, political and human aspects of each country/region participating in the event.
• To consider the participation of scholars of urbanism as potential allies in the maturation and constant resignification of the global acoustic ecology studies.
• In order to extend the applicability of the Schaferian legacy, it is necessary to consider listening more as a politicized act: an invitation for acoustic ecologists to contemplate what is done with this listening. This goes through the comprehension of symbolic and decolonial dimensions, trans-sonifying the act of listening from a mere act of servitude and/or curiosity into a tool that facilitates the constitution and maintenance of holistic consciousness.
• Finally, including contemporary gender discussions and reports of victims of noise pollution, among others, opens space for unique and important opportunities to learn about the specificities of listening and helps scholars in the area to use and resignify scientific instruments in order to capture, understood and show good and real results.

 
These are some notes on the TGC2018 that aim not only to contribute to the acoustic ecology initiatives initiated in Tuning of the World 1993, but also to discover ways of approaching the area in a diverse world and in need of discussions and studies about the sonorous that surrounds us and defines us as human beings.