Community Engagement and Co-Creation

Real public engagement requires meaningfully collaborating with the larger community to both learn from others and to co-create with others. Each of these collaborative projects seek to illustrate the value of teasing out existing narratives and creating new narratives.


Sounds of Belonging

Sounds of Belonging invites individuals from Indigenous communities to record a soundscape and story about a beloved place that gives a sense of belonging. The project is intended to open up the world of sound and insight from disparate locations. We believe that if each of us can listen to our world—and to each other—we can increase empathy and understanding. Our hope is that “Sounds of Belonging” can help make the vast landscape of our planet closer and more intimate. Listen to the project here.

Communities of Belonging

This early-stage project will tell stories in multiple forms about communities in various countries dedicated to climate and environmental action. The goal is to learn and shed light on best practices, as well as inspire more communities to work together toward positive solutions.

Environmental Listening Group Network

In partnership with Professor Garth Paine and Herberger's School of Art, Media, and Engineering, we are completing a field guide to establish and train a network of community-based environmental listening groups around the US and beyond. Relying on the techniques of active, passive and directed listening, these groups can both activate a new population of people inspired to address issues concerning climate change and sustainability and motivate new outcomes in multiple storytelling modalities. The ASU library as well as the leader of the National Sound Archive in Mexico City have already committed to working with us to expand the network. We are also co-funding PhD student Celia Yang.