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The ELIA Dialogue Series seeks to facilitate discussion by creating brave spaces for international dialogue, embracing a plurality of perspectives, guided by frameworks of mutual respect. We invite all those working and studying at ELIA member institutions to join us for the second session in the series to discuss and debate the role of higher arts education in response to conflict and crisis. This session will focus on ‘how to talk about politically charged topics in higher education institutions’.
Specifically, we will explore the guidelines for discussing political conflicts with students, as outlined in the document prepared by Dr. Yumna Asaf from the IDEA Center. The focus will be on how to create a respectful, inclusive, and empathetic learning environment while addressing complex and emotionally charged topics. This session will cover key strategies such as self-reflection, setting clear objectives, establishing ground rules, and managing emotional responses during discussions. Throughout the session, we encourage open participation, where your insights and experiences will be valuable in enhancing our collective understanding of these best practices. Let’s work together to ensure that our classrooms are spaces where diverse perspectives are not only heard but respected, and where difficult conversations lead to deeper learning and connection.
Dr. Yumna Asaf is the Project Lead for Inclusive Education at the IDEA Center of Erasmus University Rotterdam. With over two years of experience working closely with university policymakers, teachers, education developers and learning innovation teams on significant issues such as curriculum revision and teacher professional development, she is dedicated to advancing inclusive education in the university. Dr. Yumna Asaf holds a PhD in Women and Gender Studies and has conducted extensive research on policy change for inclusive peacebuilding and rehabilitation in the context of International Law.
Janet Chwalibog is a writer and professor of literature with over twenty-five years of experience in academic leadership and college teaching. She currently teaches interdisciplinary courses in literature and psychoanalysis at Berklee College of Music. Her work explores how storytelling shapes incoherent and fragmentary experiences into livable identities for individuals and groups. She is particularly interested in the role intergenerational narratives of suffering and transformation are unconsciously transferred and reenacted. The gaps and splits in these stories
we tell ourselves about ourselves reveal the complexities of our personal and political histories, opening up possibilities for making them more visible.
In addition to her teaching, Professor Chwalibog is an active contributor to faculty development initiatives that focus on inclusive pedagogical practices, curriculum design, and navigating complex conversations. She has received the Dean’s Award for Innovation and Service among other awards and is a regular contributor to Cognoscenti.
In this session Ulysse Tonnelé-Verjus, President of the Student Union and Dale Thrupp, Vice President of the Student Union at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, will share stories of their experience at RSC from their role in representing all students of the RSC, especially as it relates to talking about political conflict.
The ELIA Dialogue Series is moderated by Dr. Silke Lange, Reader in Hybrid and Participatory Pedagogies at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.
Dr. Silke Lange is a creative practitioner, educator, and researcher. She has over twenty years’ experience in creative arts education in a variety of roles and organisations, across levels and subjects, and geographical borders. Her professional practice/research is mostly collaborative, working at the intersection of educational practice and knowledge exchange. This approach has been providing a productive platform for exploring alternative models of educational provisions, and collectively reimagining knowledge-making processes. Silke has a long-established track record in developing strategies of connecting different communities, lowering hierarchies of knowledge generation within educational frameworks, and fostering cultures that support professional development of individuals and teams at any level. Building and changing cultures are collective undertakings; her interventions are driven by one of her core values: participation. Participation in the sense of co-developing culturally responsive pedagogy, co-curating learning environments and co-designing alternative modes of learning. Silke Lange is an engaged ELIA member and currently actively involved in ELIA's UAx Project supporting art students and higher arts education institutions in Ukraine.
Context of the ELIA Dialogue Series
In light of the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the global wave of student protests and intensified public debate surrounding campaigns for an academic boycott of Israel, the ELIA Representative Board issued an updated statement on 31 May 2024. Alongside this statement, ELIA announced a series of follow-up actions engaging higher arts education communities, international experts, and thought leaders to address the urgent questions that are being raised on the role of higher arts education institutions in relation to this conflict. The first session on 12 July featured a talk by Dr. Jannis Julien Grimm, titled: “Academic Integrity in the Context of Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis: Defending Higher Education as a Space of Empathy and Multi-Perspectivity”.
ELIA condemns in the strongest terms all violations of human rights and international law reported in Palestine and Israel. We join calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, reinforced international efforts towards peaceful resolution, and the protection of civilians in the region. We stand in solidarity with those affected and displaced by this conflict and humanitarian crisis. We reiterate that ELIA stands against all forms of discrimination and racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Dr. Yumna Asaf is the Project Lead for Inclusive Education at the IDEA Center of 
Janet Chwalibog is a writer and professor of literature with over twenty-five years of experience in academic leadership and college teaching. She currently teaches interdisciplinary courses in literature and psychoanalysis at Berklee College of Music. Her work explores how storytelling shapes incoherent and fragmentary experiences into livable identities for individuals and groups. She is particularly interested in the role intergenerational narratives of suffering and transformation are unconsciously transferred and reenacted. The gaps and splits in these stories
we tell ourselves about ourselves reveal the complexities of our personal and political histories, opening up possibilities for making them more visible.
Dr. Silke Lange is a creative practitioner, educator, and researcher. She has over twenty years’ experience in creative arts education in a variety of roles and organisations, across levels and subjects, and geographical borders. Her professional practice/research is mostly collaborative, working at the intersection of educational practice and knowledge exchange. This approach has been providing a productive platform for exploring alternative models of educational provisions, and collectively reimagining knowledge-making processes. Silke has a long-established track record in developing strategies of connecting different communities, lowering hierarchies of knowledge generation within educational frameworks, and fostering cultures that support professional development of individuals and teams at any level. Building and changing cultures are collective undertakings; her interventions are driven by one of her core values: participation. Participation in the sense of co-developing culturally responsive pedagogy, co-curating learning environments and co-designing alternative modes of learning. Silke Lange is an engaged ELIA member and currently actively involved in