PRIhME at the 2023 AEC Congress

AEC 2023 General Assembly

During the AEC 2023 General Assembly, a large majority of members endorsed twenty-two recommendations to make the Higher Music Education (HME) sector a safer and more supportive one, acknowledging the importance of power relations in our institutions. These were developed between 2020 and 2023 by 50 people from 9 geographically representative European HMEIs participating in the Erasmus+ funded PRIhME project Stakeholder Assemblies (Power Relations in Higher Music Education). 

PRIhME Pre-Congress Workshop

“On a scale of 1 to 10 how much power do you think you have at your institution?” asked David-Emil Wickström (Chair, PRIhME Editorial Board) at the start of the pre-Congress PRIhME workshop. Twenty-five people from all corners of Europe scattered across the room to indicate both to themselves and to others their relation to power, moving to new spaces depending on the question, ranging from how much power they had ‘over others’ to how much power they ‘gave to colleagues.’ This was the start of a session in which David-Emil, together with Gretchen Amussen (Chair, PRIhME Stakeholder Assemblies) and Esther Nass (Chair, Assembly Working Group), guided the participants through a mini-assembly. 

They experienced the process of deliberative democracy firsthand, with the goal of learning how to generate debate and respectful discussions on power relations. As was the case during the PRIhME assemblies, exercises, case studies and information videos led to discussion, deliberation, and formulation of recommendations. The discussions demonstrated the complexity of the issues: one participant shared their frustration at not being able to exercise their own power as a manager when a student wouldn’t allow them to talk to a teacher. 

Cultural contexts can vary, and in some countries, student participation is less accepted: one participant was eager for suggestions, for example, as to ways to include students in some capacity, be it only as an observer, in assessment processes. As the morning progressed, participants became empowered and found ways to propose solutions and/or recommendations. At the conclusion, each participant defined three actions they’d take in helping realize a power relations “utopia” on returning home. A student wanted to become more active in student governance, several insisted on how much they wished to put ongoing dialogue amongst different stakeholders at the heart of their work, and still another thought she would engage in a “power audit” within her institution. A leader of a PRIhME partner institution admitted that he had come out of solidarity for colleagues, but that the morning – with its focus on different types of power – had been an eye-opener.

PRIhME session at the Congress

At the dedicated Congress session held on Friday, Deborah Kelleher, leader of the PRIhME project, spoke of the transformative impact of PRIhME in Dublin but admitted that it was an ongoing process. Gretchen Amussen presented the themes and recommendations made by the PRIhME participants, and  David-Emil Wickström and Esther Nass shared the additional material developed by the different working groups. 

These include an academic peer-reviewed book (to be published in Summer 2024), a toolkit, a glossary and exercises, as well as final recommendations, already available on the PRIhME website. The presentation emphasized the significance of the process itself. Deliberative democracy can be used to get feedback and generate ideas in a safer space, which is ideal for complex themes. PRIhME Assembly Participant Mkay Kraus valued the opportunity to discuss power relations in a safe space with an unusual mix of students, teachers and managers meeting as equals. The ARTEMIS project’s current Gender Equality and Non-discrimination Mainstreaming Task Force, an outgrowth of PRIhME, was presented by co-chairs Ankna Arockiam and Steven Faber. The Task Force is developing a Code of Conduct for AEC events for which AEC and its institutions will be held accountable. 

If you missed the Congress (or if you were there and you want to know more), please visit the PRIhME website for the material. If you are curious how the ARTEMIS project takes up power relations, for example in their code of conduct, please contact ashkhenfixova@aec-music.eu at the AEC Office for more information.