A really nice autumn jazz evening in Sydney with Sweden’s Peter Nilsson playing in a piano trio together with Australia’s award-winning jazz pianist Kevin Hunt! 🇦🇺
So great to see academic staff from Musikhögskolan i Malmö out in the world, contributing to the international profile of Lund University🇸🇪
შემდეგი გაჩერება: ავსტრალია 🇦🇺🦘🌏
I’m on my way to Down Under — Australia!
Going through border control once again made me think about passport privilege and how unequally freedom of movement is distributed in the world. Arguably, nowhere is this contrast more visible than at an airport checkpoint.
The citizenship certificate and welcome letter from the City of Malmö, now already more than a year since I became a Swedish citizen, remind me how privileged I am to call the Nordics my home. 🇸🇪
In a world that is de-democratising at a fast pace, moments like this also become reminders not to take liberal democracy for granted. The freedoms many of us enjoy today were built over decades and centuries, but they can also be lost quickly at the ballot box.
Instead of isolating ourselves out of fear, we should remain open and engaged with the world and with like-minded partners. As Mark Carney said, we take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.
From Canada 🇨🇦 to the Nordics 🇪🇺to Australia 🇦🇺, there are still societies built on trust, democracy, openness, and global engagement. These values are worth protecting and fighting for.
Honoured to chair a session on EU enlargement and party politics at the 2026 European Affairs Capstone Seminar Conference at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
Fantastic presentations by CEES graduate students and great discussions on this consequential topic. Maybe it’s really time to consider Canada joining the EU? 🇨🇦🇪🇺😀
And just like that... 💕
I can share this exciting news:
I will be joining Malmö Academy of Music at Lund University in a permanent, tenure-track position as University Lecturer (universitetsadjunkt, 80%) in Society Engaged Music and Artistic Citizenship, effective 1 July 2026. 🎉
When I first began my MA studies at Lund University in 2021, I would not have imagined that five years later—at the age of 28 (yes, let me enjoy it while I can still call myself young!)—I would return as a faculty member. But persistence and hard work do pay off, and importantly, so does having people around you who see your potential and support you along the way, giving you the platform to grow.
This role brings together many strands of my work in teaching and research—particularly around the societal role of higher music education, civic engagement, and the relationship between the arts and democracy.
Inspired by Joseph W. Polisi’s philosophy that “there should be no dividing line between artistic excellence and social consciousness,” I am motivated to contribute to our Nordic values-based, internationally informed teaching, develop new initiatives, and continue building international collaborations in this field.
კარგი ახალი ამბავი მაქვს: ივლისიდან ასისტენტ-პროფესორის პოზიციაზე შევუერთდები ლუნდის უნივერსიტეტს 🎉
Manhattan School of Music, New York City 🇺🇸
The Royal Conservatory, Toronto 🇨🇦
Just concluded inspiring meetings at two of the most prominent higher music education institutions in North America, where artistic excellence meets societal engagement and values-based strategic leadership.
I am delighted to work towards establishing ties between the Musikhögskolan i Malmö of Lund University and like-minded institutions across the Atlantic, as international collaboration is becoming increasingly important in the turbulent times we are facing.
Many thanks to Provost Joyce Griggs and her team at Manhattan School of Music, and to Dean-designate Barry Shiffman at the Glenn Gould School, for the warm welcome at their respective institutions.
A slightly belated post about my move to Canada 🇨🇦
I’m very happy to be spending this spring at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy 🍁
And yes, how else could I start my research stay than by casually dropping by a departmental seminar presenting Oksana Briukhovetska’s work, organised by Marci Shore (!) and attended by Timothy Snyder (!) — both affiliated with Munk.
All of this is thanks to the amazing opportunities we have at my alma mater, Lund University, and of course to the foundations and networks that have generously funded my visit here.
Busy Jan–Feb 2026:
🇮🇹@AEC IRC meeting & Olympics-dedicated concert in Trento;
🇮🇹IArtNet at Conservatorio Luca Marenzio in Brescia;
🇪🇪 A Christmas tree and –15°C in Tallinn in February (@ELIA – PIE group meeting);
🇪🇸+24°C in Málaga and some sun at last!
🇸🇪🇺🇦Pro-Ukraine demonstration and the only ICE we accept in Malmö — a frozen lake!
Stay tuned!
Beyond Representation – the future of DEI in higher music education 🇸🇪🇩🇰🇳🇴
Yesterday at the Nordplus-funded DIM conference at Musikhögskolan i Malmö, Monica Vejgaard and I led a lecture-workshop on how diversity, equity and inclusion in higher music education can move beyond representation and towards real change in teaching, learning and institutional culture.
DIM is a Nordic collaboration between the University of Agder, Malmö Academy of Music and the Royal Danish Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, developing practical tools and shared approaches to strengthen DEI in higher music education.
Thank you to everyone who joined the session and contributed with honest questions, experiences and ideas.
🇬🇪🇪🇺🇬🇪🇪🇺🇬🇪
It was a pure joy to march with fellow Georgians in the streets of Tbilisi last week, protesting against the growing authoritarianism of the pro-Russia regime. I cannot overstate the feeling of standing alongside like-minded individuals—bridging ideological differences and uniting behind the vision of a European Georgia, a dream stolen by rigged elections, corruption, intimidation, and disinformation.
I even managed to take a selfie with Salome Zourabichvili, the fifth President of Georgia, briefly informing her about the support from Sweden and the importance of raising awareness of the current situation on the ground beyond elite political circles.
თბილისი 🇬🇪
Tamuna, Nino, David ❤️
Very proud that we have finally managed to adopt the 2026–2028 internationalisation strategy for the Malmö Academy of Music, inspired by @lunduniversity Global Dynamic Engagement approach.
There is great ambition in this document, and I look forward to working with colleagues to further strengthen our globally engaged Academy.
Read the article and the full text of the new strategy here: https://www.mhm.lu.se/en/article/malmo-academy-music-adopts-new-internationalisation-strategy
Attended the Nordic Association of European Studies (NAES) Conference at Roskilde University this week, where I also had the chance to present my research on EU enlargement. 🇩🇰
I was glad to hear Professor Ana E. Juncos Garcia deliver a timely keynote on “The geopoliticisation of the EU’s security and defence policy: from a ‘peace’ to a ‘defence’ logic.” 🇬🇧
It felt especially symbolic to discuss Georgia’s EU accession at this event today — exactly one year after the infamous speech by the Georgian Dream Prime Minister halting the country’s EU integration, and one year into the ongoing protests across Georgia. 🇬🇪
A very relevant conference on Europe’s political trajectory in a rapidly changing global (dis)order. 🇪🇺
