Bureau *for* Listening, Proposals for Listening

Possible definition:

A generative invitation to attune to sound, silence, and resonance as a way of being and relating. A proposal for listening is not merely a suggestion but a call to engage with listening as a mode and practice of reorienting one’s perception, connection, and understanding. It can manifest as an idea, an action, or a framework, expanding how we listen and what listening makes possible in communal, artistic, and everyday contexts.

Proposals for Listening are put forward seeking hopeful, curious and critical engagement with our world; creating through speculation or manifestation. Proposals for Listening is an art practice of Bureau for Listening.

On Proposal-Making as Listening

Listening is more than an act of reception; it is a way of being in the world, a state of attunement that acknowledges the vibrancy of all that surrounds us; the known as well as the unknown. To listen is to enter into relation, recognising that the world is not silent but rather constantly vibrating, shifting, offering itself in subtle resonances; also beyond our comprehension. Listening, then, is a creational act—an expression of curiosity, care, and an openness to both is already there as well as what emerges. It is an act of faith, an affirmation that the world is in a state of being, speaking and calling for attention.

Proposal-making, when understood through this lens, is not merely a procedural or bureaucratic gesture. It is an articulation of listening—a way of attending to the interplay between community, environment, and imagination. To propose is to listen first, to be moved by what is already present yet not fully realised, and to respond in a way that cultivates possibility. Proposals, like listening, hold a kind of hopeful anticipation; they assume that something can shift, that transformation is not only imaginable but within reach. A proposal is therefore not just a plan but a responsive entanglement, a way of tuning into the social and environmental resonances of a place; to cultivate and nurture a field of potential.

A proposal is not an isolated statement; it is fundamentally communal. Every proposal carries within it the anticipation of a group, a complex context, the expectation of dialogue, the desire for response. It emerges from a collective moment of listening—whether implicit or explicit—and offers itself as a structure for shared action. A proposal does not impose a fixed reality; it suggests a potential course, a way of being together that can be tested,
refined, embraced, or even resisted. Within the nature of proposals is that they are temporary, accepting that one proposal might transform into another. In this way, a proposal invites the community to take part in its own becoming. Proposal-making thus cultivates listening cultures, where responsiveness and attentiveness become the basis of civic action.

We propose that listening itself will be recognised as a civic practice. Let us imagine a city that convenes listening assemblies, where citizens gather not to debate but to listen—to each other, to the environment, to what is said and what remains unsaid (or even unsayable). We propose that silence be integrated into public policy, that moments of communal quietude be scheduled, allowing the rhythms of the city to be felt in new ways. What might emerge if listening became a recognised form of governance, if our institutions engaged with the art of attunement before the act of decision-making? How may listening help facilitate a more democratic and radical communal present and culture?

We propose that Struer establishes a municipal listening bureau—an entity dedicated not only to sound, but to attentiveness. This office would host public listening sessions, receive proposals for new acoustic practices, and cultivate an archive of communal listening experiences. This would not be a passive repository but an active site of intervention, where listening is translated into practice, shaping civic engagement and policy. The bureau could work in dialogue with communities, amplifying local knowledge and deepening the politics of attunement.

The Bureau for Listening frames listening as a practice of giving, supporting, and nurturing the communal. If we extend this idea, we can see how proposal-making is a way of giving form to listening—a tangible expression of an attentive, engaged presence in the world. A

proposal does not emerge in isolation; it is born out of attentiveness to what is missing, what is needed, what is calling for recognition; it is an imagination of something different. It is a way of extending an ear into the world and then shaping what is heard into an offering, a possibility.

To propose, then, is to open a door. It is to invite participation, to call others into a space of co-creation. We propose that every public institution develop a ‘listening protocol’—a practice of sitting with community concerns, not to immediately resolve them, but to allow them to resonate before action is taken. We propose that architecture itself be reconsidered as a medium for listening—buildings that amplify voices rather than silence them, spaces designed not only for function but for acoustic interaction, for the acknowledgment of presence.

Struer, with its histories of sound and listening, offers a unique setting for rethinking proposal-making in this way. What does it mean for a city to listen? What does it mean to propose new ways of listening within it? If listening is always an act of relationality—of entering into a dynamic, vibrating world—then proposals for listening are not only conceptual but deeply material. They shape how people move through space, engage with their surroundings, and create shared experiences. They invite a reconsideration of the civic as an acoustic phenomenon: how do we design, legislate, and imagine with listening in mind; might listening be a form of designing and legislating within a community?

We propose that proposals themselves be considered cultural artifacts, collected and exhibited to showcase the evolving landscape of civic attentiveness. What proposals for
listening were put forward one hundred years ago? What has their effect been? A city that listens is a city that thrives on relationality, that understands itself not through dominance but through resonance. What would it mean to cultivate an ecology of listening, where each proposal is not merely a suggestion but a site of attunement, a way of harmonising the social with the sonic?

To make proposals is, therefore, to listen forward. It is to believe that listening itself has effects, that it reverberates beyond the moment of reception into action, structure, and communal practice. It is to acknowledge that listening is never neutral—it generates, it shifts, it alters the conditions of our being-together. Through proposals, listening takes a tangible civic form; it moves from ephemeral experience into shared vision. In this way, proposal-making is not separate from listening—it is listening made manifest, listening throughout the act of shaping a community anew.

Short Introduction/Invitation: How to Use the Proposals for Listening

These proposals for listening are invitations rather than instructions—open-ended prompts designed to awaken new ways of engaging with sound, community, and place; a framework for articulating different potentials. They can be explored individually, as daily meditative practices; in groups, as collective experiments in listening; or within institutions, as tools for rethinking civic engagement through attentiveness. Some proposals are realisable, offering concrete steps for activating communal listening, while others are speculative, encouraging imaginative reconfigurations of how we relate to sound and each other. Whether adapted, expanded, or simply used as inspiration, these proposals ask: How does Struer listen? And how might we listen differently?

Proposals for Listening

We propose a physical bureau for listening in Struer; a possible ‘borgerservice’ for listening, where residents of Struer can seek listening support and guidance. This bureau would also develop and implement strategies on behalf of Struer Kommune to strengthen the listening within the municipality. The bureau would operate with standard opening hours for consultancy and workshops in their permanent space, but also exercise home and work visits, a 24 hour open listening-hotline for those in need of being listened to, and operate different forms of temporary field-offices for listening at schools and/or in nature, where the cultivation of listening is also heavily needed. Struer’s bureau for listening would publish annual reports and organise different public hearings on the subject of listening within Struer Kommune.
We propose a weekly quiet hour where different areas of Struer reduce artificial noise—pausing traffic, silencing amplified sound, asking people to whisper—thus allowing residents to attune themselves to the otherwise overheard soundscapes of the city. We propose this weekly quiet hour to be realised every Tuesday between 17.00 and 18.00.
We propose installing small sound-collecting booths throughout the city where residents can record or submit significant sounds from their daily lives, building a communal Struer Sound Archive that captures the evolving identity of the city through listening. If sound-collecting booths are too much a production burden, we propose to build an online archive for people to upload their recordings. We propose, furthermore, that this proposal can be expanded into a participatory mapping project where residents document and annotate sonic landmarks, from the rhythm of waves in the harbour to the murmurs of daily life, creating a communal and evolving soundscape archive.
We propose an annual silent festival where the city gathers to explore silence as a communal act. Through silent concerts, silent key-notes, meditative listening circles, and experimental performances, we create spaces for deep attention and non-violent engagement with the world.
We propose installing specially designed listening benches in public parks and quiet spaces, inviting people to pause and listen — engraved with questions, poetic provocations, and prompts to foster listening with the surrounding sounds.
We propose forming a community-based acoustic ecology council to address sound as an essential urban material, advocating for noise-conscious planning, the creation of quiet zones, and the cultivation of Struer’s sonic identity as the City of Sound. This council should have a veto right over all construction projects in Struer, making the council able to focus their listening to the acoustics of Struer rather than political or economic concerns. If this ability to veto undermines the communal presence and mutual listening ability, the veto can be revoked.
We propose a facilitated social experiment where two people sit together in silence, listening for five minutes before exchanging thoughts on what they heard.
We propose a mobile sonic embassy that exports Struer’s unique sound identity to other cities, presenting curated listening experiences that reflect the voices, rhythms, and resonances of Struer. This sonic embassy will practice listening as diplomacy. Furthermore, we propose that this sonic embassy facilitate an exchange program where residents of different cities record short spoken reflections on a particular sound—natural or urban—and share them with others across cities and cultures, creating an intimate sonic dialogue across time and space.
We propose a speculative economic model where acts of listening are valued and exchanged—local businesses offering small benefits to those who engage in mindful listening practices, recognising listening as a social contribution.
We propose for Struer Kommune to hire a team of listeners, who will be offering their listening to both the people and places of Struer. These listeners should be compensated with a monthly fee of 40.000 DKK. We propose a rotation system for those hired, where any listener can only be hired for three continual months, in order to not exploit their listening.
We propose an invitation for residents to write letters addressed to the city’s sounds—the train station’s hum, the wind against the fjord, the laughter in public squares—to be read aloud at public gatherings, forming an intimate sonic portrait of Struer.
We propose a yearlong collaborative journal where residents document one significant listening moment per day, later compiled into an almanac that reflects the shared acoustic memory of Struer. This document can either be a single endeavour or long durational practice of Struer’s residents for multiple generations to come. We propose that the Museum of Struer facilitate and archive this acoustic memorial.
We propose a procedure within Struer Kommune complaint system where all involved/concerned/offended/offending parties have to listen to each other. No complaint should be made without also listening to who or what the complaint is directed towards. If a complaint results in a form of compensation, we propose that it be in the form of listening; whether the compensated party be listened to, or both offended and offending parties receive training in listening. To supervise this procedure, we propose that Struer Kommune hire skilled listeners to mediate within conflicts.
We propose a ‘Listening Square’ in Struer; a dedicated public space for communal listening, experimentation, and play — where group silence, interactive sound sculptures, and spontaneous sound-based interventions can reimagine the role of sound and listening in shared spaces.
We propose a daily collective practice where the city pauses at sunset to allow for 30 seconds of shared listening, reinforcing a communal attunement to time and transition. This can also be further developed as a proposal to organise a weekly morning listening session for all public hired staff, along with those interested, where we will meet at the harbour every Wednesday at 08.00 and spend 30 minutes listening together. No words should be uttered.
We propose rebranding Struer from being the ‘City of Sound’ to the ‘City of Listening’. This would include establishing an intercontinental pilgrimage route leading to Struer, and a specific administrative team under the city council to deal with issues of ‘pilgrimage listening’.
We propose that listening signs are as equally important as traffic signs, indicating zones of specified attentions, actions and protocols. To begin with, we propose to prioritise erecting ‘Non-Listening Signs’,to make people aware when they are in zones without eavesdropping, and ‘Slow Listening’ signs to indicate a specific awareness within the public.
We propose lowering the average sound volume of the Struer Kommune by 10 decibels on weekdays, while raising it by 40 decibels on Saturday nights.
We propose hosting a public workshop in Struer, where we cultivate a local “Proposal for Listening Making” practice of Struer - in what way does Struer propose to listen? In this workshop, participants will collaboratively create a series of Proposals for Listening, reflecting on the city’s unique soundscapes and communal experiences. These proposals will be submitted to the City Council of Struer as a collective expression of the value of listening within the community. To conclude the workshop, we suggest writing a collective letter to the City Council, emphasising both the beauty and the necessity of cultivating listening as a civic practice. The letter will call for the City Council’s engagement with our proposals and highlight how we hope they will listen deeply to the ideas and suggestions put forth by the people of Struer.
We propose for Struer Kommune to have an emergency listening strategy.
We propose a listening archive with the following two listening archival practices:

Creating a speculative archive where residents record messages to be heard in 50 years, imagining and shaping the future soundscape of Struer through present-day acts of listening.
A fictional archive of lost, forgotten, or imagined sounds, a space for listening to what no longer exists—or what never did—encouraging speculative sonic thinking.

We propose a local 24 hour Hot-Line for Listening in Struer for all in need of listening. The hot-line should be staffed with more listeners at specific hours in accordance with demand.
We propose partnering with Struer Kommune to develop a Listening Review—a biennial initiative aimed at assessing the state and dynamics of listening within the community. Using a structured questionnaire, the review will evaluate the quality of listening by the Kommune, identify diverse listening needs among residents, and provide a platform for participants to share concerns ranging from personal to systemic. The insights gathered will serve as a roadmap for Struer Kommune to inform future actions and legislative priorities.
We propose for Struer Kommune to create a sonic identity to accompany its visual identity. This sonic identity should be created through a democratic process and made in collaboration with or guided by local artists.
We propose a weekly communal dinner held at the city hall where 50 random invited residents of Struer can come and dine together in silence. We propose for Struer Kommune to select a committee of 12 to organise these events. The committee member will take turns organising and participating in the silent dinner.
We propose to make listening a citizen right in Struer Kommune. All within its borders has the right to be listened to, as well as to listen in peace.
We propose making a joint high-school and kindergarten listening programme. The aim of this programme is to explore and cultivate new listening practices, and not enforce or improve existing listening practices. Participants in the programme will be each other’s teachers and students. No access demands or exams are required for this programme.
We propose to make a Listening Committee alongside Struer Kommunes other committees. The first meeting will take place during Struer Tracks 2025. Before the meeting we encourage everyone to add a point to the agenda, e.g on the subject: If your Kommune listened, what would you say/ask for/propose etc.? We also propose that anyone in need of any kind of help apply with the Listening Committee for a subsidy or a service.
We propose inviting an advanced listener to every major decision meeting, e.g board, committee, general assembly. While this listener will have no voting right, they will be allowed to affect the meeting through the listening. We propose developing a specific training programme to certify advanced listeners.
We propose for Struer Kommune to send out an executive order to everyone at risk of stress, commanding them to only listen to their bodily needs and act upon them immediately.

Some of these Proposals for Listening will be realised/tested by Bureau for Listening during Struer Tracks 2025.