Namaste, y'all.
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ABOUT KIRAN
Kiran Singh Sirah (he/him) is an award-winning storytelling artist, folklorist, arts thought leader, and past President of the International Storytelling Center. For more than two decades, Kiran has established award-winning arts, cultural, and human rights initiatives in numerous countries. These programs have received recognition from UNESCO, the White House, the United Nations, and the European Commission. He has spoken at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the American Public Health Association, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Pentagon, the US State Department, and numerous world peace, arts, and culture assemblies. In 2015, he was invited to the White House in support of storytelling efforts for national grassroots peacebuilding efforts. An advisory member to UNESCO Scotland and a Rotary World Peace Fellow, he develops articles, toolkits, and talks on interdisciplinary storytelling and creative approaches to relationship building in communities around the globe. Kiran has been a thought leader on projects with the Smithsonian, the League of American Orchestras, Google Arts & Culture, Dollywood, the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, the British Council, the American Folklore Society, the Library of Congress, South Arts, NASA, the National Endowments for Arts & Humanities, and special arts and peacebuilding collaborations by invitation of Yo-Yo Ma, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, and Dolly Parton. In 2017, he was one seven people worldwide selected to receive the “Champion of Peace” award at Rotary International Day at the United Nations in Geneva and was recently nominated for his work to receive a National Education Association Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights and Civil Rights award. Kiran is the Founder and Creative Lead for Storytelling: A Gift of Hope, a project that harnesses the art of storytelling to create intimate healing and justice spaces to build dialogue, agency, and change for communities, on their own terms. The initiative builds on decades of lived, researched, and tested approaches that leverage stories as humanity’s birthright to build a socially just present and future world. Kiran passionately believes in the power of human creativity, arts, storytelling, and the notion of a truly global multicultural society. Kiran also serves in advisory roles as Senior Fellow for the Alliance for Peacebuilding, USA Ambassador for Generations for Peace, Executive Board of American Folklore Society, Leadership Council Member of STRONG ACC, East Tennessee Foundation, Advisory Network UNESCO Scotland, Waymakers Collective Appalachian Futurism Project, and New York City’s City Lore Project. Previously, Kiran served with Tennesseans for the Arts, the International Storytelling Center (past president), the Association of American Cultures, African and Caribbean Network (Scotland), and Scottish Refugee Week. Explore Kiran's Testimonials |
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
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Get to know Kiran in his own words.Listen below to an interview with Kiran on "Sunday Morning With..." on BBC Scotland.
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Get In Touch
Ready to make story part of your organization's culture? Want Kiran to speak at your next event?
Reach out for more information and we'll see how we can work together.
Reach out for more information and we'll see how we can work together.
"Kiran gives individuals and communities new ways to approach collaborative efforts aimed at conflict resolution on any level.” --Rebecca Popham, Managing Editor, Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation-USA
Kiran is a once-in-a-generation social leader” - Melanie Greenberg. Managing Director, Peacebuilding, Humanity United.
Kiran Sirah has a sharp instinct for presenting complex information from a relatable and fresh perspective.” --Dr. Alice Wessen, Public Engagement Manager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Kiran is a once-in-a-generation social leader” - Melanie Greenberg. Managing Director, Peacebuilding, Humanity United.
Kiran Sirah has a sharp instinct for presenting complex information from a relatable and fresh perspective.” --Dr. Alice Wessen, Public Engagement Manager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory