Class 10 (2011-2013)
Kirandeep Sirah, United Kingdom
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Department of Folklore
Kiran Singh Sirah is the Creative Lead for Storytelling; A Gift of Hope- a project that explores stories as humanity’s birthright to build a socially just present and future world. Kiran is an award-winning peacebuilder, storyteller, folklorist, arts & culture thought leader and Past President of the International Storytelling Center. For more than two decades, Kiran has established several arts, cultural, and human rights initiatives in various 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, American Public Health Association, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, The Pentagon, The US State Department, and 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 Peace Fellow, he develops articles, toolkits, and talks on creative narrative approaches to relationship building in communities around the globe. Kiran has been a thought leader on projects with the Smithsonian, League of American Orchestras, Google Arts & Culture, Dollywood, Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, The British Council, American Folklore Society, Library of Congress, South Arts, NASA, National Endowments for Arts & Humanities, and special arts & peacebuilding collaborations by invitation of Yo-Yo Ma, Past Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and Dolly Parton.
Kiran passionately believes in the power of human creativity, and the notion of a truly global multicultural society.
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 also serves in advisory roles; Senior Fellow for the Alliance for Peacebuilding, USA Ambassador for Generations for Peace, Executive Board of American Folklore Society, Collective Impact Leadership Council of STRONG ACC, East Tennessee Foundation, Advisory Network UNESCO Scotland, and New York’s City Lore Project. Previously, Kiran served with Tennesseans for the Arts, The Association of American Cultures, African and Caribbean Network (Scotland), and Scottish Refugee Week.