Our team
Kiran Singh Sirah (he/him) is the Founder of Storytelling: A Gift of Hope, a project that harnesses stories as humanity’s birthright to build a more socially just present and future world. An award-winning peacebuilder, folklorist, and arts and culture thought leader, Kiran is the Past President of the International Storytelling Center and America’s National Storytelling Festival. For more than two decades, he has established arts, cultural, and human rights initiatives across multiple countries, with work recognized by 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 U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Pentagon, the U.S. State Department, and at World Peace, Arts, and Culture assemblies.
In 2015, Kiran was invited to the White House in support of national grassroots peacebuilding efforts. A Rotary Peace Fellow and advisory member to UNESCO Scotland, he develops initiatives that foster relationship-building and civic trust in communities around the globe. His thought leadership includes collaborations with the Smithsonian, League of American Orchestras, Dollywood, the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, the British Council, NASA, and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, as well as special arts and peacebuilding initiatives by invitation of Yo-Yo Ma, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and Dolly Parton. In 2017, he was one of seven people worldwide selected as a Rotary International “Champion of Peace” at the United Nations in Geneva and was recently nominated for a National Education Association Martin Luther King Jr. Human and Civil Rights Award. Kiran passionately believes in the power of human creativity and the promise of a truly global, multicultural society. https://www.kiransinghsirah.net/
