The Leir Institute, in partnership with the Human Security program at Aarhus University in Denmark, is excited to launch our Program in Human Security and Contemplative Practice with a two-part series of workshops on the Inner Development Goals (IDG) and the Ego-to-Eco System framework. The aim of the workshops is to co-create and integrate practices to reflect one's own motivations, role, and biases as agents of Human Security.

Come and join us for a conversation with Leir Senior Fellow, Jayshree Venkatesan, this Thursday, January 27 on zoom.

This lecture explores how the transnational journeys of Jamaican Ska music led it to Britain and established a meeting ground that blended racial lines among the youth. It recounts how such influence impacted British popular culture and then the very notion of Britishness itself from the youth upwards. This is then framed in terms of employing music as a research tool to produce a more comprehensive perspective of time and space where other media may not suffice. This work is the fruit of a passion project based on the use of Donna Haraway’s concept of Companion Species applied to music.

The Leir Institute is excited to announce an upcoming event with Ebony Bailey, a filmmaker and video producer from Central California whose work explores cultural intersections as well as diaspora and social movements. Her documentaries have been screened at film festivals and forums in the US, Mexico, South America, and Europe. She has produced videos and visual content for organizations such as Mijente, the LA Times, NPR, and Africa is a Country.

The 2022 RIT Conference and Arts Festival will explore the links between migrant and refugee integration and mental health, identifying