HOLISTIC WELL-BEING
The IRB Fellowship emphasizes holistic well-being, recognizing that personal rhythms, cycles and ecological context are all intertwined with self-care as individuals, while also embracing that we are engaging in a shared journey with its own unique and independent energy. The individual, the group, and our multi-species ecological communities are all essential aspects of a fellow's journey.
FLUID DURATION
While the IRB Fellowship will establish a conventional structure for starting and completing a fellowship, it will remain open to a flexible and unorthodox approach. IRB recognizes that relational learning and transformation may not fit within traditional structures. Fellowships will extend beyond rigid timeframes, allowing deeper, more nuanced experiences.
RELATIONSHIP-CENTRIC OUTCOMES
While traditional fellowships often emphasize tangible deliverables, the IRB Fellowship places greater emphasis on the transformational outcomes of relational engagement. These outcomes may not always be quantifiable but are no less valuable. These outcomes might manifest through personal healing, grief tending or artistic expression.
INCLUSIVE NETWORKS
Rather than limited networking opportunities, the IRB Fellowship encourages fellows to form inclusive networks that extend beyond echo chambers. These networks may encompass diverse and even disparate perspectives, cultures and expertise. This is an invitation towards leadership that invites external agencies into the process.
Fellowship
The IRB Fellowship provides an alternative path for fellows to embark on. This pathway is closely aligned with principles of reciprocity, ecological awareness and holistic well-being. Fellows undertake this journey in collaboration with their multi-species ecological community.
MULTISPECIES AWARENESS
Unlike traditional fellowships that focus on human-centric endeavors, the IRB Fellowship enhances our multispecies awareness. Fellows are encouraged to explore their relationships with the rest of nature and the cosmos beyond as a participatory process of ecological engagement and entanglement.
MUTUAL SUPPORT
The IRB Fellowship promotes mutual support among fellows, fostering a sense of kinship and shared purpose. Fellows are welcomed into a role of giving and receiving, being able to provide encouragement and accountability to one another in both personal and professional contexts. This process will take inspiration from a mycorrhizal network with fruiting fungal bodies, whereby all fellows are in supportive relationships with one another, while also directing energy and focus at one individual (the fruiting body).
ECO-COSMIC PERSPECTIVES
The IRB Fellowship integrates an eco-cosmic perspective, recognizing the interconnectedness of all beings as part of a living planet. This encourages fellows to explore how they can contribute to regenerative practices within the ecosystem they are a part of. This is done in part while practising attuning to the cycles of the seasons, the lunar cycles, and importantly, the cycles of their own bodies.
PERSONAL RELATIONAL TRANSFORMATION
Personal transformation and our relationship with a broader context of self-awareness (as part of living systems and multispecies ecological relationships) are central to the IRB Fellowship journey. Fellows are invited to explore their relational identities and how these identities shape their interactions with the rest of the living world.
Chaitali Chaudhari
Samantha Pawley
Tyler Freeman Smith
Shannon Welles