I never actually planned to start my own thing. But, funny enough, it just happened overnight.

Back in 2018 I was running the study circle “Human Rights for newly arrived migrants” for a group of women. I always thought of myself as a human rights advocate, totally open-minded. I've been doing research, training and development of innovation in the area of social inclusion for years.

One day I was running the study circle. Together with participants we were talking about rights in Sweden and I was pouring my heart out, trying to “share my wisdom.” However, the connection between them and me never happened.

During the break, my friend, who was running that NGO and invited me to host a circle, took me aside and gave me a reality check. She was super diplomatic about it but basically said, “Jenny, get off your high horse and start talking to them, not at them. They’ve got plenty to share too.” It turned out I did not understand the needs of my audience, and totally underestimated their knowledge on human rights. They knew more than I understood. We rearranged the chairs into a circle, and I started asking questions instead of lecturing. It turned into the best discussion we would ever have. They had so much to say, and I learned tons. We ended up staying a couple of extra hours, but I went home feeling pumped instead of drained.

The same evening I got home, I registered my company, MIR Akademien. I just knew I had to create a space like that circle—where learning is a two-way street, and people listen to understand.

I have a personal interest in African philosophy, yoga, Buddhism, so I once learnt about Ubuntu circle from my professional environment. And I educated myself about it.

I did not have a business plan but a passion to create an oasis where we could all keep learning and growing together. At the same time those who do not share this approach will themselves search for something else and it is also fine.

I used to work in many organizations where I needed to adopt my leadership style to fit in. I wanted to try to be totally myself and see how it goes.

At the heart of MIR Akademien lies a profound understanding that diversity is the lived experiences of people.