See the a full recording of the session below:

The African Leadership Centre (ALC) King’s College London is pleased to invite you to our upcoming seminar series event titled “New Narratives for Peacebuilding: Indigenous Knowledge, Plant Medicines, and Leadership Lessons for a Changing world”, which will be held on Monday, 15th June 2026, at 16.00 pm-18.00 PM (BST) with 18.00 to 19.00 PM for a sound bath and socialising.

About the event

This discussion is the opening event for the New Narratives for Peacebuilding in Africa and the Global South: Indigenous Knowledge, Plant Medicines, and Transformative Practices research group, hosted by the African Leadership Centre within the King’s College London Global Institutes. This event examines alternative transformative practices—including plant medicines, meditation, and indigenous healing traditions—and their role in peacebuilding and social transformation across the Global South.

This hybrid event, titled Indigenous Knowledge, Plant Medicines, and Leadership Lessons for a Changing World will hear from Guest Speaker – Chief Phillip (Šúnkawakhán Sápa/ Black Horse), founder of Ancestral Voice - Institute for Indigenous Lifeways. Chief Phillip will discuss issues related to: the guiding principles of indigenous community in relation to building peace within and between communities; what the role of ceremony, including the use of plant medicines, is in that regard; and what the challenges and opportunities for indigenous communities engaging with Western colonized peoples and institutions.

This will be followed by a panel discussion with Dr Maria Balaet, Research Fellow at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, specialising in naturalistic drug use, including and with a focus on psychedelics, in the general population; Dr Toyin Ajao (aka Moon Goddess), Nigerian scholar, feminist activist, and healing researcher-practitioner whose work focuses on restorative healing, conflict transformation, and Afro-feminist approaches to social change; and Ese Agambi, Psychotherapeutic Counsellor at the Black, Africa and Asian therapy Network (BAATN), specialist in Black Psychology and African Centred Therapy, Decolonising Therapeutic Practice, and Integrative Transpersonal Psychotherapy and Darren Springer, known as Darren Le Baron, is a world-renowned educator in Ethnomycology and Psychedelic studies, creator of the ShroomshopMushroom Cultivation community initiative, presenter at the London Psychedelic Society and a chair and Breaking Convention committee member.

The event aims to: introduce the objectives of the research group to a wider audience at King’s and external expert collaborators; to hear expert opinion from indigenous leaders in response to thematic questions; and to community build with likeminded scholars and practitioners interested in ongoing collaborations, including through shared communal experience (there will be an optional sound bath for attendees at the end of the session).

About the Co-Chairs

Dr Barney Walsh, Senior Lecturer in Security, Leadership and Development Education, at the African Leadership Centre, King's College London

Chevon Whythe, PhD Candidate at the African Leadership Centre, Peace Ambassador, and Young Professionals Network Westminster (YPNW) Chair, United Nations Association UK.

About the speaker

Chief Phillip (Šúnkawakhán Sápa/ Black Horse), Founder and Director of Ancestral Voice - Institute for Indigenous Lifeways, Ceremonial leader and Traditional healer, entrusted to share Indigenous Wisdom, Knowledge, and Medicine Ways with the contemporary world.

About the panelists

Dr Maria Balaet, Research Fellow at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London.

Dr Toyin Ajao (aka Moon Goddess), Nigerian scholar, feminist activist, and healing researcher-practitioner.

Ese Agambi, Psychotherapeutic Counsellor at the Black, Africa and Asian therapy Network (BAATN).

Darren Le Baron, a world-renowned educator in Ethnomycology and Psychedelic studies.