A Research-Based Programme for Leaders and Others Who Bear Responsibility
The Shibboleth Programme
Shibboleth is something else.
It begins with a simple but demanding idea: responsibility cannot be brought about through instruction. It is awakened when the human being behind the role is moved and confronted with what is otherwise held at a distance.
Shibboleth therefore does not begin with the image of the good or competent leader, but with the human being whose exercise of power has consequences for others.
Shibboleth is an integrated artistic and reflective undertaking. There are no leadership ideals, no coaching and no behavioural training. No one interprets on your behalf.
Instead, you encounter the Other, yourself and questions that rarely find room in management models: power, responsibility, judgement and human vulnerability — questions that cannot be mastered through learned routines or ready-made solutions.
The programme was developed in the context of leadership, but the test it presents is a human one, not bound to any particular professional role.
Words. Music. Silence. Conversation.
The programme includes Shibboleth performances in which literary fragments, music and human testimony are brought together in a carefully composed form.
The programme consists of seven meetings over ten months. Each performance is followed by individual writing, reflection and conversation.
“There was something so singular about experiencing this. So deeply personal and close, even though the group was anonymous. So difficult and at times painful, yet mostly something to be grateful for. So immediate and direct, and yet so slow in its effect. I carry something growing within me.”
A participant in the Shibboleth Programme
Work That Unfolds Over Time
What happens in Shibboleth cannot always be understood or put into words at once. The artistic experience may touch something that has not yet become conscious or found language.
Shibboleth is therefore not a one-off cultural experience or an inspiring break from everyday life. It can set demanding inner work in motion, requiring time, concentration and return.
What emerges cannot be predicted.
“Shibboleth probably touches much of what we are usually inclined to hide in the unconscious, because it hurts to be reminded of it: guilt, shame, pain, sorrow, anger. […]
But that means truly missing the point and failing to understand that all change — becoming a better leader, for example — is hard work that is not always enjoyable. Processes of change also take a long time.”
Kjell Andersen
psychiatrist and psychotherapist
Scientifically Tested
The Shibboleth Programme has been scientifically tested in an interdisciplinary, randomised study at Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with the Swedish Defence University and the Swedish Air Force.
The programme was developed and is led by Julia Romanowska, who holds a PhD in Medical Science and is an author and artistic director.
The Shibboleth Programme is offered in separate cohorts. Admission is based on application and selection, not on a first-come, first-served basis.
Upcoming programme
The next programme will be held at Humanistiska teatern, Uppsala University, in collaboration with the Department of Theology.
The dates for the 2026/27 Shibboleth are:
10 November, 2026, at 11:30 a.m.–5 p.m
24 November, 2026, at 09.30–16.00
22 December, 2026, at 09.30–16.00
12 January, 2027, at 09.30–16.00
2 March, 2027, at 09.30–16.00
6 April, 2027, at 09.30–16.00
14 September 2027, at 13.00–15.30
Individual work between meetings: approximately four days.
The application should be sent to kurs@schibbolet.se no later than 7 September, 2026. Applicants will be notified of the admission decision by 10 September 2026
