Conclave

Bezwada Wilson

"Towards Transformation: Initiating change through dialogue"

"Towards Transformation:

Initiating change through dialogue"

Bezwada Wilson is an Indian human rights activist and one of the founders and National Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), an Indian human rights organisation that has been campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging, the construction, operation and employment of manual scavengers which has been illegal in India since 1993. His work at SKA, a community-driven movement, has been recognized by the Ashoka Foundation. In 2016, he was honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Palki Sharma Upadhyay

"Objectivity and Opinion in Journalism"

The globally recognised digital programme called Gravitas Plus is hosted by award-winning Indian news anchor and journalist Palki Sharma. Palki Sharma Upadhyay is currently the Managing Editor and news reader at WION and broadcasts Gravitas Plus, India's most popular prime-time English news programme. Throughout her remarkable career, she has held positions with prestigious news organisations including CNN-News 18 and the Hindustan Times.

Dr. Vidita Vaidya

"A Serving of Serotonin: Reviving Psychedelics"

"A Serving of Serotonin:

Reviving Psychedelics"

Dr. Vidita Vaidya is an Indian neuroscientist and Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Her primary areas of research are neuroscience and molecular psychiatry. She was awarded the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 2015 in the medical sciences category and is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, India and the Indian Academy of Sciences. She received the J.C. Bose Fellowship from SERB, Govt. of India in 2021.

Siddhartha Paul Tiwari

"Technology and Society: Present and Future"

"Technology and Society:

Present and Future"

Siddhartha Paul Tiwari is an educationist and technologist. Currently, he’s employed with Google Asia Pacific, Singapore. He is known for his pioneering work in e-governance, digital intervention strategies and information and communication technologies (ICT). During his career, he has been actively involved in the development of user trust, safety, and privacy. He is a widely recognised subject matter expert for his leadership and success in the internet business and has delivered a wide range of invited speaking engagements at various conferences, events and educational institutes.

Parmesh Shahani

Parmesh is a passionate advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in corporate India and has guided many of the country’s leading companies on their inclusion journeys. His first book Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)Longing in Contemporary India (Sage Publications) was released in 2008 and re-released in June 2020 as an updated edition. His second book Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace (Westland Business) was released in August 2020. Parmesh Shahani is a Vice President at Godrej Industries Ltd. and the founder of the award-winning Godrej India Culture Lab in Mumbai, which sparks conversations and collaborations about the changing face of contemporary India

Sonal Giani

Sonal is a champion for diversity and inclusion who wears many hats and uses various platforms to speak out for LGBTQ+ rights. She is a filmmaker, a diversity and inclusion trainer, a public speaker, and an activist. She received the "Diversity Leadership Award" from the World HRD Conference in 2016 and the "Queero" Award from Six Degrees as a result of her work. Sonal has been mentioned on lists such as The Better India's "8 Inspiring Indian LGBT Individuals," and Gaysi's "India's 8 LGBT role models under 30." She was also listed by Bombay Dost as one of the ‘Top Ten LGBT Turks to watch out for’. She also co-founded the following organisations: QFamily, Umang, one of Mumbai's largest lesbian, bisexual, and transgender support groups, and Yaariyan, one of India's largest youth collectives.

Shubha Chacko

Shubha Chacko has over 25 years of experience on a range of social concerns from gender and sexuality to macroeconomics and NGO management. She is an active academician who has spoken at a range of conferences at the international and national level. She is the Executive Director of Solidarity Foundation, an NGO that does grassroots work with organisations of sexual and gender minorities. The World HRD Congress has recognized her as a global diversity leader.

Alok Hisarwala Gupta

A lawyer, activist, and queer rights and animal rights researcher he has practised as a civil liberties lawyer in the Bombay High Court for over ten years. He has written widely on section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised homosexuality in India and was part of the legal challenge against it. He has also co-edited Law Like Love which looks at queer perspectives on law. He currently focuses on animal rights which he says has been conceptualised through his work on queer rights.

Angelique Jacquet

Angelique Jacquet is a musician, comedy writer, and reluctant instagram content creator whose work focuses on her experiences as a queer person. She also performs under the drag moniker He Larson.

Dhruv Sehgal

"Crafting through the Character’s lens "

Dhruv Sehgal is an Indian actor and writer known for his work in Filter Copy and Little Things. Sehgal worked as an Assistant Director for the documentary Baavra Mann and as an editor for I am Offended. He also made a short film called Kunal, which won the Golden Gateway Dimensions Mumbai Award at the Mumbai Film Festival in 2015. He has portrayed the lead role in the series Little Things since 2016; he also is the creator and writer of the series, for which he won Storyteller of The Year Award at MTV-IWMBuzz Digital Awards 2019. He recently wrote an episode in the Indian web-series- Modern Love: Mumbai.

Kamakshi & Vishala Khurana

"Transcending all boundaries with Music"

Kamakshi & Vishala Khurana, co-founders of The Sound Space, a music institution that works closely with adults and kids to teach them Indian classical music in a deconstructed manner through Bandish, Raga, Art of Thumri. All through COVID-19 pandemic, they have worked with recovered patients and learned that music therapy has helped them combat stress, anxiety and its after-effects. Using the power of sound and frequency with various vocal exercises, it has been seen that such techniques help cope with the effects of illnesses.

Nikhil Paralikar aka TheTablaGuy

Known for his grooving tabla beats, Nikhil Paralikar aka ‘The Tabla Guy’ is taking the music industry with his amazing talent of playing tabla. Often mentioned for his ability to complement any tune into a feet tapping number by his beats, the popular artist has quite a history of extensive training in classical music. He took up tabla at the age of 5 and now has represented India on “Living Talent”, an international talent event. Popular artists like B Praak, Guru Randhawa, Vishal Mishra, Ritviz and Abhay Jodhpurkar have shared his cover tracks over the near past. He has also been celebrated by international artists like DJ Snake as his popularity grew wider.