Real Ideas. Radical Solutions. Groundbreaking Voices.
Step into thought-provoking, unscripted dialogues with pioneering changemakers, researchers, and grassroots leaders. We’re dissecting the systems that shape our daily lives-from how we care for our minds to how we weave what we wear.
Step into thought-provoking, unscripted dialogues with pioneering changemakers, researchers, and grassroots leaders. We’re dissecting the systems that shape our daily lives-from how we care for our minds to how we weave what we wear.
Panel: Mental Health & Wellbeing
Timing: Friday, Oct 2 | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Venue: Sabhaghar (Venue 1)
Conversation Around: Mental health isn’t a luxury, it starts with accessible, equitable care. This conversation unpacks the intersections of wellbeing, gender, child rights, and community care, focusing on marginalized voices and tribal communities.
What to Expect: An unvarnished dive into how grassroots initiatives are dismantling health inequities and making mental healthcare accessible to everyone, without the corporate jargon.
Who is Joining:
- Raj Mariwala – Mental Health Initiative (MHI)
- Dr. Vaishali Sonavane – Academic & Healthcare Systems Leader
- Prof. M. Sivakami – Researcher & Gender/Health Equity Specialist (TISS)
- Rukmini Dhanlobhe – Leader, Nalam Project (Tribal Community Care)
- Priti Bhosale & Peehu Pardeshi (Moderators) – Pehel Foundation
Panel: Sustainable Textiles & Indian Fashion
Timing: Friday, Oct 2 | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Venue: Sabhaghar (Venue 1)
Conversation Around Can you shrink your carbon footprint while embracing style? This panel explores the future of Indian fashion, slow clothing, eco-conscious fabrics, and fair artisan livelihoods.
What to Expect: Direct insights from industry visionaries who are reshaping Indian textiles, honoring traditional craft traditions, and building ethical fashion supply chains.
Who is Joining:
- Bela Sanghvi – Textile Revivalist & Design Pioneer
- Arup Rakshit – MGSS
- Ghatit – Khamir
- Rahul Bhole – Sustainable Crafts Advocate
Panel: Exploring Radical Alternatives
Timing: Sat, Oct 3 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Conversation Around Move beyond despair over the economy, climate, and society and explore diverse, actionable ideas for solutions and innovations.
What to Expect: Practical insights on sustainable development and civic action, and a deep dive into how to make radical alternatives mainstream.
Panelists
- Ashish Kothari Environmentalist & Founder of Kalpavriksh
- Rajni Bakshi Author, Speaker & Founder of Ahimsa Conversations
Moderator:
- Pankati Convener, Blue Ribbon Movement
Panel: Development, Rights and Adivasi Movements
Timing: Sat, Oct 3 | 11:00 – 12:30
Conversation Around How urban expansion impacts tribal lands, resources, and rights, and how can we now ensure indigenous communities receive dignity, respect, and empowerment?
What to Expect: First-hand accounts and strategic insights from grassroots heroes and movement leaders who have spent decades fighting legal battles, leading mass movements, and influencing policy for tribal protection.
Panelists
- Bittu Sahgal Founder, Sanctuary Nature Foundation
- Milind Thatte Policy-level Advisor (21+ years working with forest-dwelling tribes)
- Medha Patkar Social & Environmental Activist
Panel: Climate Action in Rural and Urban Spaces
Timing: October 3, 2026; 16:00 – 17:00
Conversation Around: How climate change disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations, the systemic inequalities driving environmental risk, and how local, community-driven alternatives can advance climate mitigation and adaptation across urban and rural landscapes.
What to Expect: Insights into climate justice, carbon financing, grassroots urban housing rights, and coastal policy impacts—featuring perspectives from environmental entrepreneurs, carbon finance experts, community leaders, and spatial researchers.
Panelists
- Bhagwan Kesbhat Founder & CEO, Waatavaran
- Jay Anand Director of Project Origination & Development (South Asia), GREENIPATH AG, Switzerland
- Vikas Waghmare Community Organiser & Social Worker, YUVA
Moderator:
- Shweta Wagh Urban Conservationist & Associate Professor, KRVIA
Panel: Just Food Systems
Timing: October 3, 2026; 14:00 – 15:30
Conversation Around: What does a just food system look like in the Indian subcontinent, and how can we address systemic challenges such as nutritional violence, market homogenisation, and marginalised access?
What to Expect: Gain deep insights into overcoming historical inequities, building resilient agrarian systems, and restoring ethics and human rights to the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed.
Panelists
- Kurush Dalal Director, School of Archaeology, INSTUCEN Trust
- Shahu Patole Author, Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada (Anna He Apurnabrahma)
- Swati Satpute Research Associate, SOPPECOM
Moderator:
- Dr. Sanchita Das Founder, Bihun Collective
Panel: Jal, Jangal, and Jameen
Timing: October 3, 2026; 14:00 – 15:30
Conversation Around: What does a just food system look like in the Indian subcontinent, and how can we address systemic challenges such as nutritional violence, market homogenisation, and marginalised access?
What to Expect: First-hand insights from pioneering activists who have revived dead rivers, led massive people’s science campaigns, and organized grassroots peasant struggles to safeguard land, water, and forests.
Panelists
- Dr. Soumya Dutta Co-Convener of South Asian People’s Action on Climate Crisis, SAPACC
- Rajendra Singh Waterman of India; Founder, Tarun Bharat Sangh
Moderator:
- Dr. Sunilam Mishra Social Activist, Writer & Former Physicist (President, MPKSS)
Panel: Access to Renewable Energy
Timing: Sun, Oct 4 | 11:00 – 12:30
Conversation Around: What does the clean energy transition mean for India’s diverse population—who benefits, who is left behind, and who pays the price for ‘clean’ energy?
What to Expect: Strategic insights on climate justice, decentralised renewable tech, clean energy access, and people-centric policies from veteran climate activists, innovative social entrepreneurs, and grassroots movement leaders.
Panelists
- Dr. Soumya Dutta Co-Convener of South Asian People’s Action on Climate Crisis, SAPACC
- Dr. Priyadarshini Karve Founder & Director, Samuchit Enviro Tech; CEO, CLEAN
- Kulpreet Singh Sahni Founder, PSYXI
Moderator:
- Dr. Sunilam Mishra Social Activist, Writer & Former Physicist (President, MPKSS)
Conversation: Defending Indian National Sovereignty
Timing: October 4, 2026 | 11:00 – 12:30
Conversation Around: How national security, geopolitics, and global power shifts impact India’s sovereignty, and what strategies are needed to protect national interests against modern defense and diplomatic challenges?
What to Expect: Strategic insights and critical analysis from defense experts, journalists, and political activists with decades of experience in national security policy, armed forces, and global justice movements.
Speakers
- Praveen Sawhney Editor, FORCE Magazine; Author & Former Indian Army Officer
- Feroze Mithiborwala Political Activist, Columnist & Convenor, Awami Bharat
Community Livelihood Innovations from Konkan Region
Timing: October 2, 2026 | 14:30 – 16:30
Conversation Around: How grassroots innovations in sustainable agriculture, zero-till farming, and rural enterprises can strengthen community livelihoods and build climate-resilient futures across the Konkan region.
What to Expect: Strategic insights and critical analysis from defense experts, journalists, and political activists with decades of experience in national security policy, armed forces, and global justice movements.
Speakers
- Sagar Ranadive Project Manager, Rural Communes
- Kikas Kharmale General Manager, Swades Foundation
- Chandra Shekhar Bhadsavle Chief Promoter & MD, Saguna Sustainability Solutions