Promoting a more inclusive society, the Purple Fest will be celebrating diversity through the Purple Experience Zone from January 6-8 at Inox Courtyard between 9 am to 5 pm for activities and workshops. The fest will offer experiences of what it is like to navigate the life of a person with disability and get involved in activities designed to raise awareness and understanding of the experiences of persons with disabilities. The fest aims at creating a more inclusive, safe, and dignified world for everyone. From challenging obstacles to helpful advancements, this zone covers it all.
Jagruti Mela is a platform curated for parents and guardians of children with disabilities to provide information about education, skilling, schemes, training, and livelihood opportunities. In this area, persons with disabilities will be guided to take the right path from the beginning of their journey resulting in successful livelihood.
Kavya Srinivasan, manager of EnAble India stated, “As a parent or guardian of a child with disabilities, it can be easy to feel like you are alone in your journey. But the truth is, you are not alone. There are many people and organisations who are dedicated to supporting and guiding individuals with disabilities towards sustainable livelihoods”
Inclusive Carnival is a pioneering activity developed by Akshadhaa Foundation. The foundation has been training and educating individuals with neuro-development challenges for over a decade now. The curator of Inclusive Carnival, Sridhar Chari said, “The Carnival is a fun and experiential pathway to understand and engage with the neuro-diverse brain which is still a grey area for science.”
“We are happy to share, that, as the next logical step, Akshadhaa is launching an Assisted Living facility for neurodiverse persons and their families,” Chari said.
Antarchakshu is a simulation workshop designed to provide a sneak peek into the world of a person with disability. Participants will experience simulated activities for a few minutes and be made to perform a few simple tasks in a safe environment. Dr Sam Taraporevala, executive director of XRCVC shares “This Purple Experience Zone consists of a dual exposure to participants. After going through a simulation of disability that is designed to dispel myths, break stereotypes, this zone also creates a mindset of equal opportunity.”
Participants will be led through a comprehensive Assistive Technologies exhibition where they will get an insight into how persons with blindness and low vision use computers, conduct scientific experiments, play sports and live a holistic life. It will also show how persons with locomotor disability can use a motorised stair climbing chair or how persons with disability in the upper limbs can control a computer using just their eyeballs. It will provide inputs on how those who are hard of hearing can use technology to conduct seamless communication and how persons with disability can function independently and more efficiently using modern smart technology.
Museum of Possibilities holds infinite possibilities. This space encourages interaction with the community of users, creators and innovators and persons with disability. This zone caters to many aspects of a life of a person with disability – education, employment and healthcare to transportation, housing etc. With the theme ‘Live’, ‘Work’ and ‘Play’, the exhibits are not categorised as per a specific disability but showcases solutions to overcome barriers faced daily.
Hethal Solanki, manager, Museum of Possibilities shared, “The Museum of Possibilities will demonstrate an accessible home model with adapted products and assistive aids and technology for everyday use and access. This will be an experience zone for everyone to understand accessibility and universally designed products to foster independent living.”
There is Purple We Care Film Festival: The impact of audiovisuals is phenomenal and besides being educative and empowering, films have been an important way to bring about change in society. The curator of the We Care Film Festival, Satish Kapoor added, “We have been hosting movie screenings for the past 12 years and are extremely pleased to be able to do the same for the Purple Fest. It is the first festival that focuses on accessibility for persons with disability. We have not seen anything like this ever before, in Goa or in all of India.”
Kapoor has conceptualised and produced the National Anthem featuring Amitabh Bachchan and children with different disabilities. 25 films will be screened throughout Purple Fest for over 5,000 people. Some of the films that will be screened are ‘The Wizard of Needles’, ‘National Anthem in sign’, ‘Virtue’, ‘Means to Live’, ‘I am special, So are you’, ‘Tiny steps’, etc. The films will be at Inox in Panaji.
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Purple Experience Zone: Seeing the world through a whole new lens – The Goan Everyday
