PANAJI
As many as 5,000 delegates have registered themselves for the Purple Fest 2023 - Celebrating Diversity, which is all set to begin in Panaji on January 6. On the eve of the event, Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phaldesai released a brochure which is a guide to various activities and locations.
“Persons with Disability need to be brought into the mainstream. Through events and dialogues, we will be able to see a bright future in Goa and across the country. With the goal of making this event as large as IFFI, we are fully set. All preparations have been completed, and it is now time to get the ball rolling,” Phaldesai said while speaking to the media.
The festival, which promotes inclusion and engagement of all people on a shared platform, has attracted over 5,000 delegate registrations including members of the disabled community and other individuals from across the country. The event will have 1,000 local volunteers to assist the delegates, persons with and without disability and all attendees for all three days.
“Purple Fest is a landmark event for us in Goa. We were looking at 3,000 delegates but have crossed the 5,000 mark already. With 1,000 volunteers, 70 exhibitors and over 60 guest speakers, we hope to find the right path to empowering India here in Goa,” Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities, Guruprasad Pawaskar said.
The event is intended to encourage people to overcome personal stereotypes as well as to establish an environment that not only educates everyone about the disabled community and their capabilities but also respects and celebrates diversity and inclusion.
Jagruti Mela will provide an opportunity to parents, NGOs and other stakeholders to clarify their queries by interacting with the service providers. In Purple Dialogue, the speakers will discuss eight different threads of conversations that are set up with experts and the Purple Ambassadors.
The inputs given by the experts will be used to develop essential policies and policy modifications. This will aid advocacy not only in Goa, but also at the national and state-levels.
