Osama Manzar 

Osama Manzar works at the intersection of Access to Rights and Rights to Access. A Senior Ashoka Fellow and British Chevening Scholar, he is the founder of the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), established in 2002. Under his leadership, DEF has digitally empowered over 35 million people through a network of 2000+ Communication Information Resource Centres across India.

Osama has been a key architect of India’s inclusive digital ecosystem, influencing national initiatives such as the Digital Literacy Mission, Common Service Centres, the ban on Free Basics, and the liberalization of ISP licensing through PM-WANI. He has also led pioneering grassroots efforts to counter misinformation, including the creation of a cadre of rural women fact-checkers, frontline digital defenders combating misinformation in underserved communities.

At the core of Osama’s vision is the SoochnaPreneur model, a community-driven social entrepreneurship model to digital development that empowers local communities, especially women and persons with disabilities, to deliver last-mile access to information and citizen services. This model, recently recognized with the Blackstone Inclusive Entrepreneurship Award, centers community voices, local knowledge, and lived experiences in both policy and advocacy to ensure that India’s digital transformation is just, sustainable, and non-exclusionary.

Osama serves on several global boards and advisory bodies, including WiDEF, APC, GNI, and the World Summit Awards. He was profiled by The Hindu as “the man who travelled more than 10,000 villages.” A regular columnist for Mint, he has co-authored over 20 publications, including Internet Economy of India and NetChakra. 

Meera Goradia 

A graduate of TISS, Meera Goradia has been working in the artisanal sector since 1989, across enterprise development, market linkages, exports, and institutional leadership. She believes that India’s craft skills represent not only livelihoods but also cultural intelligence and identity that must be sustained for future generations.

As former Director of KHAMIR, Meera spearheaded programs that revived local resources such as Kala cotton, built new markets, and strengthened artisan institutions. She has also consulted with organizations like Jaypore, AIACA, Ikai Asai and IMG Reliance, bringing her expertise in business management, design direction, and incubation of small-scale enterprises.

Since 2020, Meera has been instrumental in shaping Creative Dignity, a collaborative network supporting artisans through relief, enterprise incubation, market access, and policy advocacy. As Co-Chair, she continues to guide its vision of enabling artisans to thrive with dignity, building partnerships that place makers at the center of regenerative economies.

She is also the author of Weaving with Compassion: The Rikhyas of Kutch, which documents the lives and work of the Meghwal weavers.

Meenu Chopra

Meenu Chopra is a development professional with more than  24 years of experience in managing organizations and enabling organizational growth.A graduate of Delhi University, Meenu was drawn to the development sector to follow her passion to drive sustainable change.  

She has been instrumental in supporting the strategic direction of large-scale social and sustainable development programs, raising funds, consulting, and managing risks while achieving objectives. She has sectoral experience in the fields of Sustainable Livelihoods, Enterprise Development, and Fair Trade with a focus on  strengthening Craft Value Chains and enabling  Market- led growth for Craft based enterprises.  Currently, she is heading All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association (AIACA), focussing on creating an enabling ecosystem for the craft based enterprises to thrive through an integrated approach that encompasses, advocacy, research, enterprise development, market access and authentication. 

Pooja Rajput

Pooja Rajput, Founder and Creative Director of Chidiyaa, has a journey only few can emulate. A computer engineer by qualification and a Project Manager at an insurance firm by profession, Pooja dropped it all to follow her passion- with a dream to make sarees her canvas and immortalize the classic Indian drapes with a little touch of her own.

In 2015, Pooja exited the corporate life and conjured up Chidiyaa. As an avid traveller with a fervour for the rich heritage, craftsmanship and technique that India offers, she decided to turn her hobby of interacting with artisans and going into the depths of handicrafts into something that would fuel her both creatively and professionally, day in and day out. She moved her paintbrush from paper to textiles and began to design unique motifs that have now become synonymous with her brand’s identity. A Chidiyaa saree is now recognizable at first glance, by its distinctive motifs, simplicity, understated elegance as well as superlative quality and craftsmanship.

For Pooja, being involved in every step of the ensembles’ journey brings her immense joy. Although the work happens remotely, across villages in India like Phulia, West Bengal and Ajrakhpur, Bhuj, it is Pooja’s vision and personal interactions with each artisan and weaver involved in the process that makes it a true labour of love. She even plays photographer for her own campaigns and collections and brings to life her colourful and carefully balanced vision through her images. She designs clothes that she would wear, incorporates art that she finds fascinating and creates collections that are a unique extension of her own personality.

The honesty of the brand, reflected through its simplicity and freshness, is also extremely reflective of Pooja’s own value system. To her, quality is key and distinctiveness is imperative. She makes her patrons recognize the true value of what they are buying- an amalgamation of beauty, grace, quality, handicrafts and intrinsically Indian. It is through her vision and guidance that Chidiyaa today boasts of over 240k + followers on their social media channels. Chidiyaa also has a loyal base of patrons and supporters who return to the brand for every new collection. The brand has also been appreciated by the likes of Ratna Pathak, Kiran Rao, Maria Goretti, Smriti Irani, Tillotima Shome and more. 

Shilpa Sharma

Shilpa Sharma is an entrepreneur, mentor, and advisor with over three decades of experience spanning retail, consulting, creative enterprises, and social impact initiatives. After playing a pivotal role in building Fabindia’s retail growth story, she established her own advisory practice in 2010, consulting across diverse projects in retail and lifestyle sectors. Her entrepreneurial journey began with Breakaway (2011), curating bespoke experiential travel in India, followed by co-founding Jaypore (2012), an acclaimed online platform for Indian handmade and design-led products. She later co-created Mustard, a hospitality venture blending French and Bengali cuisines, and Flourish, a global marketplace promoting conscious consumption.

Shilpa serves on the board of AIACA and is an advisor with the Bain Advisor Network, alongside engagements with Vedica Scholars Programme for Women, IIM Ahmedabad’s CCBP, IICD Jaipur, and Ashoka University’s YIF as a mentor. She has also co-chaired the INK Fellows Program, working with innovators across disciplines. Deeply invested in the crafts ecosystem, she has led grassroots design and livelihood interventions, including CSR programmes for Pidilite, and continues to mentor social entrepreneurs through her roles at Kilmora and Udhyam.

Balancing her professional pursuits with creative passions, Shilpa remains driven by curiosity, cultural engagement, and the search for transformative ideas.

Shefalee Vasudev

Shefalee Vasudev is a journalist, author, and narrative psychotherapist. Editor-in-chief of The Voice of Fashion and the first editor of Marie Claire India, she has spent three decades writing and editing across news and lifestyle media. Her second book Stories We Wear: Status, Spectacle and The Politics of Appearance will be published this year.

Savitha Suri

Savitha Suri is a Mumbai-based author, textile researcher, and market revivalist dedicated to the documentation, preservation, and sustainable revitalization of India’s handloom heritage. With a multidisciplinary approach that blends academic rigor with on-ground action, her work serves as a critical bridge between traditional weaving communities, academia, policymakers, and the modern market.

As an author, Savitha has co-authored significant works that have expanded the scholarly and public understanding of Indian textiles. Her chapter on bottom-up reorientation in weaving clusters was published by Palgrave Macmillan, while her co-authored book, ‘Assam: A Journey Through its Textiles’ (Speaking Tiger), is hailed as the first illustrated history to document the textiles of all the state’s indigenous tribes. She recently co-authored a chapter on the revival of the East Indian lugra in ‘Styling my Handlooms’, a publication co-published by NIFT, Mumbai, the Development Commissioner of Handlooms, and the Ministry of Textiles.

She is known for pioneering successful, crowd-funded market revivals for endangered textiles like the Udupi sari (Karnataka) and the Kunbi kaapod (Goa)—India’s first such private initiative, which directly influenced government action and GI tag applications. Her expertise extends to curation, having designed acclaimed, award winning digital festivals for the Mumbai Airport Museum and curated immersive experiences like the Travelling Museum of Indian Silks for international delegations, including at ‘Silk in Lyon’, France.

Beyond revival, Savitha is a committed enabler and educator. She serves as Guest Faculty at premier institutions like NIFT Mumbai and Somaiya Kala Vidya, where she imparts crucial knowledge on Market Orientation and Enhanced Literacy to the next generation of designers and artisans. She engages actively in disseminating information on the sector through workshops in India and abroad. She previously served as President of the WICCI Maharashtra Handloom Council, empowering women entrepreneurs, and founded ANVAYA, a social media platform that fosters equitable collaboration within the handcrafted textile ecosystem. She holds postgraduate degrees in Sociology and Mass Communications, a PG Diploma in Cyber Law, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration.

Shri Mohammed Ahsan Abid, I.A.S.

Shri Mohammed Ahsan Abid, I.A.S. (AGMUT cadre, 2014 batch) is currently serving as the Secretary to the Government of Puducherry, Department of Art & Culture and Information & Publicity. He also serves as Vice-Chairman of the Governing Body of the Puducherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture (PILC).

Bindu Vandana Manchanda

She is the Director of the Architectural Heritage Division and Head of Crafts & Community at INTACH, has over two decades of experience in heritage conservation, museum design, and craft revival. She has led award-winning restoration projects across India, authored books on heritage and culture, and curated craft development initiatives empowering women and marginalised communities. Her work focuses on skill enhancement, design innovation, and creating sustainable market linkages for traditional crafts.

Roshan Dutt

Roshan Dutt is a Creative Production Specialist, Market Strategy Consultant, Content Creator, and Storyteller, with over 25 years of experience in show business across 10 countries and 4 continents, spanning television, films, and digital media. His career bridges niche projects with renowned production houses and large-scale syndicated operations reimagined for India, covering fiction, non-fiction, reality shows, live events, and commercial advertisements.

As a founding member of BBC Worldwide (now BBC Studios – India Business), he played a pivotal role in establishing its strong presence in India, overseeing the rollout of more than 25 multi-format shows within seven years. He has also contributed to global media giants such as STAR TV Network, where he managed production for Channel V, and Fremantle India, where he spearheaded its resurgence in the Indian market.

Balancing creativity with managerial expertise and nuanced business acumen, Roshan has built a rich portfolio across formats and platforms. His corporate achievements have seamlessly transitioned into a thriving career as an independent media professional, where he continues to shape impactful content and strategies.

Dr. Radhika Khanna

Dr. Radhika Khanna teaches at the School of Media and Communication, Pondicherry University, and heads the Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC), Puducherry. With a Ph.D. in Pedagogy and Cinema from Jamia Millia Islamia, she specialises in journalism, photojournalism, documentary production, and communication for social change. A National Geographic certified educator and award-winning MOOC creator, she has also worked extensively in theatre-in-education and media training.

Elahé Hiptoola

Elahé Hiptoola is a film producer best known for her long-standing collaboration with Nagesh Kukunoor, having produced all his films to date. Her filmography spans acclaimed titles such as Rockford, Teen Deewarein, Iqbal, Dor, and Dhanak, as well as the series City of Dreams and Modern Love Hyderabad. Beyond cinema, she is the co-founder of Lamakaan, a vibrant cultural space in Hyderabad dedicated to the arts, dialogue, and community engagement.dia training.

Madhu Bahl

Madhu Bahl has more than 35 years of experience in the developmental and learning space, pan-India, pan-sectors and has worked closely with both the government and the private sector. She has also worked independently as a design and training consultant with well-known national and international agencies. She has a special focus and interest in education, skill training, women empowerment and enterprise development. Her last professional engagement was with Samhita-Collective Good Foundation where, as the CEO, she led the group’s strategic CSR business.