The International Purple Fest Goa 2025 hosted by the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and the Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Government of Goa, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, and United Nations India was held from October 9 to 12, 2025. The Fest is considered a landmark global event promoting inclusion and accessibility aligned with SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, inaugurated the 3rd International Purple Fest advocating diversity through Inclusive Thinking. He was joined by key dignitaries, including Hon’ble Union Minister Dr. Virendra Kumar, Minister of State Shri. Ramdas Athawale, UN Resident Coordinator Shri. Shombi Sharp, the Chief Secretary of Goa, and Secretaries from both the Central and State Departments of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
This year focus was on Universal Design and the event by design focused on creating systems, products, and environments that are usable by all people, without the need for adaptation. The event saw a wide-ranging audience, including Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and their families, NGOs, policymakers, designers, technologists, educators, corporate and startup leaders, artists, athletes, and the general public, both nationally and internationally.
Some of the major tracks and initiatives at the event included Purple Conventions, high-level conferences and policy dialogues; Purple Think Tank, roundtables with global experts for innovative solutions; Purple Exhibition, a showcase of assistive technology and inclusive design); and Purple Experiences, immersive environments fostering empathy and experiential learning. As part of the Purple Exhibition, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s innovative Assistive Technologies were presented at the event. The Assistive Technology (AT) projects presented were developed by Amrita CREATE and the Amrita School of Computing, Amritapuri Campus, with support from Amrita’s newest UNESCO Chair on Assistive Technologies in Education.
The projects are rooted in the ethos of compassion-driven research. Our approach of co-designing Assistive Technology (AT) with experts and Persons with Disabilities (PwD)—from design to deployment—sets the standard for equity, representation, and justice. Our project team—comprising signers Mr. Hisham CP and Mr. Nikhil Das, and ISL interpreter Mr. Rajeevan Koliyate—confidently presented the AI-powered ISL chatbot at the exhibition booth.
Our inclusive team comprising, Deaf and hearing team members collaborated closely to build the necessary corpus and training videos, ensuring the application that is live on UMANG platform is accessible to the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) community. It was heartening to receive positive user feedback affirming their excitement and the application’s genuine usefulness in their everyday life.
Throughout the event, Mr. Bhanu Sood directed key engagements, communicating the university’s vision and latest developments in research related to Assistive Technology (AT). Our exhibit was visited by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant; Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India; Shri. Kumar Raju, Director, ISLRTC; Shri. D S Prashant, CEO, Goa Startup Mission; and Shri. Dhananjay Bhole, Co-Founder & Director, Sugamya Digital Solutions among others.
As part of the Purple Convention, our team attended the 1st International Convention of the Deaf – Sign Language, a significant step forward towards Deaf inclusion, which brought together experts to deliberate on policy, rights, inclusive communication, and the increasing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in promoting accessibility for the DHH community. Our team had meaningful conversations with Mr. Sunil Sahasrabudhe, President of the All India Federation of the Deaf (AIFD), and Mr. Roshan Kumar, General Secretary AIFD.
PhD Scholar Mr. Amal Krishnan UC, specializing in special education, attended a one-day workshop titled “Making Higher Education Inclusive: Journey from Law to Practice” organized by the Directorate of Higher Education, Government of Goa. The workshop focused on the practical steps institutions can take to provide reasonable accommodations and accessible content to students. The session was facilitated by Ms. Neha Trivedi, Founder, Spandan; Dr. Homiyar Mobedji, Director Programmes, Benetech (Asia & Africa); Mr. Cherag Mobedji, In-charge of eBook Production and Content Acquisition, Benetech; and Dr. Piyush Chanana, Lead, National Center for Assistive Health Technologies (NCAHT), IIT Delhi.
Dr. Rajlakshmi Kanjilal participated in the sessions “Making Inclusive Education a Reality: The Journey from Policy to Pedagogy” organized by the SETHU Centre Goa focusing on raising awareness on best practices for inclusive education, with a session dedicated to introducing invisible disabilities and addressing neurodiversity in mainstream classrooms, and “Towards Inclusive Data: Strengthening Disability Counting in Census 2027” organized by UN India, DEPwD, UNFPA, the State Commission for Persons with Disabilities (Goa), Astha, and Civis.
Attending Purple Fest was a truly unique experience as the event moves far beyond the typical conversation about inclusion. Many disabilities remain invisible, often creating a significant gap between talking about inclusion and being truly inclusive. When empathy, understanding, and acceptance of differences are prioritized, diverse teams don’t just survive—they thrive. By prioritizing a strengths-based approach and our shared vision of developing accessible AT, our team aspires to create solutions that support as many people achieve their fullest potential.
