We were key partners for the second year in a row at the International Purple Fest 2025, held in Goa from October 9 to 12, 2025. This is not just a fest but a magnanimous movement for inclusion.
This fest was primarily organised by the Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Goa, in partnership with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, GOI, and UN in India. The Fest brought together thousands of disabled people, policymakers, artists, athletes, technologists, and allies from across the globe.
As key partners, we organised, co-organised, led and facilitated various conversations, events, conversations and dialogues leading up to the fest and of course during the fest. with critical impact and with the mission of empowering persons with disabilities and influencing the ecosystem, we organised several events.
RF @ IPF 2025
Spotlight: A media workshop
We organised Spotlight: A media workshop – in collaboration with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities GOI, Office of State Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Goa, UN in India and UN Women on September 22, 2025 at the We The Peoples Hall, UN House, Delhi. Over 50 media and communication professionals participated in and attended this half day event which comprised of the media workshop and was followed by panel discussion with media professionals, and press interaction with ministers and heads of UN.
Lead Beyond Limits: Disability and the New World of Work
At a time when technology, policy, and culture are reshaping the world of work, Lead Beyond Limits: Disability and the New World of Work brought together a powerful cross-section of changemakers at International Purple Fest 2025 to reimagine what inclusive employment, business and leadership really looks like. Over 200 persons with and without disabilities from across 6 countries joined in this day long convention, organised by us in collaboration with the UN in India, and Godrej Industries Group on October 10, 2025 from 9 am to 5 pm at Entertainment Society of Goa. With 3 impactful sessions, a powerful fireside chat and of course an enterprising pitch fest, the convention featured bold conversations, lived experience, and actionable ideas to break down systemic barriers and build an employment ecosystem that is ambitious, accessible, and driven by disabled leadership.
Funder Roundtable on Inclusive and Intersectional Philanthropy
Globally, philanthropy continues to marginalise disability. Less than 2% of all aid goes toward disability focused initiatives, and only just over 8% of that reaches the Global South.
The Funder Roundtable on Inclusive and Intersectional Philanthropy, by Rising Flame and Mariwala Health Initiative was organised on October 11, 2025 at Taj Vivanta from 10am to 1pm.
The roundtable focussed on building collective understanding of inclusive philanthropy that centres lived experiences and enables leadership of persons with disabilities, and reimagine funding as an intersectional act by looking at how disability intersects with gender, caste, mental health, class, and geography. It aimed to emphasise the need for flexible, core, and long-term funding to strengthen the disability rights movement.
Inaugurated by Shri Subhash Phal Dessai, Honourable Minister of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Govt. of Goa, the roundtable was facilitated jointly by our founder and executive director Nidhi Goyal and Raj Mariwala, Director Mariwala Health Initiative. With 8 funders, 5 disabled founders of organisations of persons with disabilities and 4 disabled entrepreneurs, the conversations were constructive, forward looking and action oriented.
Visions of Power and Possibility: Building Our Future Together
In a global context where women with disabilities continue to be sidelined, this half-day convening aimed to reclaim women with disabilities’ rightful space as leaders, thinkers, and movement builders.
On October 11, 2025 at Taj Vivanta Goa from 2 pm to 6 pm, we brought together 40+ women with disabilities for a powerful dialogue — “Visions of Power and Possibility: Building Our Future Together.” The room witnessed participation from women across disabilities – blindness and low vision, deaf and hard of hearing, little people, persons with locomotor, speech, or intellectual disabilities, and those cured or affected by leprosy – who had gathered to reimagine their collective future. The session was facilitated by Rising Flame team leadership in over 4 languages to ensure full participation and access.