Cristelle Hart Singh

Cristelle Hart Singh is an Anglo-Swiss social practitioner who has been based in Kochi for over 24 years. She is the co-founder and current Managing Director and Managing Trustee of Dil Se Association, an organisation dedicated to child protection, care, and the prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA). Dil Se’s work focuses on breaking the silence, stigma, and taboo surrounding CSA through awareness-building, education, and community-based interventions that equip adults, caregivers, and institutions to recognise, respond to, and prevent harm.

As part of this commitment to care, Dil Se also established the Dil Se Children’s Home, where a traditional Keralan house was acquired to provide underprivileged children with a safe and loving environment. Over 12 years, the home supported nearly 30 children—on average housing 12 at a time—including orphans and children from abusive or vulnerable family situations.

Alongside her organisational leadership, Cristelle is an arts-based therapy practitioner and a faculty member for the Arts Practices for Inclusion course by Snehadhara Foundation. She is also a mother to two teenage boys, and her work is deeply informed by her love for travel, authentic conversations, nature, animal rescue, reading, and cinema—bringing a grounded, compassionate presence to every space she holds.

Kumam Davidson

Founder of Matai Society, Manipur, Kumam Davidson has a decade of transformative queer activism, community work, research, writing and consultancy. He also co-founded The Chinky Homo Project - queer digital anthology of Northeast India.

With expertise in digital storytelling, community building and community research across Manipur, Northeast India, he has produced extensive works from the region. He is also part of the LGBTQ networks in India and outside and has collaborated with institutions like the University of Sussex, University of California, Mariwala Health Initiative, Reframe Arts on pioneering community research including publications in HIV, mental health, and LGBTQIA lives in Routledge and Zubaan. He is Editor of the book “Mental Health Journey: Untold Stories of People from the Northeast of India”, shortlisted for Rainbow Book Prize 2024-25.

He currently co-leads LGBTQIA advocacy, indigenous livelihoods, psycho-social health, and trauma-informed interventions in conflict zones with focus on Manipur. He is advisor/consultant to young collectives and organisations working on similar issues.

Romana Sheikh

Romana Sheikh is the founder of Weaving Wholeness and the author of the book Weaving Wholeness. Her work brings together trauma-informed practice, lived experience, and a deep commitment to love and justice, with the intention of creating systems where every child can thrive.

With over two decades of experience across mental health, education, peacebuilding, and leadership, Romana’s work bridges inner healing with systemic transformation, offering grounded and humane approaches to learning, care, and belonging. She is known for her warm, reflective presence and her ability to hold complex, emotionally rich conversations with clarity and compassion, creating spaces that feel both safe and deeply transformative.

Ashita

Ashita is an art educator whose practice sits at the intersection of art, learning, and social transformation. With over a decade of experience, she works with process-driven methodologies to create spaces where art becomes a language for reflection, healing, and collective growth. She co-initiated ArtKaar Collective in 2023, with the intention of building a network of art educators, artists, and creative facilitators working with vulnerable communities. The collective positions art as a critical tool for fostering inclusion, and sustainable social change.

Ashita works with Kat-Katha, an organization dedicated to ending forced sex work, where she serves as the Operations and Strategy Lead. Using art as a tool for empowerment and inner work, she is engaged in building safe, creative spaces within the red light area. She currently divides her time between ArtKaar Collective and Kat-Katha. In the last decade, she has worked with organizations like Vidya and Child, Kat-Katha,Craftroots etc. engaging with art education, artists and different forms of performing arts.

Neelansh Sethi

Neelansh Sethi is a Co-founder of Kalpana Mehta’s Jumbish Society for Well-being. He is an Arts Practitioner for Inclusion and a library educator. He has worked with Denotified (DNT) communities for over five years, using art, play, and community libraries to create safe and inclusive spaces that support well-being.

Anuradha H R

Anuradha is the founder and driving force behind Untitled Arts Foundation, an organisation committed to making arts education accessible, relevant, and rooted in everyday lived realities. Her work centres on using the arts as a tool for learning, expression, and social change, particularly with children, young people, and communities.

Known for her thoughtful, grounded approach, Anuradha holds a deep belief in the arts as a space for inquiry rather than instruction. She brings a quiet clarity and openness to her work, creating learning environments that are reflective, inclusive, and deeply human.

Vasu Dixit

Vasu Dixit is a singer, songwriter, performer, and cultural practitioner, best known as the frontman of the Bengaluru-based folk-rock band Swarathma. Rooted deeply in folk traditions and social narratives, his music weaves together storytelling, satire, resistance, and everyday lived realities, often reflecting on themes of identity, justice, and collective memory.

Vasu brings a rare mix of playfulness and depth to his presence—warm, honest, and deeply connected to people. Whether through music or conversation, he creates spaces that feel alive, inviting listeners to both reflect and feel at home in shared rhythms and stories.

Gurupriya Atreya

Gurupriya Atreya is a singer, composer and an arts curator. Trained in Indian classical music since her childhood, she is currently a disciple of Ustad Faiyaz Khan. Staying rooted in the classical & semi-classical music traditions, she actively performs songs from the Bhakti & sufi traditions, ghazals, lends her voice to singing playback for films, commercial jingles & voice overs.

As a composer, educator & facilitator Gurupriya has worked with various dance companies, schools and productions.

Her recent debut as a music composer for a Kannada short film titled 'Rasam' has been recognised in many film festivals for 'Best Original Score'

Through her projects such as The Living Room Kutcheri, Sing a lullaby, as a facilitator of arts for children and other vulnerable population, she dreams of making a difference by bringing large groups of people, communities & cultures together, to form an inclusive society at large.

Naveen Thomas

Naveen Thomas passionately believes in the role of play in human development and currently spearheads Headstreams, an organisation working at the intersection of arts, education, and social justice. He is actively involved in the design and facilitation of youth programmes and livelihood initiatives, with a strong emphasis on integrating theory and practice.

A trained social worker in Medical and Psychiatric Social Work, Naveen examined human vulnerability in disaster recovery through his doctoral research. His intervention experience spans major disaster response efforts, including the super-cyclone in Orissa, drought conditions in Western Rajasthan, the tsunami in Kanyakumari, and floods in northern Karnataka.

He has also contributed to health research and policy through his work with the Community Health Cell, Bengaluru, and as part of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Watch team of the People’s Health Movement in Geneva. In academia, he has participated in curriculum consultations at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, served on the Board of Studies for the Social Work Department at Christ University, and completed a specialised course in Medical Law and Ethics from the National Law School of India University—bringing an interdisciplinary lens to his work across education, health, and social justice.