Purple Fest Goa event!

The Purple Fest is a one of its kind inclusive event that aims to bring everyone together to create an inclusive community.
My experience at Purple Fest Goa was celebrating the diversity: I had a very wonderful experience and it felt great to have met the Chief Minister Mr. Pramod Sawant, Minister of Social Welfare, Shri. Subhash Phal Desi, and I met and interacted with Mr. Taha, the secretary of Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities and with Mr. Guruprasad Pawaskar, the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. I believe that they learned a lot from Ambassadors who are disabled, Mr. Zamir Dhale, the first Ambassador of Purple Festival Goa, who is deafblind and the founder of the Society For the Empowerment of the Deaf-Blind(SEDB). I feel that more than 4500 people from all across India have come for the Purple Fest event. 200 deafblind participants attended the deafblind conference conducted by Sense India as I was employed by this organization as Senior Advocacy Officer from year 2006 to 2015.  At the stage, guests already knew me very well and they quoted a lot about me. I participated in dancing and singing  a song on the cruise. I danced with my deafblind and deaf friends. Lots of fun there in Goa. I attended a Fashion show conducted by All Indian Deaf Cultural Arts Society(AIDCAS). Lots of beautiful deaf girls and women participated in it. I love to see fashion shows where Miss deaf women look more beautiful than me. I am with my interpreter Mr. Amaresh Gopalkrishan. I don't believe that I am handsome, but everybody said that I am very handsome and a hero who is really deafblind. Lots of deaf people came to me and said "Hello Zamir" and clicked lots of photos. I do not know how they know me. I do not remember them. All across India NGOs and individuals already knew me very well. Even government officials can recognise me more than other people with disabilities. I was part of Information and Communication Technology (ICT as a panellist with other 4 ambassadors. They introduced me to the audience. All in all, attending the Purple Fest, Goa was an experience to remember. I spoke at the Purple Fest to vent about myself and my vision: Deafblind people can live an independent life. Live a life free from discrimination. For this to happen, accessibility is the key. Hope the accessibility will be considered and given top priority. Purple Fest Goa will help persons with disabilities become equipped with more awareness and I believe that the Government of India will understand our rights and needs equally with others in the beautiful world. Thank you Enable India for supporting the Goa Government in conducting this event. Shanti, Dipesh, Dipendra Manocha and Homiyar were the curators of this fest, along with the Government of Goa- Office of the State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities who is one of the curators.
A report made by Zamir Dhale, the Asian Regional Presentative of the World Federation Of The DeafBlind(WFDB)

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