Sharif D. Rangnekar
(He / Him) Festival DirectorHe is a writer, curator, workplace inclusion consultant and singer-songwriter. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Straight to Normal: My Life as a Gay Man (2019) and Queersapien (2022).
A TEDx speaker, Sharif has addressed numerous global and local forums on communications, inclusion and multiculturalism hosted by the Canadian High Commission, the British High Commission, Public Relations Organisation International, International Communications Consultancy Organisation, Open For Business, the American Centre and corporations such as Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, Adobe, Barclays, Microsoft, Stryker, WE and Cognizant. He has spoken at colleges and schools such as Gargi College in Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad and the Scindia School in Gwalior.
The Founder of The Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism, Sharif is also the frontman of Friends of Linger. His band’s track, ‘Head Held High’ is considered to be India’s first dedication to the LGBT+ community. Sharif also belongs to one of India’s most diverse indie bands, The Original Knock Offs, that has artists from across the world.
A believer that communications through discussions, talks, art, literature and music are key to influencing change, he brings together over 30 years of experience in the fields of journalism, research, PR and image management in all he does. He has worked with organizations such as The Pioneer and The Economic Times in the media, and was the CEO and, later, chairman of Integral PR. Sharif is an advisor to the Global PR Trust focussing on social change and has chaired several juries such as those of the SABRE Awards and Fulcrum Awards.
Minhal Hasan
(He / Him) – Production & Creative DirectorMinhal Hasan has over 14 years of experience in the performing arts and cultural festival sector. Having a long stint with Teamwork Arts, he functioned as a curator, strategist and producer on a diverse range of festivals and events including The Shared History Festival in Johannesburg and Durban, Kahaani Festival in India, and The Ishara International Puppet Festival. Furthermore, he conceptualized music festivals like the Mahindra Kabira Festival in Varanasi and The Sacred Festival in Pushkar and Amritsar, in addition to curating and producing the “Friends of Music” Under the Banyan Tree on a Full Moon Night in New Delhi.
He has also played the role of co-curator and co-producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival. He led the production of the Sounds of Freedom Concert for two years in 2013 and 2014 in Delhi and produced Teamwork Arts’ Melbourne International Comedy Festival for two years too.
Minhal’s has also worked for corporates, producing events such the ET Now Women Summit as well as the monthly Aksha event for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in NCR, with whom he continues to serve as a Company Representative, managing conferences, sessions, launches, and awards, such as the Poshan Anthem Launch and TB Awareness since 2018. His body of work has allowed him to serve various government ministries covering child development, women, health and family welfare, information and broadcasting and finance.
While he left his full-time job as Vice President, Music Project, with Teamwork Arts, he remains to function with them as Creative Consultant, working on two of their biggest music festivals. In 2023, he founded Excurators Events Pvt Ltd, where he holds the position of Managing Director. His firm offers expert consultation, strategy and implementation for events and festivals.
Kanika Seth
(She / Her) Design HeadAn entrepreneur with an innate flair for creativity, Kanika is the co-founder of Say It With A Pin and Director of 2626 Creative Studio. She channels her expertise in strategy, design, and technology to craft unparalleled solutions. Her agency’s portfolio boasts collaborations with global giants like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UN, WWF, and industry leaders like Diageo. Kanika’s unwavering commitment to merging creativity with purpose has redefined the landscape of design and entrepreneurship.
Her experience of over 16 years across mediums, has allowed her to explore a variety of strategic work from building digital platforms to conceptualizing the launch of new brands, defining their role in today’s world, to creating content. Although most of Kanika’s work has been in the corporate world, she is keen to work in the area of philanthropy.
Yash Sharma
(He / They) – Assistant Project ManagerYash is the founder of one of the leading digital storytelling platforms for queer folks, Official Humans Of Queer (OHOQ). In a short span of three years, the platform has delivered over 1000 features on queer life through Instagram stories, posts, blogs and live conversations, leading it to be nominated twice for the Cosmo Bloggers Award under the LGBTQIA+ Voices of the Year.
All of 24 years in age and with a deep desire to serve society, particularly the queer community, he acquired an MA in Social Work in 2023. Along the way, he spent over a year with Impulse New Delhi first as its Director in charge of Advocacy and later, leading their Events division. Most recently, he set up the OHOQ Foundation, hoping to build a more structured system by which he can document, record and bring authentic lives of queer people to society. Under the Foundation, he most recently launched Queer30, an initiative to recognise organisations across India, working for the visibility of queer.
His initiatives and purpose has led him to speak at queer events as well as those hosted by corporations. He has also been interviewed by a variety of media including Times Now, Indian Express, Times of India and Social Ketchup.
