I will use this platform to push for inclusivity in India: Parmesh Shahani

Parmesh Shahani, head of the Godrej India Culture Lab in Vikhroli (Mumbai) was named as Senior Ted Fellow on Wednesday, making him the only Indian to receive the honour this year. Shahani became a TED fellow in 2009 and this ‘promotion’ is a recognition of the advances he has made since then.

“The TED Fellowship programme brings together young people who have the potential to change the world,” explained Shahani. 

“As a senior Fellow, I now have the chance to attend four more conferences in Vancouver, but more importantly to work closely with the TED team and assimilate their ideas. I’ll also get to mentor other fellows.”

Interestingly, the idea of a platform for cross-pollination of ideas through which solutions could be found was conceived while he was a TED Fellow. “What I do at the Culture Lab is mix people up and see the magic happen. I got the idea while sitting for my first TED conference and wondered if I could build a mini TED for 365 days in India. What I hope to learn now from TED was to be a better cross-pollinator,” he says.

The Godrej India Culture Lab describes itself as a fluid experimental space that explores what it means to be modern and Indian. It was established in 2011 and holds conversations between people from different spheres about issues pertaining mostly, though not exclusively, to gender identity, politics and sexuality.

Shahani’s new role will take forward his work with the World Economic Forum and UN, and he hopes to create a wider platform for the issues faced by the LGBTQ community in India and push for changes. “I will speak at the conference in a few years,” he says, “but this year is a year of assimilation and learning. It’s a year to be grateful and mentor the junior fellows.”