Delegates 2026
Aditi Banerjee
Aditi is an award-winning filmmaker. She enjoys working across genres. Her web series ‘Love at Fifth Floor’ travelled to festivals at Paris, Toronto and LA, winning international awards before being streamed on Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon and Apple TV. She has been a fellow at the Writers Ink Script Lab in 2023 and at the Osian Talent Campus. Her work has been telecast on National Geographic, Fox,Discovery, AXN, Network 18 and Star World. As Creative Producer in a Mumbai based production house, she developed scripts for OTT platforms. Prior to that, she was co-founder of an online content startup where she produced daily shows.
Dani Sulu
Dani is a writer and researcher from Arunachal Pradesh, known for preserving Apatani culture and heritage. He is serving as Secretary of the State Disaster Management Authority, promoting resilience and preparedness.
Gyati Rana
Rana is a cultural activist, writer, poet, and lyricist from Ziro, belonging to the Apatani community. A retired Head Assistant from the PWD, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, he has long worked to document and promote Indigenous faith and culture. He has authored several books on Apatani oral traditions and cultural philosophy, and has contributed widely to journals and cultural publications. He was honoured with the Living Legend Award in Literature by the Apatani Capital Complex Dree Festival Committee.
Karma Paljor
Karma is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur, and co-founder of Atvi Infotainment, which runs EastMojo, a digital news platform focused on Northeast India. With over 22 years in journalism, he has worked with The Times of India, CNBC TV18, and was a founding member of CNN News18. A recipient of multiple honours including the Ramnath Goenka Award and the ENBA Award, he has reported on major national events and produced acclaimed programmes such as Budget Yatra, Axe the Tax, and India Positive.
Mehdi Ghazai
Mehdi is an applied AI and automation strategist focused on turning AI into practical, measurable impact. He runs Système Gagnant, a French platform for practical AI learning, and founded PragmaForge, a B2B company building AI agents and automation workflows. He has previously worked with the British Council MENA and the French Embassy in India on initiatives linking education, innovation, and communication, and regularly speaks on AI literacy and real-world deployment of AI systems.
Moge Basar
Moge is the author of two books of poetry, Margins: Poems (2022) and Chrysanthemums and Other Poems (2025), and two illustrated children’s books, Yapom (2025) & Echoes of Childhood (2025). He has a PhD in English, and teaches literature.
Moji Riba
Moji is a filmmaker, cultural activist, and communication educator from Arunachal Pradesh. A Rolex Awards for Enterprise (2008) Associate Laureate, he was recognised for his work in preserving and documenting the region’s cultural heritage. He is the founding Head of the Department of Mass Communication at Rajiv Gandhi University and the Executive Director of the Centre for Cultural Research & Documentation (CCRD). Through his work, he has directed and mentored over 50 documentaries and short films exploring identity, culture, and environmental change in Northeast India.
Radhika Viswanathan
Radhika is an audio producer and co-founder of Vaaka, a Bangalore-based audio company known for immersive, story-driven productions. Her work explores society, identity, and the narratives that shape our lives. She is the co-creator of the acclaimed series City of Women, as well as In the Field and Kaalavastha, which explores climate change and resilience in Kerala.
Ranju Dodum
Ranju is a journalist, publisher, and writer based in Itanagar, whose work frequently explores the culture, literature, and narratives of Arunachal Pradesh. With an extensive background in the region’s media landscape, he is notably the state’s only Pulitzer Center grantee to date. He has served in key leadership roles within the Arunachal Press Club and the Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists. In his free time, he dabbles poetry and prose writing. He is also a 2026 participant in the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the United States.
Sayantan Ghosh
Sayantan is the editorial director of Simon & Schuster India. His writings have appeared in Ambit Magazine, Electric Literature, Litro Magazine, The Quint, Firstpost, The Telegraph, National Herald, The Hindu Business Line, The Times of India and numerous other publications. He was awarded the Editor of the Year award at the Publishing Next Industry Awards 2023. He lives and writes in New Delhi, India. Lonely People Meet is his first novel.
Subi Taba
Subi is an award-winning author from Arunachal Pradesh. Her debut fiction Tales from the Dawn-lit Mountains won the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman 2025 for Best Fiction and Legacy of Literature, Editor’s Choice Award 2025. She was awarded the 100 Inspiring Authors of India for her poetry anthology, Dear Bohemian Man. She was also a fellow of South Asia Speaks and the winner of New Asian Writing Short Story Prize 2020 and Penguin Random House’s The Perfect Pitch Season 1. She works as an Agriculture Development Officer in Arunachal Pradesh.
Samudra Kajal Saikia
Samudra Kajal Saikia is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose practice spans performance, theatre, public art, cultural criticism, animation, film, and video. He holds a BFA from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, and an MVA in Art History from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Alongside cultural writing, he has engaged in curatorial and pedagogical projects. Samudra received the FICA Public Art Grant in 2010 and the Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant in 2013 from the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art. In 2015, he initiated and co-developed a research-based archival project on Performance Art in India with Asia Art Archive. His recent animated films and music videos have earned multiple recognitions at international film festivals.
Samyuktha Varma
Samyuktha is the co-founder of Vaaka, an audio company that produces documentaries about the stories that shape our identities and futures. She is the co-creator of In the Field, a show about India’s development journey; Kaalavastha, which explores the impact of climate change in Kerala; and the acclaimed City of Women, a playful, thought-provoking joyride through the minds of women and the streets of India’s cities.
Dr. Tage Kanno
Dr Tage is a pediatrician trained at Delhi University and Manipur University, currently serving in the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. Born in Tajang village, he belongs to the Apatani tribe and has long been involved in cultural and environmental initiatives in the region. He played a key role in standardising the Apatani orthography and in efforts to enlist the Apatani Cultural Landscape on UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List. Kanno is also a writer, known for Voices from the Ancestors – Apatani Folk Tales and his poetry collection Under the Pine Tree and Other Poems.
Tage Laling
Laling has over a decade of professional experience with POSCO, the South Korean steel major, where he headed HR, IT, and Procurement at the Hyderabad branch. In 2018, he relocated to Ziro to reconnect with his roots and focus on preserving Apatani language and culture. He contributed to the Tanii Aguñ Apatani language learning series used in schools across Lower Subansiri, runs the online Apatani–English dictionary tanii.org, and curates the Apatani Wiki platform documenting proverbs, stories, and cultural knowledge.
Dr. Taro Sindik
Taro is an Assistant Professor of Hindi at Dera Natung Government College, Itanagar, and belongs to the Tagin community of Arunachal Pradesh. A poet and writer, he has authored several poetry collections and works on folk literature, including Tagin Lok Sahitya and a Hindi–Tagin learners’ dictionary. His work has appeared in national and international journals, and he received the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2017.
Dr. Vinod K. Jose
Vinod is an award-winning journalist and former editor of The Caravan (2009–2023). He has also worked with US public radio and The Indian Express, and is currently the Director of the Wayanad Literature Festival. A Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University, he holds degrees from Manipal University, Columbia University, and Jamia Millia Islamia. His work has earned major honours including the Ramnath Goenka Award and the New York Foreign Press Association Award.
Vishal Langthasa
Vishal is a Creative Producer working at the intersection of visual storytelling, digital culture, and audience behaviour. He holds a Master’s degree in Media and Cultural Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. His work spans short-form and long-form digital formats, with a strong focus on food and cultural narratives. He brings a culturally grounded perspective to my work, often foregrounding my Northeastern regional identity.
Wulla Linggi
Wulla, who writes under the pen name RYO, is a reporter at North East Express and an emerging poet from the Mishmi Hills of Arunachal Pradesh, belonging to the Idu Mishmi tribe. A graduate in English from Saint Claret College, Ziro, she published her debut bilingual poetry collection Our Blues in 2026. Her writing explores themes of identity, emotional conflict, and the inner worlds of young people navigating social and personal change.