PANAJI
A region’s strength lies in its myriad and diverse culture. It was the need to celebrate this cultural heritage and make it accessible to everyone that led to the inception of India Heritage Walk Festival (IHWF), a month-long festival led by Sahapedia. The festival will see six curated heritage walks being held across various parts of Goa in an effort to showcase the state’s diverse cultural offerings.
History, biodiversity, art, architecture and heritage feature prominently in the tours which include Goa Chitra Museum, Museum of Goa, Adil Shah Palace and Houses of Goa museum. A nature trail through the mangrove walk to learn about the states rich biodiversity is also on the cards. Old Goa is a treasure trove of fascinating stories. These will be explored over a heritage walk in the UNESCO heritage sites at Old Goa.
Sahapedia has forged a three-year collaboration with InterGlobe Foundation to promote the cultural legacy of Indian cities to a diverse audience. As a part of this collaboration, the Foundation will support curated experiences throughout the third edition of the ongoing India Heritage Walk Festival (IHWF) in five cities – Goa, Shillong, Indore, Prayagraj and Ahmedabad. The award-winning, multi-city festival features over 140 experiences in 44 cities across ten themes celebrating India’s rich cultural heritage.
Ranging from museums, historically significant monuments and markets, explorations of interesting natural landscapes and areas known for their rich cuisine, to gender-oriented narratives, the programme this year is curated thematically across ten central themes including Knowledge Traditions, Visual and Material Arts, Performing Arts, Literature and Languages, Practices and Rituals, Histories, Institutions, People, Built Spaces and Natural Environment.
The third edition of the festival is designed to be multifaceted and more inclusive by targeting diverse user-groups and audiences. Under the My City, My Heritage project, curated experiences across cities including Goa, Shillong, Indore, Prayagraj and Ahmedabad will be supported by InterGlobe Foundation. These experiences range from Walks, Insta Meets, Workshops and Anubhutis, a special initiative of Sahapedia bringing together experiences that facilitate the interaction of people with special needs, and from disadvantaged backgrounds with heritage, making culture more accessible.
Commenting on the partnership, Priyanka Singh, Head- InterGlobe Foundation, said, “The India Heritage Walk Festival attempts to showcase the tangible and intangible heritage of India. Their unique ability to pick the lesser known jewels from the riches of Indian culture is where our objectives intersect. At InterGlobe, we are committed to creating a meaningful and transformative impact in the areas of Culture and Heritage Preservation and Livelihood Promotion. The festival not only promotes the visible heritage of our nation but also enables the participants to peek into the lives and livelihoods of our skilled craftsmen. We are excited to be a part of this much-needed endeavour.”
Commenting on the festival, Vaibhav Chauhan, Festival Director (IHWecF) and Secretary, Sahapedia, said: “The focus this year has been to encourage and increase different forms of engagement with interesting and important heritage spaces, while also ensuring that these spaces are made accessible to various audience groups. These efforts have also been specially directed towards those groups for whom engagement programmes in heritage spaces are commonly unavailable, such as children, the differently-abled, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We have also curated special walks and events with specific user groups in mind, such as students, travellers, local residents, and professional groups such as photographers, conservationists, and so on.”
Supported by UNESCO, New Delhi, NMDC and Tata Technologies, the month-long festival is ongoing till 29 February, 2020. Airbnb has joined hands with Sahapedia as the Festival’s responsible tourism partner for this edition.
