09:00 – 21:45Entrance Foyer

All Delegate Check-In & Welcome

10:00 onwards

Discovery Pavilion Opens

10:30 – 11:15Conference Room 1

(WORKSHOP) From Concept to Collaboration: Building Projects for International Grants & Residencies – UK + Germany + Spain

• Westley Holdsworth | Phillip Grefer |
• Grants & Programme Manager
• PRS Foundation, UK

Description:

Strong grant applications begin with strong ideas. Whether applying for an international residency, developing a co-production or seeking project funding, artists are often expected to articulate not only what they want to make, but why it matters, who it is for and how it will be realised.

This hands-on workshop introduces participants to the fundamentals of developing projects that are well suited to international opportunities. Drawing on experience supporting artists through grant programmes, the session will explore how to shape a compelling project framework, identify the right funding opportunities, and write applications that clearly communicate artistic vision, impact and feasibility.

While examples may draw from international programmes, the workshop focuses on transferable skills that participants can apply across a wide range of funding and residency opportunities.

11:00 – 11:15Audi 1

Invited Lecture: Music as Cultural Diplomacy — Sounds of Rising India

Description:

A short address exploring how Indian music can serve as a tool of cultural diplomacy, connecting the country’s rising global visibility to broader soft-power and cultural-exchange goals.

11:15 – 12:15Audi 1

PANEL: From Showcase to Success: Building Global Futures for Independent Artists

Description:

For independent artists, a showcase festival is rarely the end goal, it’s the beginning of a much longer journey. While showcases can open doors to touring, international bookings, collaborations and industry partnerships, success depends on much more than delivering a great performance.

This panel explores how showcase festivals fit within an artist’s long-term career development, what delegates and talent buyers are really looking for, and how artists, managers and festival organisers can work together to build sustainable international careers. It also examines the responsibilities of showcase festivals in creating equitable opportunities for emerging talent and ensuring that discovery translates into meaningful outcomes.

11:30 – 13:00Conference Room 3

ROUNDTABLE 2: EY REPORTAgenda TBD – waiting for report summary

12:15 – 13:00Audi 1

FOCUS: Export Lessons from Africa

• Ramadan Journey, Artistic Director, Saudi de Busara, Tanzania
• Jiggs Thorne, Director, Bushfire, Eswatini
• Neveen Kenawy, Festival/Booker, She Arts, Egypt
• Lerato Matsoso, GM Operations Capasso, South Africa (Moderator)

What export strategies from Egypt, South Africa, Tanzania and Eswatini could India realistically adapt over the next 3–5 years?

Description:

Egypt, South Africa, Tanzania and Eswatini have each built internationally recognised music and festival ecosystems while operating outside the traditional centres of the industry. This conversation brings together festival leaders from these countries to share practical lessons on artist export, audience development, international partnerships and ecosystem-building in North, East and South Africa, that could be adapted for the Indian context.

The session explores how countries with distinct cultural identities have built sustainable pathways for artists to travel, collaborate and grow internationally.

12:15 – 13:00Conference Room 1

In the Spotlight

• Kalaghoda Arts Festival
• Hong Kong Arts Festival
• Linear Festivals
• Stallion Era

13:00 – 14:00

LUNCH BREAK

14:15 – 15:00Audi 1

Mapping the Corridor: Turning India’s Living Sound Into Playable Cultural Data

• Metora presents a live demonstration of how community-captured cultural data can be turned into structured, consented cultural intelligence, and made playable. Drawing on the Lanna Sound Map, an active pilot in Chiang Mai, the session walks through how consented, geotagged sound and place data is captured on the ground and structured into cultural records, before running the same process live on a Delhi map to show the pipeline working on Indian ground. The session also introduces BlumeBox, a music discovery game built on top of this data layer, where real artists and their tracks surface to players through in-game performance and collection, offering a new pathway for artist discovery beyond traditional streaming. With India holding one of the world’s richest and least-digitised soundscapes, the session positions this as a timely opportunity: the window to contribute non-Western cultural data to the AI systems being built today is open, and closing.

14:15 – 15:30Audi 2

Showcase Block 1

14:15 – 15:15Conference Room 1

• In the Spotlight
• Echoes of Earth
• Ethno Port Festival
• Kantha Hubba
• OFAM (Orange Festival)
• Echoes in the Valley
• SheArts Festival

14:15 – 16:00Conference Room 3

RoundTable 3: Cultural Infrastructure: The Future of Independent Music Venues

What kind of venues does India’s growing music ecosystem need over the next decade?

Moderator: Vishruti Bindal

Description:

India often talks about artists and audiences, but rarely about the physical spaces that make cultural life possible. Many cities lack appropriately sized venues, existing venues struggle with sustaining, and cultural infrastructure is rarely considered in urban development.

This session examines venues as long-term cultural infrastructure.

15:15 – 16:45First Floor Foyer

Speed Meetings

• David Agnew
• Amanda Chan
• Bharavi

15:30 – 16:30Conference Room 1

(WORKSHOP) How to Get Booked: A Festival Programmer’s Guide for Artists

• Stani Goma, Booker, Australia
• Dale Packard, Director, The Boite

Description:

Led by experienced international festival programmers, this workshop offers a behind-the-scenes look at the programming process. Participants will learn how festivals discover artists, what makes a submission stand out, and why some artists are booked while others are not. Through real-world examples and candid discussion, the session will help artists better understand how to present their work, approach programmers professionally and maximise opportunities before, during and after a showcase.

17:30 – 21:45BHIM Auditorium

Showcase Block 2

21:00 – 22:00Networking Lounge

End-of-Day Networking Mixer

09:00 – 21:45Entrance Foyer

All Delegate Check-In & Welcome

10:00 onwards

Discovery Pavilion Opens

10:00 – 10:30

In the Spotlight

• PUPA Music Group(Amanda Chan)
• The Boîte (Dale Packard)
• Hornbill Festival

10:30 – 11:15Conference Room

(WORKSHOP) The Modern Artist’s Playbook: Branding, Networking & Career Strategy in Today’s Music Industry

• Marc Dube, Promoter / Artist Booker, Canada

Description:

Marc Dube will conduct a workshop focusing on the realities of today’s music industry, artist branding, networking, live performance strategies, and sustainable international career development. The session will also explore long-term career planning, global market opportunities, and funding pathways.

11:00 – 11:15Audi 1

Invited Lecture: Spotlight on India’s Indigenous music heritage

Description:

A short address spotlighting India’s indigenous musical traditions, including an overview of the Ministry of Culture’s on-ground activities and programmes supporting indigenous artists.

11:15 – 12:15Audi 1

Music Festivals as Engines of Place: Tourism, Local Economies & Cultural Identity

How can music festivals become a cornerstone of India’s cultural tourism strategy while delivering lasting benefits for local communities?

Description:

Music festivals are increasingly recognised as catalysts for tourism, local economic growth and place-making. Beyond ticket sales, they generate demand for hotels, restaurants, transport, retail and creative services, while helping shape the cultural identity of cities and regions.

As India’s festival landscape continues to grow, there is an opportunity to move beyond viewing festivals as isolated events and instead recognise them as strategic drivers of destination development. This panel explores how governments, tourism boards, festivals and local businesses can work together to build thriving cultural destinations that attract visitors, support local livelihoods and create long-term economic value.

11:30 – 13:00Conference Room 3

Closed Door Session with MOC + International Festivals

11:30 – 21:00

Discovery Hall All Day

12:15 – 13:00Audi 1

In Conversation: India’s Many Sounds — Programming India for Global StagesBozena Szota, Riju Tuladhar, Echoes In The Valley, Nepal

• Moderator: Lalita Suhasini

What makes an Indian artist stand out on the international stage, and how can India’s diversity become its greatest export?

Description:

As global interest in Indian music continues to grow, international festivals and showcase events are looking beyond familiar narratives to discover artists with distinctive voices and compelling stories. Yet India’s musical landscape is vast, multilingual and impossible to define through a single genre or identity.

In this conversation, leading international curators and festival programmers reflect on what excites them about the Indian music ecosystem, how they approach discovering artists, and how festivals can create meaningful pathways for Indian talent to reach global audiences. Rather than asking artists to fit international expectations, the discussion explores how India’s diversity can become one of its greatest strengths on the world stage.

12:15 – 13:00Conference Room

In the Spotlight

• BAND (Beats of Any Nation Downunder) (Stani Goma)
• Bushfire / House On Fire (Jiggs Thorne)

13:00 – 14:00All Venues

LUNCH BREAK

14:15 – 15:30Audi 2

Showcase Block 1

14:15 – 16:00Conference Room 3

Roundtable 4: Music Tourism and the Festival Economy

How can festivals become strategic drivers of tourism rather than standalone cultural events?

Arpito Gope – Moderator

Description:

Across the world, festivals are increasingly viewed as economic infrastructure rather than simply entertainment. They extend tourist stays, generate hospitality revenue, activate neighbourhoods, and shape international perceptions of cities.

India has hundreds of festivals but very little coordinated tourism strategy around them. This roundtable explores how tourism policy, destination marketing, and cultural programming can work together to create year-round cultural destinations.

15:15 – 16:45First Floor Foyer

Speed Meetings

• Leslie Shaw
• Laia Canals
• Journey Ramadhan
• Frank van Berkel
• Bozena Szota
• Neveen Kenawy
• Riju Tuladhar
• Aryn Sharnaz Rashdi / Roc Chyarop Burapat/Mike Shyu
• Rina Umaba

15:30 – 16:15Conference Room

(WORKSHOP) Grants and Residencies by Ministry of Culture

Speaker: [Ministry of Culture to confirm]

17:30 – 21:45BHIM Auditorium

Showcase Block 2