“Diversity and inclusion, which are the real grounds for creativity, must remain at the center of what we do.”
Belongg brings discrimination-free services and spaces to people who otherwise face identity-linked prejudice.
Inclusive Housing
A platform that brings discrimination-free housing rentals to tenants who would otherwise face prejudice due to their identity.
Inclusive Mental Health
A platform that seeks to bring inclusive therapists to people who experience identity-linked discrimination.
Inclusive Research
A platform that brings together academics and researchers focused on different topics related to identity-linked discrimination.
What is the Belongg Online Literature Festival?
The Belongg Online Literature Festival (BOLF) is a multi-day exploration of identity, diversity, and inclusion, featuring interactive online sessions with Indian and foreign authors writing on these themes in fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry form. This includes authors writing on gender, sexuality, race, caste, ethnicity, religion, disability, belonging, non-belonging and more in English, Hindi, Urdu or any other languages spoken on the Indian subcontinent.
Why is literature important to discussions on diversity and inclusion?
Belongg is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in communities, cities, and organisations. It is with the following belief that we run a Book Club & Library and are organising the BOLF: In a world that is deeply divided along lines of identity, literature provides a window into the lives, struggles, and joys of others, thereby enabling empathetic engagement with those different from ourselves. This engagement, and therefore literature, fosters solidarity between different groups of people.
When is the BOLF scheduled for?
The BOLF is scheduled to take place between the 3rd and 6th of July 2020. Sessions will start in the morning and run till late in the evening (Indian Standard Time). Please keep an eye out for the detailed schedule that will be published on this website in the coming days.
Who can attend the BOLF?
Anyone with a functional internet connection! Our pay-what-you-want tickets make it possible for you to either attend the Festival for free or purchase a paid ticket to the Festival should you wish to make a monetary contribution to Belongg’s work. We are also exploring options to cater to our attendees’ accessibility needs.
Keep in mind that we have a zero tolerance policy for hate and trolling. While our sessions are well-guarded from these (more on this in a later answer), anyone found attempting to disrupt a session will be removed immediately as well as barred from attending other sessions.
How much do the BOLF passes cost?
We want BOLF to be widely accessible and hence have a free pass that people can register for.
However, putting together a Festival of this sort requires considerable time and financial resources and, thus, we have also set up five levels of “Patron Passes” in addition to the Free pass. These range from INR 200-INR 2,500 (and custom amounts greater than INR 2,500) for Patrons who want to support our work and make such Festivals sustainable.
Proceeds from the Patron Pass sales will help support professional editing of BOLF videos and also to make the BOLF accessible for people with hearing disabilities so we do hope you will consider becoming a Patron for this Festival.
How can one attend the BOLF?
You are required to register for the Festival by ‘purchasing’ our pay-what-you-want tickets that range from Rs. 0 to Rs. 2500 (should you wish to make a monetary contribution to Belongg’s work).
The BOLF will be hosted on the remote conferencing platform Zoom. Closer to the Festival dates, Zoom links for each session will be made available to everyone who has registered. In order to attend a particular session at the Festival, you will then need to simply follow the Zoom link for it.
How will sessions at the BOLF be guarded against trolling and security risks?
We will be using the Zoom webinar feature, which allows only panelists–not attendees–to enable their audio, video, and screen-sharing. Attendees can only use the chat feature to communicate with the panelists. Anybody found attempting to disrupt the session will be removed immediately as well as barred from attending other sessions.
It should be noted that Zoom has made it mandatory for its users to upgrade to Zoom 5.0, which is GCM encrypted. GCM encryption provides increased protection for meeting data and resistance against tampering. You can read more about the security features here: https://zoom.us/docs/en-us/zoom-v5-0.html.
Will the sessions be available for viewing after the BOLF has taken place?
Yes, videos of all BOLF sessions will be recorded and uploaded to Belongg’s YouTube channel as well the YouTube channel of our media partner, The Wire.
How can I volunteer for the BOLF?
Volunteers will help the BOLF’s organizers with logistics, outreach, and content creation (articles, graphics, translations, etc.). They will also receive a letter/certificate following the successful fulfillment of their role as volunteer.
If you would like to volunteer for the Festival, kindly write to litfest@belongg.net and we will be in touch.
How can I get in touch with the organisers of the Festival?
If you are an author, publisher, or attendee who would like to get in touch with us, you can send an email to litfest@belongg.net.
If you would like to volunteer for the Festival, kindly write to litfest@belongg.net and we will be in touch.
Questions?
If your question is still not answered, please write to us at litfest@belongg.net and we'll get back to you soon. Thanks!
