Enduring Legacies: Cultural Heritage and Architecture in a Future India

Sunita Kohli, is a globally recognized national award-winning interior designer and furniture manufacturer since 1971 and an architectural conservator-restorer since 1981. Her professional portfolio includes several significant public and heritage buildings, hotels and hotel boats, forts, palaces, libraries, museums and select residences in India, Egypt, Pakistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. She is the President of K2India, an award winning architectural and design firm, whose Co-Founder and CEO is Kohelika Kohli. Sunita Kohli is a former Chairperson of the School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal- the first women to head a National Institute of Excellence. She has lectured and presented papers, on various subjects, at several universities in the UK, the USA and South-East Asia. She has had the distinction of being the first Indian designer or architect to be invited in 2003, to deliver an illustrated talk at the National Buildings Museum in Washington DC. In 1992, Sunita Kohli was conferred the Padma Shri, for contribution to national life in the field of interior design and architectural restoration, by the President of India. She was the first person to be conferred in this category and, to date, is the only recipient. In 1992, she was also presented the Mahila Shiromani Award by Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa, in Kolkata.

Mohit Hajela is Group Head – Business Development with Jaquar and Company Pvt Ltd. He is an Engineer-MBA by education with more than 26 years of Marketing and Sales experience. He represents both domestic and international business and having led P&L responsibilities across a breadth of luxury, premium consumer goods and specialty products, leading large cross functional teams with different multinationals. He has been accredited with a successful track record of having conceptualized and implemented brand strategies and have transformed brands into leading and profitable market players. He also comes with an experience of setting operations for some of the most aspired luxury brands foraying into India and South Asia. His career timeline carries some of the finest brands like Miele India, LG Electronics and Hitachi Home Life Solutions with significant roles. Further, as Knowledge Consultant, he delivers distinction into the space of Strategy, Leadership and Execution with some very prestigious assignments contracted into Aviation Infrastructure (Airports), Power, Earth-movers and Construction Industry, Consumer Durables, Retail, Real Estate and Luxury.

Ar. Sonali Rastogi is an internationally renowned architect and the Founding Partner of Morphogenesis, one of the largest Architectural Firms in India and listed among the top 100 Architectural Firms globally. She is a leading speaker on Contemporary Indian Architecture and has lectured at numerous reputed Universities and Conferences worldwide. Her works have been featured in over 850 publications, both National and International. Sonali has been actively involved in research work and public policy. As an ex-council member of the Delhi Urban Arts Commission, she has extended her commitment to cultural and environmental sustainability. Her advocacy efforts have resulted in policy change, working on Delhi's bye-laws, and creating a master plan for Delhi Urban Arts Commission. She has also been actively engaged in creating conversations around stories of India's untold monuments and sites through the ILF (India Lost & Found) platform. Sonali is the recipient of over 110 National and International awards, including India's first World Architecture Festival Award. She is also a Co-Laureate of the Singapore Institute of Architects Getz Award along with her partner Manit. www.morphogenesis.org

André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, as a Brazilian career diplomat since 1983, has held different positions in Brasilia and abroad, including at the Brazilian Embassies in Madrid, Prague, Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires and at the Brazilian Mission to the European Union, in Brussels. Correa do Lago has been a negotiator for Sustainable Development and has lectured and written extensively on these issues (including the book "Stockholm, Rio, Johanesburg: Brazil and the three United Nations Conferences on the Environment", FUNAG 2009). Between 2011 and 2013 he was Brazil's Chief Negotiator for Climate Change and Sustainable Development, including for the Rio+20 UN Conference, which launched the Sustainable Development Development Goals. In 2013 he was appointed Brazilian Ambassador to Japan. In December 2018, he presented his Letters of Credentials to H.E. Mr. Ram Nath Kovind and took over as Ambassador of Brazil to India. He is also Ambassador to Bhutan since January 04, 2019, when he presented his credentials to His Majesty King of Bhutan. Correa do Lago is also recognized as an architecture critic. He was the curator of the Brazilian Pavilion in the 2014 Architecture Venice Biennale. He was also the curator of the exhibition "Brazilian architecture seen by great photographers" at the Tomie Ohtake Institute, in Sao Paulo (2013); and co-curator, together with Lauro Cavalcanti, of the exhibition "Encore Moderne? Architecture brésilienne: 1928-2005" (2005/2006) at the "Cité de l'Architecture",Paris. He was a member of the Architecture and Design Committee of the Museum of Modern Art - MoMA, New York, (from 2005 to 2016) and is now a member of the International Council of MoMA (since 2016). He is a council member of the Oscar Niemeyer Foundation; of the Urbanism and Architecture Forum "Arqfuturo"; of the "Institute de Urbanismo e Estudos para a Metrópole (URBEM); and a member of the Editorial Board of the Architecture Magazine "Monolito". He was a member of the jury for the architectural competition for the new building of the "Institute Moreira Salles (IMS)" in Sao Paulo, 2011, and for the new headquarters of the Mathematics Institute of Rio de Janeiro (IMPA), 2016. He is a member of the Jury of the Pritzker Architecture Prize since 2018.

Mini Menon is the Co-Founder and Editor of Live History India, a first of its kind digital platform focussed on creating and putting out multi-media content on Indian history and cultural legacy. Since launch, Live History India has reached over 100 million people across India and the world. It has also brought together over 150 historians and experts on its platform. An award winning journalist and author, Mini has also reported on the changing face of politics and business in India for the last 20 years Her last assignment was as Executive Editor of Bloomberg TV India. In 2013 Mini’s first book, ‘Riding the Wave’ was published by HarperCollins. Mini has been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence, as a young achiever and in 2009 she was adjudged the Best Business News Anchor by the Indian Broadcasting Federation.