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Soho Media Club and Outernet London partner for 2023 BE YOU Festival
Mumbai: Soho Media Club has unveiled a new collaboration with Outernet London, the recently opened media and culture district in central London.
Located next to Tottenham Court Road tube station and hidden four stories under the centre of London, HERE, part of London’s new Outernet district, will host the BE YOU Festival on 13 July 2023. Outernet London is the new culture, arts and media district which features the most advanced immersive screen technology in the world.
Media champions including actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer Sir Lenny Henry; radio & television presenter and filmmaker, Mobeen Azhar, award winning disabled drama producer, Bryony Arnold and television and radio presenter, Melvin Odoom will participate in compelling fireside chats and interactive panel discussions during this one-day festival of media culture.
BE YOU is designed to spark honest conversation about the whole slate of film, TV and multimedia cultures, including the visible and hidden challenges of diversity, inclusion, belonging wellbeing, having your voice heard and inspiring and nurturing this and future generations of talent.
A mix of over 200 industry heavyweights and newcomers come together in Soho to discuss the challenges of media culture and celebrate successes. Everyone attending is encouraged to participate in frank discussion, get stuck into candid conversations, share ideas and express themselves, so that attendees leave feeling empowered and armed with ideas, inspiration and contacts.
Attendees will have the opportunity to attend ground-breaking sessions in HERE, view thought-provoking content from talented filmmakers in the Pop Space and join the BE YOU Festival Party at the Lower Third.
Featured speakers include:
● Sir Lenny Henry, Actor, Comedian, Singer, Television Presenter and Writer
● Bryony Arnold, Award Winning Disabled Drama Producer
● Mike Whittaker, CTO, Outernet
● Debbie Ramsay, Commissioning Editor, Youth Strand, News & Current Affairs Channel 4
● Islah Abdur-Rahman, Actor, Filmmaker, Presenter, thecornershopnetwork ● Angela Ferreira, Managing Director, Douglas Road Productions ● Des Gayle, BAFTA Award Winning Producer and Founder, Altered Gene ● Ria Hebden, Television Presenter and Broadcaster
● Anne Morrison, CEO and Creative Director, Nevision
● Fatima Salaria, TV Executive
● Neil Mullarkey, Actor, Writer and Comedian and Founder of Comedy Store ● Navi Lamba, Head of Development BBC Comedy, BBC
● Ted Evans, Writer & Director
The Festival will come to a joyous end, with multi-award winning gospel group Volney Morgan & New-Ye performing at the BE YOU Party which takes place at the Lower Third, Outernet.
Outernet CEO and originator Philip O’Ferrall said, “Since opening, the district has played host to an enormous range of immersive cultural and arts experiences. We are hugely excited to work with Soho Media Club to host the BE YOU Festival. It’s vital we support and grow film and TV talent and move the dial towards a more inclusive and representative media workforce.”
Soho Media Club co-founder Jaisica Lapsiwala said: “Being adjacent to Soho, with all of its diversity and vibrancy, our collaboration with Outernet amplifies our commitment to driving equity and inclusion and dismantling barriers. It is the perfect destination for the media community to come together to have their say and change the narrative of film and TV culture.”
BE YOU takes place on 13th July 2023 in Soho, London.
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WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
