Five years ago, at this time, I was preparing to leave my long term home in the UK. And four years ago, committing to a life in the development sector in India. Three years ago, almost 100 of us got together to run a month-long awareness campaign that germinated the idea of an ongoing awareness initiative to build more inclusive communities for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Two years ago, about now, a bunch of kindred souls joined me on biweekly zoom calls as we imagined young Naina’s Inclusive Duniya into existence in the form of India’s first and only comic strip on neurodiversity and inclusion – a way to talk about what might be a heavy topic, in a light yet substantial way. And last year, this circle of friends and supporters widened significantly as we took our hopes and dreams for a more inclusive world out beyond Instagram – we worked together to launch the InclusiveDuniya Circles across India – short but meaningful conversations designed to seed the inclusivity mindset for the younger generation. 

This year is the most exciting of recent years. Less than two weeks to go before I leave for the UK, where two friends will join me in early July as we embark on the mother of all roadtrips. We will be driving across 30 countries over an 8 week period, in a bid to shine a light on causes we care about! Needless to say, I will be using this time to reflect on the makings of a truly inclusive world.