We’re really looking forward to this session with Ar. Kavya Poornima Balajepalli on Tuesday 8th September 2026, from 9.30-11am BST.
Kavya is an architect, researcher, and universal accessibility advocate from Visakhapatnam (India), and the founder of Poornamidam and IIH Warriors India. Her work brings together architecture, disability inclusion and climate action, through data-driven and evidence-based research, advocacy, campaigns and in lived experience.
Kavya has contributed to policy and practice across tourism, gender and disability-inclusive urban development, and climate-responsive systems. Her work includes initiatives such as the Charter of Demands: A Call to Action for Disability Justice, accessibility audits of public and sports infrastructure, and advocacy for embedding universal design within architectural education and climate action. She has also co-authored Climate Resilient and Accessible Architecture for the Harvard Law School Project on Disability. Her work has been presented across regional, national, and international platforms, including G20 India and UN forums.
Kavya continues to work towards enabling systemic change through universally accessible design, inclusive curricula, patient advocacy, and the amplification of invisible disabilities. She is a recipient of the 15th NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Award 2024 and has been honoured and felicitated by various institutions and organisations for her contributions to accessibility and inclusion.
To connect with Kavya and explore her work further, visit Poornamidam and IIH Warriors India.