Ishika Panta is a social entrepreneur and policy advocate with five years of experience across South Asia, committed to reshaping power structures through innovation, inclusion, and civic action. She is the founder of Project Abhaya, which has empowered over 4,500 women with political literacy, policy education, and leadership training. As a member of the WAYS consortium, Ishika co-leads the design and implementation of programs for early- to mid-career professionals, focusing on leadership development and equitable impact.

 

For four years, she served as Lead Curator of TEDxMaitighar, where she achieved 60% female participation and built a platform that reaches over 4,000 youth annually. Ishika has represented Nepal on global stages including the Caux Forum (Switzerland), Skoll World Forum (UK), and as a Caux Scholar in Brazil.

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She is currently enrolled in the Executive Program in Public Narrative: Leadership, Storytelling & Action at Harvard Kennedy School, and is a graduate of the University of Oslo’s intensive, fully funded course on Human Rights and Politics. Ishika is also an alumna of the UNESCO x Christian Dior Women@Dior Mentorship Program, where she collaborated with global women changemakers. She remains active in the Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub and Google Developer Group Kathmandu, working at the intersection of youth engagement, politics, and technology-driven public discourse.