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“We can do a lot in this moment, in the present. The problem is our world has many forces working against the dreams of children.” says Ishita Katyal, the youngest Indian Ted-X Speaker, a 10-year-old Pune writer and middle-schooler who, quite extraordinarily, debuted as the opening speaker at the TED2016 (Technology, Entertainment, Design), a nerdy conference of some of the world’s smartest people. Ishita received a standing ovation after her talk.
Adults, she said, chronically underestimate kids, and in the process they pass on fear to children who are born without fear.
She said, “Children do not have to wait till their future time to realize their dreams and do what they want. There are so many things, they can do now as a child.”
We can compare them with a gold fish in a cup. They will grow according to the space they have. The larger the aquarium, the larger possibilities of growth, the smaller the aquarium, the smaller are the possibilities of growth.
She further added, “Instead of asking children what they want to do in future, ask them what they want to do now. Ask them their vision for a better world. Ask them what they are doing to change this world. Ask them the real life problems they are solving. This will allow you all to empower a new generation to go faster than any generation ever has.”
“My dream for the future is that people think 10 times before raising school fees, ahundred times before going to war with another country, a thousand times before wasting food and water, and ten thousand times before letting their child’s childhood go away,” said Ishita, who wrote her first book “Simran’s Diary” and got it self published at Amazon’s kindle when she was only 8 years old. She even organised a TEDx talk at her own school, Vibgyor High in Balewadi, last year.
Now, Ishita has added another feather to her cap – she was invited to speak at the main TED event in Vancouver, Canada, on February 15. This is how she ‘schooled’ everyone.
At 10, Ishita has a lengthier resume than most people have at 40. You can expect more amazing things from this little girl in the near future.
Watch here Ishita speaking at Ted-X.
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