Ishita Katyal, a 10-year-old girl from Pune became the youngest Indian to deliver a talk at the TEDYouth Conference in New York on November 14, which, incidentally, happened to be Children’s Day in India. And she really pulled it off with an ease. A student of Vibgyor High in Balewadi, Ishita delivered a 4-minute speech on ‘What do you want to be now’, a topic that raised important points regarding how children too can make a difference, irrespective of their age. Her speech received a huge applause from the crowd.

It is very common for children to be questioned, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Like every other kid, Ishita Katyal too was flooded with the same question by guests visiting her house. However, this 10-year-old little champ didn’t want to wait long to be someone; she wanted to make an instant impact.

And finally, she proved her mettle to be someone on Children’s Day, when she became the youngest Indian to deliver a talk at the TED Youth Conference in New York.

Ishita Katyal becomes youngest Indian to speak at TED Youth Conference:

Ishita’s journey with TEDx began earlier this year, when she visited an event organised by TEDx Pune, founded in 2013. She developed a keen interest after its sessions and asked if she could be a part of the team. The organizers agreed with a condition that she had to pass two rounds of Skype interviews, conducted by Global TEDx volunteers.

She cleared both the rounds and thus became the youngest organizer of TEDx Youth events in Asia-Pacific region. She harnessed this opportunity well and organized the first TEDx event in her school on February 7. And meanwhile, when the opportunity of speaking in New York knocked her doors, she was delighted. Like any other public speaker, Ishita was scared first. But she shed her inhibitions and slayed it, like a boss!

Ishita’s New York talk has not been released yet, but you can take a look at her TEDx Bhilwara talk here. Her astute words and the confidence with which she speaks will definitely blow your mind.

She is also an author, an avid reader who loves the works of Ruskin Bond, a dancer, a singer and also a basketball player in her free time. The avid reader even authored a book when she was all of 8 years old. The book titled ‘Simran’s Diary’ is about a little girl and how she interprets the happenings around her.

Kudos to you girl! Take a bow. You are a true Inspiration.