Meet Sanika Datar | Youth Activist & Changemaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sanika Datar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sanika, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We live in a fast-paced world where the rate of industrial evolution appears to have taken over rate of personal growth as humans. There are problems that we have created for current and future generations that need to be addressed at their roots. Building awareness and literacy are fundamental to solving the problems that are plaguing our world today like environmental/water crisis, intercultural hate, and apathy.

I believe that in the current education system, there is a lack of holistic education. There are core skills and universal areas that necessitate sharing same platform as the conventional education system. Research has shown the benefits of learning through exploration and practical field activities that cannot be solely met in a traditional educational setting.

The projects at my non-profit organization- Space For Youth strive to adopt an approach that taps into the educational component to raise awareness and embraces “Learning-as-a-playground” to tackle problem at its root, to set up a new culture of changemakers. The goal of the project is to provide a holistic platform to explore, empower, and educate children in the areas of Environment, Empathy, Entrepreneurship, and Equity in youth advocacy through various projects and outside-the-classroom hands on activities such as Kirkland Children’s Fair- an opportunity for children to spread their entrepreneurial wings in a fun and engaging way, with practical experience of selling a product or service.

Through community projects and initiatives at Space For Youth, I aspire to provide a platform for a Holistic education to create a culture of young changemakers and catalyze change towards a Global curriculum.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I feel there are core skills and universal areas that necessitate sharing the same platform as the conventional classroom-based education system. Modern day case studies and research have shown the numerous benefits of learning through exploration and involvement in practical field activities that cannot be solely met in a traditional educational setting. One of these verticals is environmental education. Having universal core values instilled at a young age is more relevant in today’s world to raise their awareness and consciousness towards sustainable goals for our planet. Along with environmental spirit, children who have been consciously exposed to different cultures and raised to be empathetic can unite for a common goal, by being kind and work towards saving the planet.

Teaching my little sister is something I look forward to and enjoy. Each year, on the occasion of Earth Day, an annual event on April 22nd, I plan fun activities for my sister and her friends. This initiative teaches young kids in our community to appreciate everything the world has to offer us and keep Earth sustainable. Through celebrating this special day, the children enjoy their projects, and gain a deeper understanding of their world, and the importance of taking care of our planet.

The experiences from my various community projects paved the way to expand the scope of my original initiative to provide a holistic platform of learning opportunities for educating and empowering younger children. In Spring 2021, I started Space For Youth, a non-profit organization that promotes hands-on opportunities to promote learning of core universal values among youth. Through various activities that compound the classroom-based learning for elementary and middle school students, this platform provides an avenue to experience and grow their core universal skills that would help them be better prepared as they enter adolescence and adulthood. This process of ideation and execution has also enabled a more confident version of myself and shown me how we can all strive to make a difference in our lives, our community and the world we live in in ways, big and small.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
At my alma-mater- Environmental and Adventure middle school, we participated in Community Stewardship Projects, such as building signs for pedestrians/park facilities, environmental cleanness, and signboards about native plants and animals for trails. These CSPs instilled a passion in me for environmental work and to be an advocate for our community through small actions. As a student of EAS, I realized that you don’t need to make a large change in your community to make a difference. I saw the power that younger children hold and benefits of tapping and harnessing their potential to propel the desired changes in the world. This experience helped me ideate and design my projects and devise creative ways of learning to engage and empower youth to make a difference.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCepEdoAF0Ph1deMIzpOBp0w

Other: bit.ly/SanikaPointOfLight