Palakh Khanna is a 19-year-old Youth Changemaker, Social Entrepreneur, Mentor, Teacher and Environmentalist. A student from New Delhi, India, she is India’s 20 Under 20, a Regional Officer for Asia Pacific(under the UN SDSN Youth SDG Student Program) and the Founder of Break.The.Ice.
Palakh’s journey started a year back when she overheard a conversation between her mom and her domestic help where they were shying away from talking about periods. She was triggered. Palakh understood that stigmas exist in every area of every society and we must do something about this! That is when she opened Break.The.Ice, is an International Youth organization working towards all things taboo and helping in creating an enlightened youth community.
Break.The.Ice works on all things taboo, from mental health to menstruation to gender equality and climate change. They have conducted various summits, conferences, workshops and offline drives regarding taboo topics! One of the major workshops they did this year was about teaching young, underprivileged children about their mental health and helping them assess their personal mental health and understand their triggers. They have also brought some revolutionary summits and events including one on menstruation, where they talked about the very topic which led to the organization’s creation.
Palakh and her team have been able to create a huge buzz around the conversations they have and have reached out to 25,000 individuals through Break.The.Ice. The organization is currently in 10+ countries with over 90 members in the team.
Palakh believes that the basic mission of the organization is to build a global safe space where people will have the right and the freedom to talk about all things taboo! Break.The.Ice is working to literally break the ice about things society doesn’t talk about but things which are important! Enlightenment amongst the youth is an essential goal of the organization to ensure that the young individuals are both aware and prepared to face society and the world they are to be a part of.
Along with Break.The.Ice, Palakh is also a passionate changemaker, working on various other causes through different initiatives. She has been a teacher for underprivileged children, and currently, she is serving as a student mentor under the Govt. of Delhi initiative- Desh Ka Mentor. She has been helping young children understand themselves, learn about their interests, be aware of their mental health and create better career opportunities for themselves.
From the time that she was very young, Palakh has always wanted to create change but self-doubt, being an introvert and not stepping out of her comfort zone, never allowed her to create that change. And, that is why she mentions- “The biggest lesson I’ve learnt is that I really need to step out of my comfort zone! That’s when things happened to me! I know it feels scary, and you fear failing but it can be the perfect turning point for you in your life.
I was the biggest introvert you’ll ever meet but once I stepped out of my comfort zone, I realised it’s not about talking to lots of people! It’s about talking to the right people, connecting with them, creating impact and learning from your failures!” Palakh has learnt that being an introvert isn’t wrong, but the courage to converse, to express our feelings and to understand the other individual comes from being a little bit more interactive. She believes her transition from an introvert to an ambivert has also helped her understand many more people, their emotions, their feelings, their cultures and their knowledge.
Palakh has received different recognitions from various organizations. She has been featured in US Times Now, and Global Indian amongst others. She was also awarded the Pride of Nation Award for Social Impact recently where she was awarded for the work that she has been doing. Palakh believes the biggest way the youth can create change is by stepping up and taking responsibility to create a better future. She aims to do so through the different things she has been doing and by inspiring others to do the same.
When talking about her struggles, Palakh mentions that it hasn’t been easy. At the age of 18 and 19, people often take you lightly and work on something like a Break.The.Ice needed a lot of support. That’s why she believes stepping out of her comfort zone, and telling people about the initiative was tough initially but it has definitely helped her tremendously in her journey and in her life as a whole.
Palakh definitely believes her journey has been weird and different in a way where she had never imagined going but she is loving every step of it! As an introvert, she never expected herself to be an entrepreneur since it requires interacting with a lot of people, mentors, your audience, the team etc. but becoming an entrepreneur has given her a different purpose and a different path to her life which she wishes to take forward.
She believes changemaking and entrepreneurship are similar in way that both are based on creation! Creation of ideas, of a team, of a service that can help others and of connecting with millions of people across the globe.
Palakh is also an avid writer and poet! Her short stories and poetry have been published in anthologies and have received the support of many individuals across the globe. An inspiration for many, Palakh is passionate about all things change. Whether it is SDG 4 i.e. providing quality education to all or SDG 5 i.e. Gender equality, she believes change is intersectional and can be brought in any area to create a better and peaceful society.
While looking back at the journey, all Palakh says is that “This is still the beginning, a lot more is yet to come.” She believes she will be able to create a better society with the support and collaboration of making other young individuals as well as initiatives. Palakh looks forward to learning more, networking more and creating more change across the globe!