Ishika Panta

Ishika Panta (Kathmandu, Nepal) is a civic technologist and policy practitioner working at the intersection of technology, governance, and gender justice. She is the founder of Project Abhaya, a youth-led initiative that has worked across dozens of districts in Nepal to strengthen political literacy, women’s civic participation, and evidence-based local governance through workshops, public dialogues, and digital tools.

Trained in computer science, Ishika has developed and advised on civic-tech solutions including voter education platforms, data dashboards, and policy toolkits designed for low-resource and local government contexts. Her work has involved close collaboration with municipalities, civil society organizations, and international partners, with a focus on making institutions more accessible and accountable to women and young people.

Ishika has represented Nepal in regional and global forums on civic leadership, digital governance, and social innovation, and has received several fellowships and merit-based awards for her work. She is particularly interested in how technology can move beyond symbolic participation to support real institutional change. Through the Civic Tech Institute, she hopes to deepen her practice, learn from a global cohort, and strengthen the design of inclusive civic systems.