Saanvi
DIXIT

PsychTeen,
Co-Founder

Canada

Saanvi Dixit is a grade 12 International Baccalaureate student at Glenforest Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario in Canada, who is motivated by a deeply felt responsibility to be a good global citizen and do her part to solve global problems. Among her passions is advocacy for innovative solutions to both global social and humanitarian crises as well as problems closer to home, such as substance abuse and mental disorders. These are often ignored or misunderstood by society at large as “first world problems.”

Saanvi has been involved in various initiatives, such as: (i) drafting recommendations for projects on affordable housing in Toronto by Sidewalk Lab, (ii) conceiving of affordable education and childcare in the Kibera slums in Nairobi by Kidogo and (iii) advocating for women in technology for rural and suburban Morocco by UN Women

She has also won awards internationally in both Model UN and debate competitions. Beyond her advocacy work, Saanvi finds time to give her ideas a creative outlet via her digital artwork. She has a strong social media presence, having accumulated a following of 20K on Instagram. Saanvi has also co-founded PsychTeen, a not-for-profit working to de-stigmatize psychological disorders by raising awareness for middle and high school students, who can get involved in advocacy for the problem.

Some PsychTeen projects include PsychTalks, a program to encourage young people diagnosed with a mental disorder to go and speak out at schools about their experiences, and an Instagram page to provide accurate information and helplines. She is currently also working on a project to teach art to students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).