Astha Chaubey

Educator/Teacher, Explorer, Philanthropist, Student

Hello, I am Astha Chaubey! I am currently a student at FLAME University and the Lead Organizer for TEDxFLAMEUniversity’27. My work is driven by a strong interest in reimagining education so that it’s not just a system of academics, but a space for building confidence, leadership, and real-world skills. I am the founder of Community of Wisdom, an initiative focused on bridging gaps in learning within government schools. What began as a small effort has grown into a collaborative model involving student volunteers, reaching learners across multiple schools. The initiative focuses on public Speaking, digital literacy, and design Thinking, so that all kids get access to a better education. Beyond this, since I was in 9th grade, I have been actively involved in teaching, student engagement, and building youth-led communities. These experiences have shaped my understanding of leadership as something that is built through responsibility, consistency, and action. My association with TED began early, and over time, it has shaped how I see the power of ideas, not just as something to be shared, but as something that can influence thinking and drive change. As a TEDx organizer, I am particularly interested in curating ideas that are relevant, grounded, and capable of creating meaningful impact, especially for young audiences. Through my work, I aim to contribute to spaces where young people are not just participants, but active thinkers and contributors.

I'm passionate about the moment someone realizes their voice actually counts. I keep coming back to one specific memory: my Grade 3 student Ahaan walked up to me and asked if we could start a workshop on "safe spaces." He was eight years old, and he'd already noticed that not every place felt safe, and he wanted to do something about it before anyone told him he was too young to. I didn't teach him that instinct; he brought it to me fully formed. My job was just to not get in its way. That's the thing I chase, over and over, watching someone go from "I don't think anyone wants to hear this" to actually saying it out loud. It's why I care about storytelling and public speaking too, not as skills to master, but as the exact tool that turns a private thought into something someone else can hear and be changed by. If I'm honest, this connects directly to why I wanted to run TEDxFLAME in the first place. I'm not just organizing an event; I'm building the exact room I wished existed for me when I was young enough to think my ideas didn't matter yet.

For a long time, I thought education meant doing well, getting marks, building a secure future. Then I started asking a question that didn't sit right with me: if we're all studying this much, why does the world around us still feel so broken? I got a real answer to that question at sixteen, when I had no funds and a government school seven kilometres from my house. I didn't have money for a projector, so I made one using a torch and a magnifying glass, and started teaching anyway. That's when I understood the actual gap in education: we're taught to succeed alone, not to respond to problems together. We notice what's broken around us, and then we move on, not because we don't care, but because no one ever taught us what to do with that feeling. So the idea I believe is worth spreading is this: young people don't just need more knowledge, we need a way to turn what we notice into something we actually do. For me, that way became a peer-teaching model, training students to teach other students, so the impact didn't depend on just me showing up every day. It's a small shift, but it changes the question in someone's head from "someone should fix this" to "what can I actually do about this, right now, with what I have?" That question matters for this audience specifically, because most people in that room aren't short on ability, they're short on a starting point. You don't need funding or permission to begin. I started with a torch and a magnifying glass. That's the whole idea: you already have enough to start.

Brand Building, Community Building, Content Development, Curriculum Design, Event Strategy & Execution, Leadership, Partnerships & Sponsorships, Project Management, Public Speaking, Speaker Curation, Storytelling, Teaching & Facilitation, Youth Mentorship

My connection with TED is very personal; it’s not just a platform for me, it’s something that shaped how I see myself. When I was in 7th grade, I really wanted to participate in a speech competition. But I was told that I wasn’t capable, that I didn’t have the communication skills to stand on a stage and speak. And the hardest part was, I believed it. For a while, I stopped seeing myself as someone who could ever use my voice. But things changed when I moved to iTeach. There, my educators had a completely different perspective. Instead of holding me back, they encouraged me to step forward. They told me that if I wasn’t good at speaking, that was exactly why I should try. That shift changed everything. In 8th grade, I was introduced to TED Talks at a time when I was still doubting myself. Watching those talks didn’t just inspire me; they made me realize that every voice has value, including mine. TED helped me see that speaking isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being real and having something meaningful to share. That same year, I stood on the stage at TEDx iTeach Schools and gave my first talk. It made me realize that even if your words don’t reach everyone, they matter to someone. And when they do, those ideas continue, they move, they grow, they create ripples. For me, TED is not just about spreading ideas. It’s about giving people the courage to believe that their voice deserves to be heard. It’s about creating a space where stories, thoughts, and perspectives that often go unheard can finally find light. TED gave me my voice. And today, my connection with TED is about doing the same for others, helping more people realize that their voice, no matter how small it feels, has the power to create impact. I still think about it the same way today: a talk doesn't need to reach everyone to matter; if even one person carries something forward from it, that's how change actually spreads. TED gave me my voice back. Running TEDxFLAME University is me trying to build that same moment for someone else, the moment where they stop assuming no one wants to hear them.

People don’t always realize that I’m good at turning doubt into action. Whether it’s doubt from others or my own, I’ve learned not to sit with it for too long. I question it, challenge it, and then try anyway. A lot of things I do today started with someone, including me, thinking I couldn’t do them. But instead of stopping there, I’ve built the habit of proving it wrong through action. I think that’s one of my strengths: I don’t let doubt define me; I use it as a starting point.