TEDxRJM Youth

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Dhikshanya R

  Student, RJ Mantra English School

  Her speech is a heartfelt reflection on a personal journey from disliking books to discovering her life-changing power. It traces how reading evolved from a forced activity into a lifelong passion that offered comfort, imagination, knowledge and purpose.Through stories, novels, biographies and books became trusted companions, wise mentors and windows into different worlds, shaping the speaker's character and inspiring a love for writing. The speech also emphasises that books are more than sources of information—they are lifelong companions that help us understand ourselves and others. They teach valuable lessons about courage, kindness, and hope while encouraging us to think critically and dream beyond our limitations. Reading not only broadens our knowledge but also nurtures creativity and inspires us to become better individuals. It concludes with a powerful message that every person is the author of their own life story and that developing the habit of reading can transform lives.

• Ponharish Kumar Jayakumar

  Alumnus, RJ Mantra English School

  Education teaches us how to solve problems, but what if the most important lesson missing from education is learning how to discover them? This talk explores how classrooms prepare students to answer questions created by others, while the real world presents hidden challenges waiting to be noticed. Through personal experiences as an engineering student, the speaker shares how questioning everyday inconveniences transformed the way learning and innovation were understood.The talk introduces The Builder's Mindset—Observe, Question, Connect, Build, and Improve—a simple framework for identifying meaningful problems and creating practical solutions. It also explores how AI is reshaping education. As answers become easier to access, the ability to ask the right questions, connect ideas, and understand human needs becomes one of the most valuable human skills. Ultimately, it invites learners to rethink education—not merely as a path to careers, but as a journey toward meaningful contribution.

• Priya Dharshini Karuppasamy

  Student, RJ Mantra English School

  Her speech challenges the modern obsession with polished outcomes, arguing that we've wrongly convinced ourselves that only "good" work deserves our time. The author shares their personal journey with drawing—starting as a complete amateur during lock-down, with no formal training or talent—and how this simple practice became transformative. Scientific research supports this: a study found that just 45 minutes of creative activity reduced stress hormones in participants, regardless of the quality of their art. Whether you draw a stick figure or a masterpiece, your brain experiences the same neurological reward. She draws inspiration from historical figures like Leonardo da Vinci and Einstein, who blended art with their primary work not to become professional artists, but to unlock creativity and solve complex problems. Drawing became the author's personal Kintsugi the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold where mistakes weren't hidden but became part of the beauty.

• Raghavarshini Vivekanandhan

  Student, RJ Mantra English School

  V. Raghavarshini presents an inspiring TEDx Youth talk on how a simple childhood experience transformed into a meaningful scientific journey. A casual conversation about using a garbage dump as a landmark to locate her home sparked a powerful question: Can waste become something valuable? That curiosity led her to explore biochar, a carbon-rich material produced from biomass that has the potential to address global waste management and environmental challenges. Her talk explains how agricultural residues can be converted into biochar. What makes her journey remarkable is her hands-on approach. Using dried soybean pods as feedstock, she designed a simple pyrolysis chamber from household materials and, with guidance from her father, transformed a barbecue oven into a rocket stove capable of producing biochar. Through this experiment, she shares valuable observations on carbonization, temperature control, and the importance of innovation using readily available resources.

• Sinthana Venkatesh Babu

  Student, RJ Mantra English School

  Sinthana's insightful speech explores the often misunderstood journey of adolescence, challenging the societal pressure for teens to "hurry up" and mature overnight. She explains that teenage years are a unique phase of self-discovery, marked by new hormonal changes and the complex task of forming a personal identity. Through surveys across generations, she reveals that stress triggers differ vastly—from school responsibilities for Gen Alpha to future careers for Gen Z—while adults often misattribute teenage anxiety to social media. She details the double standard where adults demand maturity from teens yet admire their resilience, using a literary example to show how dismissing a young person's fears can be harmful. Sinthana also addresses the "love gap," noting that the unconditional affection of childhood often fades, leaving teens longing for the same understanding. Her message to adults is clear: listen without judgement, stop comparing, and ease the pressure about the future.

• Venba Rajiv Vignesh

  Student, RJ Mantra English School

  "One Loop at a Time" is a deeply personal and inspiring TEDx talk by Venba, who shares how a simple crochet hook transformed the way she views mistakes, perseverance, and personal growth. Drawing parallels between the careful loops of crochet and the twists of life, she reveals how every setback can become an opportunity to begin again. Through heartfelt experiences from forgetting a speech on stage and overcoming guilt after hurting a friend to earning a place at the national level in basketball after years on the bench she demonstrates that failure is never the end of the story, but simply the middle.Blending powerful historical examples, inspiring anecdotes, and meaningful life lessons, she shows how resilience is built through patience, courage, and consistency. The stories of Irish women who used crochet to survive hardship, the relentless determination of the woodpecker reinforce one central message: progress is achieved one step, one stitch, and one courageous attempt at a time.

• Yoga Iniyaazh Senthil Kumar

  Student, RJ Mantra English School

  The speech “ The Quiet Powers of Trends” explores how trends silently shape human behavior, self- image and societal norms by exploiting the human desire to fit in and fueling the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). while modern technology and social media rapidly amplify both constructive movements (like sustainability and mental health awareness) and toxic standards (like filtered, artificial body ideals) the speaker argues that trends themselves are not the enemy. Instead, the text serves as a call to action, urging individuals for a transition from passive, unconscious consumption to mindful awareness by questioning whether the trends they follow are building a world they truly want to inhabit.