Shivansh Gupta’s talk celebrates the transformative power of giving through his journey as founder of The Teen Debater, a not-for-profit that has trained over 10,000 students. With humor and relatability, he reflects on turning childhood “arguing” into a respected skill and community platform. While Shivansh began teaching debate, he soon realized that every student also taught him something: patience, humility, resilience, and empathy. From a shy girl who found her voice to a small-town boy who defeated a well-resourced competitor, Shivansh shares stories that illustrate how knowledge multiplies when shared. Referring to a Sanskrit shloka about education growing through generosity, he reframes giving as an investment that enriches both the giver and recipient. His message is simple yet powerful: success isn’t about winning arguments but growing through them, and true impact lies in listening, learning, and sharing. Shivansh leaves the audience with a hopeful invitation—give something today, and grow in return.
Shivansh Gupta is a 17-year-old international debate champion, economics researcher and student changemaker from Gurgaon, India. Shivansh has been crowned Champion or Finalist at top global tournaments, including those hosted by Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, Georgetown, and Toronto, winning over 50 international awards. He founded The Teen Debater, a Government of India-registered nonprofit that has trained over 10,000 students across 250+ schools, run 300+ hours of free debate sessions, and reached 1 million+ people through social media, podcasts, and resources. Beyond debate, Shivansh is a published researcher in economics with faculty from Oxford, Columbia, and Wesleyan College, and helped develop financial literacy curricula for 40,000+ women in partnership with the Indian government. He also led Team India at South Africa’s Eskom ISF, winning Gold and Best in Engineering for his Parkinson’s innovation, ParkinStep. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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