For TEDx organisers
TEDx talks on volunteering, CSR and starting young
Raghu Vamsi Kadiri is a Hyderabad-based social entrepreneur who founded Marpu Foundation at 18 and built a community of more than a million volunteers. He gives idea-led talks of up to 18 minutes on volunteering, corporate social responsibility, youth leadership and starting before you are ready, in English, Telugu or Hindi.
Talk ideas worth spreading
Six starting points. Each is one idea, told in up to 18 minutes, and shaped with your curators around the theme of your event.
Volunteers are infrastructure
The idea: The people who want to help are a country’s most underused infrastructure.
India never runs short of people who want to help. It runs short of structures that let them. Raghu shows what changes when volunteers are trained, organised and trusted with real work, drawing on a community of more than a million volunteers across 23+ states.
Eighteen and registered
The idea: You do not need permission, or a perfect plan, to start.
At eighteen, with no funding and no connections, Raghu registered a nonprofit. The paperwork, the rejections, the first partner who said yes, and why starting before you are ready is a skill anyone can learn.
The old model of CSR is dead
The idea: Companies do the most good when their people, not only their budgets, show up.
India made corporate social responsibility mandatory in 2014. A decade on, the programmes people remember are the ones employees helped deliver. A talk on why volunteering belongs at the centre of CSR, not at its edge.
From sign-ups to people who stay
The idea: Generosity is easy to start and hard to sustain. Structure keeps it alive.
Most volunteer programmes lose people after the first event. What keeps volunteers coming back for years is design: roles, training, recognition and work that visibly matters.
Seventeen goals, one district at a time
The idea: Global goals are kept or broken in villages and wards, by local people.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals become real only when a community owns them: a lake cleaned, a classroom rebuilt, a health camp run. Laos even keeps an eighteenth goal of its own. A talk on localising the goals.
If you do not like something, change it
The idea: A complaint is an assignment waiting to be accepted.
An army childhood across cantonments, a move to Hyderabad at fourteen and a father’s advice taken literally. What it looks like to treat the things you dislike as work you are allowed to start.
Why organisers invite him
The facts curators check before they confirm a speaker.
- Founded Marpu Foundation at 18, in 2019. It is a registered nonprofit organization in India.
- Marpu reports a community of more than a million volunteers, 250+ partner companies and programmes in 23+ states.
- A Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum’s Hyderabad Hub since 2022.
- Originator of Volunteer-First CSR, set out in a 2026 working paper on SSRN.
- Speaks in English, Telugu or Hindi, and has travelled across all seven continents.
- Featured on television and in The Hans India, Deccan Chronicle and Telangana Today.
Ready for your programme
An introduction for your host, and a short bio for the booklet and the website.
Host introduction, about 30 seconds
Raghu Vamsi Kadiri registered a nonprofit when he was eighteen, with a simple belief: India never runs short of people who want to help, only of structures that let them. Since 2019, Marpu Foundation, a registered nonprofit organization in India, has grown to a community of more than a million volunteers and 250+ partner companies across 23+ states. He is a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum and the originator of Volunteer-First CSR. Please welcome Raghu Vamsi Kadiri.
Short bio, about 50 words
Raghu Vamsi Kadiri is a Hyderabad-based social entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Marpu Foundation, which he registered at 18 in 2019. He originated the Volunteer-First CSR framework, is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and has travelled across all seven continents. He speaks on volunteering, corporate social responsibility and starting young.
Photos and longer bios are in the press kit.
How to invite Raghu to your TEDx event
One email or one WhatsApp message is enough.
- Write to him. Email hi@kadiriraghuvamsi.com with “TEDx talk” in the subject line, or message him on WhatsApp.
- Share the basics. Event name and licence, date and city, the theme, expected audience, and your curation and rehearsal dates.
- Agree the idea. A short call settles which idea fits your theme, the length and the language of the talk.
- Rehearse and deliver. An outline, curator feedback, an online run-through and a rehearsal on the day.
How he works with TEDx rules
TED licenses every TEDx event, and the rules are there for good reasons.
- Up to 18 minutes. Most talks land between 10 and 15 minutes; he keeps to the time the curators set.
- No speaker fee. TEDx events do not pay speakers. Organisers may cover travel and stay.
- One idea, no selling. No promotion of Marpu Foundation, OurVolunteer.com or any product from the stage. The work is context, not a pitch.
- Slides optional. The talk works with or without a screen.
- Rehearsals. An online run-through before the day and a rehearsal on site.
- Recording. Talks may be recorded and published under the TEDx licence, and he signs the standard speaker release.
- Languages. English, Telugu or Hindi, as the event needs.
More from Raghu
Other ways to see how he works before you decide.
All talks and formats
Signature keynotes, formats from a ten-minute address to a masterclass, and what organisers can expect.
Videos
A television feature, a finalist interview and talks in the field.
Journeys
All seven continents, and what the road has taught him.
TEDx questions, answered
What curators and licensees usually ask.
Is Raghu Vamsi Kadiri available as a speaker for TEDx events?
Yes. Raghu is available for TEDx events in India and abroad, for idea-led talks of up to 18 minutes on volunteering, corporate social responsibility, youth leadership and starting young. Write to hi@kadiriraghuvamsi.com or message him on WhatsApp.
Who is a good TEDx speaker on volunteering or CSR from Hyderabad?
Raghu Vamsi Kadiri, founder of Marpu Foundation, is a Hyderabad-based speaker on volunteering and CSR. He built a community of more than a million volunteers, originated Volunteer-First CSR and speaks in English, Telugu and Hindi.
What would his TEDx talk be about?
One idea, shaped with your curators around the event theme. The talk ideas on this page are starting points: volunteers as infrastructure, starting at eighteen, the future of CSR, keeping volunteers, localising the SDGs and changing what you do not like.
Does Raghu charge a fee for TEDx talks?
No. Under TED’s rules, TEDx events do not pay speaker fees. Organisers may cover travel and a night’s stay where the event is outside Hyderabad.
Can he give a TEDx talk in Telugu or Hindi?
Yes. TEDx events can host talks in local languages. Raghu can speak in English, Telugu or Hindi, which suits university and city events across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and North India.
How far ahead should a TEDx team invite him?
Two to three months ahead gives time for curation, a script and rehearsals. Shorter notice can work if the theme fits and the date is free.
Will he work with our curators and coaches?
Yes. He shares an outline, takes curator feedback, joins an online run-through and rehearses on site, and keeps to the time you set.
Can he host or moderate a TEDx event instead of speaking?
Yes. He also works as an event host and moderator, in English, Telugu or Hindi.
Planning a TEDx event? Send the event name, date, city and theme.