Why We Got ISO Certified — And Why It Was Never Just About the Certificate

By Vinchy Makwana, Director of Production & TEDxThaltej Youth Reporter

When we first mentioned ISO certification in a TEDx meeting, someone asked the question you’re probably thinking:
“Wait — why would a student-run event need international certification?”

We didn’t say it out loud then, but the answer was already clear to us.

Because we weren’t building an event. We were building a system.

TEDxThaltej Youth wasn’t going to be another motivational program with a few speakers and a stage. It was going to be a platform. A culture. A model that could stand on its own — and prove that students don’t just belong at the table, they’re capable of designing the table.

That’s why we applied for ISO.

Not because it was easy.
Not because it was expected.
But because it was the only way to ensure what we were building was real, replicable, and respected.

And we didn’t just get one certification. We got two.

ISO 9001:2015 — which means we built a quality management system. Our speaker process. Our team reporting. Our documentation. Our team policies. Everything is tracked, reviewed, updated, and improved — weekly. That’s not common in youth events. But it should be.

And ISO 20121:2024 — which means we’re not just talking about sustainability. We’re doing it. We don’t print. We don’t waste. Our kits are paperless, our systems are digital, and every wristband, jute bag, and document we use is aligned with our environmental values.

We were told ISO certification takes months, even years, and big corporate teams to manage.
We got certified in both standards — within weeks — with a team of 25 students, using shared folders and late-night calls.

Because we didn’t see ISO as a goal. We saw it as a baseline.
If you say you care about quality, prove it. If you say sustainability matters, show it. That’s what ISO gave us: the framework to back our values with action.

And now, when people look at TEDxThaltej Youth and ask how a group of students built something that looks this clean, this consistent, this serious — we just smile.

Because now we don’t need to explain it.

We’re ISO certified.

And that says enough.