The 9th Sikh Youth Australia National Leadership Program: July 5 - 7, 2013
Having
attended various Sikh camps around the globe, first as a participant
and then as a facilitator, this was a weekend which was
different.
A camp about self-improvement and leadership,
run by a professional and semi-professional team, including highly
successful young Sikh entrepreneurs from around the globe, local
management specialists and financial professionals, and former
participants turned facilitators.
The syllabus is based
on the latest self-improvement techniques, but mainly geared to Sikh
youth, with elements of nitnem, kirtan and naam simran thrown in.
I
have been involved with Sikh Youth Australia since its
inception 15 years ago, but I have not had, till this year, the
opportunity of attending and facilitating at their leadership camps …
which are now in their 9th year.
I have never been more
impressed.
This project is the baby of Satwant Singh
Calais, a management consultant himself, and a small team of
dedicated sevadars, all professionals amongst whom are management
specialists Jaswinder Singh, Buck Samrai, Shankar and Sarv Girn, the
Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Reserve Bank of
Australia.
They are all proud Sikhs doing their seva by
helping youth in getting their bearings for the future.
The
professional facilitating team is led by Ash Singh, originally a
native of Toronto, Canada, but now based in Singapore. When I first
met him in Canada at the turn of the millennium, he was in college
and, at the same time, selling high-range cars. His main reason being
that he could impress his college mates by driving into college in a
different, dazzling car every day!
Now he is a highly
successful businessman / entrepreneur. His spiel reads: Serial
entrepreneur with Sikh blood, Canadian birth, Chinese education and
Asian business experience. Asia's Best Young Entrepreneur - Business
Week 2009 … and so on.
Through his networking, he
has harnessed the talents of a bright young Chinese lady. A highly
qualified business consultant, Sara Yik specializes in leadership
development and performance transformation, based in Singapore but
operating as a global consultant. Her client-list includes entities
likeCredit Suisse.
The list of other talented
facilitators, mainly young Sikhs, goes on and on. One Singapore-based
consultant/lawyer, Jasbir Singh, just cycled around Alaska!
"If
you are pursuing your dreams to make money, you will not lead a
successful and fulfilling life. But if you step forth to help others
and work towards the betterment of humankind, you cannot fail!"
A
motto which describes the very essence of seva.
“What you
think is what you become," is another. Think positive and be
optimistic and you shall be successful. They sound like Chardi Kala
to me!
Another powerful concept is to always 'think
outside the box'. Ash Singh himself is living proof of this concept.
He calls himself the black sheep of the family. His younger brother,
who had come from Calgary in Canada, is studying medicine NOT to
become a general practitioner or even a medical specialist but
because he owns a medical innovations company which does research in
the medical field. He believes that by qualifying as a doctor, he
will be able to contribute towards the future success of his company
and help humankind -- not just one patient at a time!
That
is thinking outside the box!
There were 120 participants
divided into three classes. The first year’s course is called PX2 -
an internationally credited course designed by the Pacific Institute
(US) for self-mastery, goal-setting and realising your
potential.
A number of local youth facilitators
assisted in the delivery of this course, including Manu, Amardeep and
Saranpaal.
The second year is called ‘Success to
Significance’ - a booster to the first year and using the latest
tools and techniques in interpersonal dynamics.
The
third and final year is called 'I 2 I' - Ideas to Impact. This
entails putting all that has been learnt in the first two years into
a Business Plan, called the ‘Lean Canvas‘, for a product or
service which impacts on the Sikh or wider community.
This
plan is pitched and launched by each team on the final day before an
audience of parents, relatives, friends and also the general Sikh
public. The audience is then wooed by each team to invest in each
idea.
This final year is handled by Ash himself, with
the help of a small team. This year, his flank was covered by another
highly qualified youngster, Sundeep Singh, a co-founder of
Lazada.com, one of the fastest growing E-Commerce businesses in South
East Asia.
Sundeep is born and brought up in Kuwait -
talk of an international team!
The surprise package for the
weekend was 24-year-old Sikh hip-hop artiste, Sukhdeep Singh -- stage
name 'L-Fresh'. A short impromptu performance within his keynote
speech brought the audience to its feet. His dedication to his craft
and Sikh principles left oldies like me with tears in our eyes.
He
also holds a double university degree - a Bachelor of Arts and
Bachelor of Law. L-fresh is going to go very far … keep a lookout
for him!
Some of the service ideas which were first launched
last year are already bearing fruit. Of prominence is the “Young
Sikh Professionals Network” (YSPN) which helps as a support group
for all young Sikh professionals with professional advice and also
helping them to find placements within industry - a natural extension
of the aspirations of Sikh Youth Australia.
Of note
from this year’s innovative ideas was the pitch for an animated
series of Sikh Nursery Rhymes, starting with an interactive
Punjabi alphabet playtime and a catchy melody to learn the 'painti'
in quick time.
This will be followed by ten other very
simple kavitas (verses) to encourage children to sing in Punjabi as a
means to becoming familiar and conversant with the
language.
Talented 'animation' specialists from amongst
the participants have taken up this challenge with a support group of
experts in Punjabi language -- writers and singers.
The
product, when developed, will be available worldwide as each
rendition is completed.
My job was to try and inspire them all
in two one-hour slots per day, working around the recitation of Japji
Sahib and Rehras, which were done in music with some naam simran and
basic pointers for personal practice.
Held in the idyllic
rural setting of the New South Wales Institute of Sports north
of Sydney, this was a very pleasant weekend with warm accommodation
(it is winter here!) and other facilities, complete with tasty
nourishing vegetarian food and snacks throughout the day.
One
steps out to lush green fields and bushland and one is awakened in
the morning to the screeches of white galas with bright yellow
plumes, colourful parakeets and kookaburras in the gum trees. One can
also spot the odd kangaroo in the bushes.
The joy and sense of
achievement and fulfillment on the last day on the faces of the
participants as well as the visitors, was a very satisfying sight.
A
modest scholarship for two young young women of AUD $500 per
participant per year, named after Sara Yik, was announced by the
organisers at the finale. Sikh Youth Australia also gave
away a sum of AUD $5000 to all worthwhile projects set up by
participants and plans to assist each team by assigning local mentors
to ensure that all projects are carried through and
developed.
Thus, a sizeable sum of money was donated for
the projects and also to Sikh Youth Australia by the
sangat.
Where we as Sikhs are world renowned for our
generosity in building new gurdwaras worldwide, we also need to
invest in our youth for a higher civic profile of our worldwide Sikh
community and in this I believe Sikh Youth Australia is playing a
sterling role in Australia.
Personally, the revelation was in
seeing Sikh youth and professionals of every ilk -- ranging from
those who shy away from gurdwaras and Sikh politics, to amritdharis,
keshadharis, clean-shaven and youth from mixed parents -- all working
and playing together. This is an inclusive camp where all are made to
feel welcome and equal. Friendships are forged, networking takes
place and our youth and professionals find direction and confidence
to step forward into the future with confidence.
They
also learn something about themselves and their heritage.
"The
vision is to spread this venture worldwide so that our future
generations will have a network to tap into for their economic and
spiritual advancement. Getting a university degree is no guarantee
for future well-being these days and into the future, but a worldwide
Sikh network along these lines, teaching youngsters Sikh values and
tools for personal, professional and business success and generally
helping Sikh youth and young Sikh professionals to realise their true
potential, is a lifeline not only for economic progress for them, but
also for our collective spiritual progress and Sikhi.
“Their
success is the success of the worldwide Sikh community, taking us
all, together, into the future. Just teaching our young about our
'religion' is not good enough", says Satwant Singh.
For
more information on Sikh Youth Australia and its
activities, please CLICK here.
July 12, 2013
