In this week’s episode, Geoff is talking to Navdeep who won the 2019 University of Queensland Create Change Award – in the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards Qld. He is 23 years old and making a real impact on improving child education.
Navdeep is the founder and CEO of iYouth Global, a training organisation which has presented to almost 15,000 people in five countries. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum and sits on the council of the state’s second largest school. Recently named as a ‘Future Shaper of Australia’, Navdeep dreams of speaking at the United Nations. Currently, Navdeep and iYouth Global are developing an online platform to reduce education inequity around Australia and the world.
In this episode:
- Navdeep talks about his journey and his passions and where to from here
- Find out a fun thing you might not know about Navdeep
- Hear what winning the Award has done for Navdeep
Links
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TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to the Inspirational Australians podcast, where we chat to people, making a difference in their communities and in the lives of others. And here is your host for today. Geoff Griffin,
Geoff:
Welcome to the inspirational Australians podcast stories of inspiring achievements and community contribution. Every week we will celebrate an award program category winner, or finalist. We hope you’ll be inspired and encouraged to know that Australia is in good hands. Together with our corporate partners and not for profit partners, Awards Australia showcases ordinary people from right across Australia, doing extraordinary things. Well, our very first inspiration Australian podcast guest is Navdeep Parischa and I’m super excited to speak with Navdeep who is an extraordinary young man and role model and won the 2019 university of Queensland Create Change award in the 7NEWS Young Achievers Award. He’s 23, I think that’s right and he is an inspiring young achiever, making a real impact on improving childhood education. Navdeep is the founder and CEO of the I-Youth foundation. And in March, 2019 also founded the Institute of school wellness amongst of course his many other accomplishments.
Geoff:
Now welcome to the very, very first podcast and our first ever guest. Hey Geoff, I am excited to be here. And so no pressure, no pressure first congratulations for winning the create change award ahead of a big field of amazing young Changemakers.
What was one of the highlights of your achievements that you think might have really impressed the judges when they were doing their voting?
Navdeep:
Now, that’s a good question. I actually thought I wasn’t going to win because I know a couple of people in the category, I’m actually friends with them prior to the awards. I was like, Oh, I’m excited for them. But something I’ve been really blessed to do so far, Geoff is serve 25,000 people in 10 countries. And 103 schools at this point of recording. A lot of what my focus is on is, you know, my, my teacher saved my life. He saved me from suicide, Mr. Gazelle. And if he didn’t point me out, I don’t know if I’d be here today, Geoff. So now I’m on a mission to make sure that every single child has a teacher that believes in them and a teacher that goes
Navdeep:
The extra mile. But the thing is if Mr. Gazelle had all that teacher stress, you know, the admin, the reporting, the marking, the stress, the fight with parents. There’s no way that he would have been able to pick me out and support me. And there’s no way that teaches who have double the stress rate of normal people are able to do that for their kids. And that’s why a big part of my work and part of the achievement quote unquote, is through the work with the Institute of school wellbeing, where we provide wellbeing programs, uh, for educators, both online and in person where we help them for stress. Second, to reconnect with that passion for teaching and that passion for making a difference and third, give them tangible tools that they can use to refuel and be the person they need to be for the kids, for the kids. Because at the end of the day, it’s not a school that changes the kid’s life. It’s not a curriculum, it’s a teacher
Geoff:
That’s so inspiring. I mean, and paying it forward unbelievably. So now with 25,000 plus people, uh, uh, I’ve got goosebumps. It’s just extraordinary. I hope all of our listeners really gaining something from that and being able to again, pay it forward and remembering that everybody has problems, whether it took the peer mental health or otherwise, and we should be really aware of that. So thank you so much for all you’re doing, how was being nominated for the award and winning the award of course helped with your work in terms of promotion.
Navdeep:
Sure. There were a couple of things. One was, there was media exposure, uh, on, on the actual TV channel. That was the big thing. But then the second thing is it helps you. It helps you get your foot in the door a bit easier because you know, I’ve invested heavily more than $20,000 at this point in investing in myself and my training to be able to transform people and make those changes. Uh, but still every little bit to help you get your foot in the door and a seat at the table, uh, definitely helps. And, and coming from a big brand, uh, like, you know, channel seven and [inaudible], and Awards Australia definitely helped with that. So it was an accelerant, was an accelerant, which is great,
Geoff:
Brilliant. And that’s what we aim to do. So, you know, thank you for saying that. And it is important for everybody to understand it’s an opportunity for them to promote the work that they’re doing. It’s not just about promoting an organization, but it gives opportunity to so many others to learn about the opportunity that people like yourself provide.
Navdeep:
My pleasure. No, I think if there’s one thing that, uh, Corona and this whole COVID situation thought was that, uh, you know, liquid cash flow is really important. And so there was a cash amount available with the Award. And I used that towards doing a workshop tour across regional Australia for teachers.
Geoff:
Absolutely brilliant. Now you mentioned, uh, the foundation, you’re the founder and CEO of course, which is absolutely brilliant. And I’m quite fascinated with the youth on demand and Netflix for teachers, professional development. Very intriguing. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
Navdeep:
Sure, sure. Uh, so it’s important to have a couple of distinctions. Um, and thank you for the question. So the I-Youth foundation, uh, I was the co-founder. I’m no longer the CEO. I’m blessed to mentor a team there a once every while, but they run events every single week for people with special needs or the elderly. This could be taking them to the beach, having a gym workout or taking puppies to their home and before COVID struck, we were creating around 70 events a year. Pretty amazing, right. “Volunteering made easy” as the model because people want to make change. We just make it easy. So that’s the I-Youth foundation. Uh, so, and in terms of Youth on Demand, a separate thing actually. A lot of my focus with Teach Flicks, which was like the Netflix for teachers, continuous training, professional development, you know, Geoff outside of metropolitan Australia and the world, schools find it really expensive to fly their teachers to business Sydney, Melbourne, wherever Perth, Adelaide, to do their training.
Navdeep:
And that continuous training is compulsory. They have to do 20 hours of continuous training every single year. And can you imagine just to send them on a plane and then pay for $500 for the substitute teacher it is really expensive and the government subsidy was inadequate for that. So that meant that 50% of that training budget was actually spent on travel and accommodation, not the actual training. And so you had a very sad but true situation where the teachers outside of capital cities, are not as trained continuously as a capital city teachers and hence their kids, you can guess the ripple down effect, okay. They have the best intention and the best heart. And they’re so giving out there, especially, uh, but it’s a pity that they couldn’t get the same level of support. And so what Teach Flicks it’s like a Netflix for training.
Navdeep:
Imagine, instead of watching an episode of Friends or A House of Cards, you watch a series on how to help a child with autism, or how to help a child with technology. And through the years, what I found is that people really resonated with the wellbeing side of things, the most, you know, the wellbeing, the positive psychology, the stress management, and that’s how it bolts into the Institute of school wellbeing. So it was all a journey. I started working out with young people in the classroom, then we teach it. And now specifically with teacher wellbeing,
Geoff:
Absolutely brilliant. Yes we don’t always think about the issues associated with living in regional or rural Australia. And you might be pleased to know a big percentage of our nominations come from regional Australia, probably 30% of our young achievement nominations come from regional areas. We also run a regional achievement program specifically for regional people only. So we too have a very strong focus and belief in what regional people to, for their local communities as absolutely invaluable.
Navdeep:
The, the community is really strong there. And, and if you get a chance to get on the podcast, my friend, she’s a good friend of mine and she was also a finalist. Her name is Tamara Richardson, she’s from Rockhampton, but she’s an amazing amount of work with UNESCO overseas. Yeah.
Geoff:
Oh my, that’s unbelievable. I’m a fan. And so many other young people and people across our programs are extraordinary and it drives us to do more and to make better opportunities for other people. So it’s very inspiring to hear your story. Yeah, just fantastic. So now what’s, what are your passions and dreams moving forward? Maybe to continue to make a difference? Is there something you wish you had known when you started your journey that you think would be helpful to other people, but would have been helpful to you as well?
Navdeep:
Yeah. That’s a really good question, Geoff, as a really good question, it has to do with intention – being intentional. I’ll give an example. Often times I know when we’re going through a hard time, with work stress, family stress, relationship stress, whatever it is, there’s this notion that if you just give it some time it’ll be okay. There’s absolute validity that if you do give something time, it can ease the pain. It can take away the intensity, and it can not be in your face, but it doesn’t mean that it completely disappears. So I give an example, right? I remember I was, uh, in my first long-term relationship, I was running a business. I was also doing studies. I had family commitments and I would say One day I will get a work life balance. One day I would nurture my personal life. One day I’d be more intentional about my strategy and that day never came.
Geoff. It got to a point where my friend, I was literally sitting at a doctor’s chair and they said, no, you need to get a stomach procedure because the acids in your stomach are so churned up because you’re so crippled by stress. And so for those of you who are watching this and thinking one day, I’ll do something about my personal life, about my friendships, about my relationships, about my health, about wealth, intentionality is the new black, okay. They say time can heal, but I don’t think time heals, I think time just seals. It, seals it away in a, in a that’s a tweetable three, uh, time seal. It puts it in like a Tupperware, right? And it just puts it into a different department, by being intentional. It could mean just reflecting. It could mean seeking help or it could mean seeking a mentor.
But actually making that date with yourself to reflect, to seek help, to seek a mentor is massive. That’d be the first thing Geoff, being intentional. The second thing would be it’s okay to say, I don’t know it. I remember one of my early mentors, I paid him a good amount, right? Like a good amount. Okay. 10 K more. And we were working together. So I wasn’t at the very start of my business cause I needed the cashflow to do that, but he would ask me questions and I would, I would think that as a leader, I should have the certainty.. So I’ve always come up with an answer even though, even it wasn’t something that I knew about, and he said, it’s okay to say, you don’t know. Yeah. So just say you don’t know something. It’s okay. It’s okay. To, uh, to, to seek support. I had to seek coaching. Nobody hates Michael Phelps cause he had a coach and he didn’t teach himself how to swim.
Geoff:
Very true. I think we, um, we’ve fallen into the trap of feeling like we need to know everything, as you rightly say, I think people are looking for organic, uh, humanist, these days, people who are just honest and have integrity and are not afraid to be human. So yeah, I think I’m going to break it up a little bit. Um, absolutely inspiring, with a quick random question. What’s something that we might not know about you?
Navdeep:
I love to dance. I really, really, really love to dance. My heritage is Punjabi, Malaysian, Punjabi being a part of India. And we have a dance called Bhungra. Bhungra means joy. And so before COVID at least once a week I would dance with all my friends, I love to dance. I used to teach it. I love to dance. Cause it changes your feelings. Yeah. That’s awesome.
Can I ask you a question?
Geoff:
Yeah, of course.
Navdeep:
You’re very kind in saying that, you know, you find me inspiring and such. What do you find? What does inspire mean internally to you? Has it done something to your spirit to inspire, inspire in spirit internal spirit. So what about us chatting has really hit home with you that resonated?
Geoff:
Me firstly, who’s doing this interview mate? It’s a great, it’s a great question. I’m loving and I’m inspired by your passion and uh, unadulterated passion, your enthusiasm to give back, to make a difference. Probably the most inspiring thing for me, something that happened in your life. You want to pay it forward and make a difference for other people, you know, so many. So I think that is inspiring. I get asked a question quite a lot about my travels around the country, meeting extraordinary people across the country. Um, what is the common denominator, particularly with young achievers that I see and I would say predominantly it is that young people don’t fear or they haven’t yet learned to fear. Like you started your foundations, your institutes, just because you want to make a difference. You want others to be better, to not to have to go through maybe what you went through or to not to get to the point where others have been. Uh, and to me, as we get older, we learn to fear. People tell us that’s not gonna work. You’ll never do that. Young people just get in there and make change. And they so passionate about it. So that’s why you inspired me.
Navdeep:
I would, I would love to acknowledge you just before we move on, acknowledge you and Annette and the team at Awards Australia, because you know, you guys are walking the walk. I mean, I imagine as an events company, COVID cashflow, it would be so easy for you to be scared, so easy for you to be fearful ,so easy for you to retreat, but it seems like you on the offense with the podcast, with the Facebook group, you know what I mean? So I know potential nominees are listening to this. Both potential events sponsors sponsors are listening to this as well. Who do you want to work with, right? Somebody who shuts down shop when it gets hot or somebody who continues to innovate and adapt. I think it’s great.
Geoff:
Thanks man. That’s a very kind, that was an unpaid solicitation for all of our listeners, but nice, thank you so much. Um, I’ve been doing this for over 30 years and I’m day by day, every day, inspired by people who are just doing extremely amazing things because they see the need for it to be done. So thank you for that. And that probably leads into my next question. Actually, it didn’t realize, but it segways beautifully. Our Community Award Nominations for our Community Achievement Awards are open right now. So that’s a program for all aged people, including oldies like me, they’re open right across the country. And of course the young achiever nominations open in just a couple of months. Would you encourage people listening to nominate or nominate someone and why you would suggest it’s a good idea?
Navdeep:
Sure. There are a couple of reasons, Geoff and yes, the short answer is yes, 100%! I mean what do you have to lose, an hour of your time? The upside is, is greatly always it, firstly, you can just, you know, make somebody smile by nominating them, show them how much you value them. But even if they don’t get the prize, they still understand that their value is supported and cherished by somebody, which is a gift in itself. Number one thing Geoff is why, why apart from that, you know, the actual tangibility of it, uh, it was a pity that I couldn’t make the event. I was in Europe at the time. Uh, but from what the people who went on my behalf said, just the networking. That was amazing. Uh, and you know, your vibe attracts your tribe, your vibe attracts your tribe. Even now in the Facebook group of all the finalists and award winners.
Navdeep:
It’s pretty amazing what people are doing, so good on you and to get and Annette to bring that together. So it’s not actually just the night you get access to, but it’s lifelong access to the community. That’s the second thing. And the third thing is the exposure. You know, you’re already doing good work. You already have a passion. You already want to make a change and Awards Australia is flipping awesome in accelerating the impact, accelerating exposure. So door openers, if I had, if I had to say it very straight up, this is a great door opener to making a bigger impact. There’s no shame to have have somebody help you open the door.
Geoff:
Fantastic mate. Um, and for all of, uh, all of that, listeners it only takes just be two minutes that you need. If you’re busy, busy, busy, ring our office and we’ll work with the person you want to nominate to get the nomination information. So what we need is the name of the person that you think is amazing and we’ll do the rest. So we know everybody’s busy these days. So please, if you can think of someone, let us know, we’d love to receive your nomination or your suggestions of who could be nominated.
Navdeep:
Geoff, if I might add one last thing, the exposure was great. The award, the physical award was great. The Facebook group was great. None of it came close to the fulfillment and amazingness and great memory even though I didn’t go. I sent my family and people were congratulating them. And people were saying well done to them. And you know, my parents were late into their sixties. So they felt like two little teenagers who were just on their phone all night afterwards, celebrating with their family. And that was the biggest thing it was, you know, it takes a whole village to raise a movement, and support your project. So consider this a moment to celebrate with the village that has supported you in your change-making journey.
Geoff:
Beautiful. I love that. Thank you Navdeep. You are also an economic forum member, you’re a council member for the state’s second largest school, a future shaper of Australia, TEDx speaker, you have done so much. What’s next for you?
Navdeep:
Great question. Geoff is a great quote. It says that sometimes the universe puts challenges in your way so that you become the person you need to be. Sometimes the universe puts challenges in your way so you become the person you need to be. And for all those quote, unquote achievements, you just listed there at least 10 each for each achievement, at least 10 that I didn’t get 10 achievements, 10 engagements, 10 awards, 10 opportunities that I didn’t get. You know what I mean? And, and some setbacks as well. And so your question is what’s next? I just feel blessed. And maybe it’s a, maybe it’s a placebo, but I don’t care. It’s the outcome that I care about. The frame I have is that everything has led me now to the work I’m doing with educators through the Institute of school wellbeing. Uh, ultimately I want to make sure that every single child, Geoff, every single child has a teacher that believes in them, that champions them and goes the extra mile for them. And the way we’re going to do that is through the Institute of School Wellbeing. Can we do it alone? No. Does that mean we’re going to stop chasing it? No. So that’s what, that’s what we’re doing right now. Yeah.
Geoff:
Is there anybody out there listening who wants to connect, wants to know more about what you’re doing, wants to get involved? How do they reach you?
Navdeep:
Great question. My friend, the easiest thing to do is on LinkedIn or on Facebook now, Navdeep that’s Nav, like, uh, you know, the Navman GPS, deep as in opposite of shallow, you type it in. You’ll come up with the rest of my last name. A, uh, is a handsome Brown man with glasses!
Geoff:
You are that!
Navdeep:
Yeah. That’s you Geoff.
Geoff:
But is there anything else that you would like to say to our listeners in closing? Are there any words of wisdom or anything you would like to tell people? In addition to that, which you’ve already mentioned
Navdeep:
Just to be intentional, be intentional. I neglected my friendships. I said, I didn’t have enough time for friendship. You know, I said, I didn’t have enough time for health. Now with COVID, you have a lot more time. You still don’t do anything about your gym or exercise intentional going out and striving and doing all these things such as the things you’ve listed is part of success. For me, I realized there are a lot more parts to it and it might not be your part. You might have different parts, but don’t subscribe to the nonsense and the BS that I don’t know what I want to do. And I’m just in this limbo, I feel so helpless. Feel it feel helpless to be human it’s normal, but there’s a point where something can be done about it.
You can be intentional about it. And the fact is, if you’re listening to this and you’re in Australia, you already won the jackpot. There are a lot of things that are wrong. I am a big advocate for the black lives matter movement and a big supporter of support for refugees. Uh, but ultimately, if you’re living in Australia, especially, uh, okay, you asked me what was my wisdom, the wisdom was just be intentional. Be intentional. You got this. I back you, courage is not the absence of fear. It’s acting in spite of fear and, uh, beating yourself up..
Geoff:
Yeah, absolutely. I love all that. Now. It’s absolutely brilliant, great food for thought for everybody listening. Um, I think people like you don’t to what you do to get awards, but to be able to receive acknowledgement, not just for the individual, but as you rightly said for the family, for the village or the tribe around you is so invaluable to spread that love more broadly, to thank all the volunteers, to show our appreciation for them is what our awards are about. It’s been an absolute privilege talking to you, my friend, as our very first podcast guest, you are a legend. It’s been so cool for me. And if all of our listeners have enjoyed listening to you and to our very first podcast, I can only, but encourage them to get on board, tell their friends. And we’ve got lots more people like Navdeep who are just amazing and what inspires us as Australians to believe in our future because today’s leaders, uh, our young people, they’re our future.
Thank you so much Navdeep, it’s been a real pleasure. You take care. Keep up the great work. Thanks Bye. Bye.
I hope you enjoyed today’s interview as much as I have. We would love you to subscribe to our podcasts so you won’t miss an episode. Join us each week as we talk with ordinary Australians, achieving extraordinary things. Did you know that Awards Australia is a family owned business that proudly makes a difference in the lives of those who make a difference for others. And we thank our corporate and not for profit partners for making our award programs possible. Do you know someone that’s making a difference or maybe your business might like to sponsor an award? Contact us through our Instagram page, Inspirational dot Australians. Or head to our website, www.awardsaustralia.com which would be great. If you could share this episode with your network, because who doesn’t like a good news story and please rate and review us. We would really love to hear your thoughts. Until next week, stay safe and remember together. We make a difference.
Annette:
Thanks for joining us today on the inspirational Australians podcast, we hope you enjoyed listening and I’ve been inspired by ordinary Australians, achieving extraordinary things. So it’s goodbye for another week. Remember together, we make a difference.
