There were many smiles on the faces of the Management Team leading Sikh Youth Australia in June this year following the conclusion of the Youth Leadership Camp.
The camp, held for Sydney Sikhs between the ages of 18 and 35, was fully booked even before it started. All up, 110 participants from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, ACT and South Australia attended. What had the SYA Management smiling was not just the success of the camp but the fact that many new faces have emerged keen to carry SYA into the next decade.
Co-ordinating the new faces and getting them up to speed is Harmeet Kaur. She, Taran Gill and Saranpaal Calais made a short presentation at the camp and gave out Expression Of Interest forms to attendees. Those interested were asked to complete the EOI form and return it at the end of the camp.
Harmeet said that approximately 40 forms were collected and that she and Saranpaal Calais had assessed the nominees.
“We selected the teams for each group as well as team leaders based on info stated in the EOIs and our knowledge of their suitability for the role,’’ she said. “These teams will be used to assist in the Summer Camp preparation and also contribute to the SYA strategic operational plan,’’ she added.
The four teams and their team leaders are:
1. Admin
Leader: Gurvansh Bhatia
Team Members: Amarpal, Satjit, Harpreet
2. Marketing
Leader: Navjeet Randhawa
Team Members: Manu, Sohail, Manmeet, Sundeep, Parneet
3. Website
Leader: Dev Singh
Team Members: Puneet, Devpaal, Sarpreet, Harjarp
4. Sponsorship & Grants
Leader: Preet Toki
Team Members: Simren, Baljeet, Jayraj
The camp this year also saw the introduction of the PX-2 Leadership Program. This internationally accredited program aims to train one to transform one’s life from an ordinary tentative routine to an exciting and effective life direction beyond one’s assumed capability. It also empowers one to achieve higher goals through unlocking the barriers one creates in the mind.
Facilitators at the camp this year included:
* Sara Yik – She is a co founder of the Mckinsey Centre for Asian Leadership and currently the managing director of Callahan Associates as well as Master Facilitator of the Pacific Institute, USA;

* Ash Singh – He was nominated as Asia’s best young entrepreneur in 2009 by Business Week.

* Jasbir Singh – A graduate of the Singapore Management University he recently completed a 2,000 km cycling journey across Alaska.

As usual, Veer Manpreet’s early morning and evening simran sessions were very popular as were the yoga sessions conducted by Shankar Ramiah.
A new initiative of inviting successful entrepreneurs from mainstream Australia commenced this year. SYA’s guest was Mr Bob Turner, the General Manager of the new Sydney Kings. He arrived in Australia in the late 1980s as a player and has since risen to great heights within corporate Australia and in Asia. His motivational talk was very popular amongst the youths.
On the same evening Mahesh Enjeti also presented the first half of the SYA Strategic Plan. Following extensive consultation and input from the SYA family and community, a Vision, Mission and Brand Positioning statement was outlined to the participants. There was a high level of support for the proposed future direction of SYA.
A delighted Jaswinder Sidhu told program participants that it was great to see so many individuals take positive things away from the PX2 program and to see new blood coming online to carry on the good work done so far.
“The SYA youths coming on stream are young, full of energy and highly capable and I am sure they will be able to take over the full running of the organization before long.’’
Official Photos from the Camp can be viewed here.