We were lucky to catch up with Parth Bhatt recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Parth, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?
I’ve been unremittingly challenging the status quos of the society, be it my academics, passion, or my social life. Also, I’m someone who has always believed that there’s something to learn even from the so-called dumbest person one could ever meet. All it requires is some dynamic & disruptive thinking. To give you an example, once I was helping this acquaintance of mine who ran clubs in school, in designing a Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) curriculum for one of her clients, which was a school in Delhi. While making the blueprint, she said “let’s move to SDG 15.4 now”, and I corrected her and informed her that SDG 15.4 is for mountain ecosystems. Though she said that it was a slip of tongue, this incident gave me a new idea. I recalled that there are some landfill-turned-mountains in Delhi. This includes a 73 metre tall garbage mountain, which according to some sources is the largest of its’ kind in entire Asia. I then suggested curating activities for teaching school students about how such landfills can be transitioned into green parks.
There have been many such instances where I’ve turned multiple slip of tongues and purported crazy ideas into something meaningful. There’s a huge misconception that innovation is only limited to technology or AI, though there can be innovations in day-to-day actions and thought processes too. And I would say that these ideas of mine, along with my journey of following “no more of the same” is the most innovative thing I’m doing.
Apart from this all, I’ve visited villages & communities in Africa to get on ground experience of what climate change feels like for them. Even after being the second largest continent, Africans have contributed just 2% to the climate crisis, and they’re the first people to bear the consequences of delayed actions of entire world. While almost all the climate ‘activists’ I’ve heard of limit their activism to COPs and conferences in Europe, USA, or some global north country, I’m doing my best to be with the people at the forefront of the climate crisis, understanding their problems by conversing with them, so I could inculcate everything in the work I’m doing, awareness I’m spreading globally, and policies I’m demanding for. Arming Africans with the knowledge & resources to fight climate change and uplifting African youth is a priority for me.
Parth, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m Parth, a recent high school graduate hailing from Nainital, Uttarakhand and a young changemaker. I’m an Indian by birth and a global citizen by heart & choice. My father is a serving officer in Indian Army, and my mother is in Army Wives Welfare Association. I’ve spent my life adapting to over 19 different cities and states, and been to more than 15 schools before finally shifting to open schooling. I’ve been researching and working on sustainable development, climate action, women & youth empowerment, community upliftment, biodiversity conservation, educational reforms, and international relations, for 8 years. I’m following a three-front approach for the same:
• The primary agenda of my campaign is to reach maximum people to make them fully aware about nuances of climate change. In spite of this being a burning issue, people aren’t aware of all the repercussions, thus, I’m closely working with the youth around the world to bridge this knowledge gap. Firstly, I armed myself with knowledge on this important issue by doing multiple UN courses, “Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development by UN System Staff College” and “Climate Change, From Learning to Action by UN Climate Change Learn” to name a few, understanding policies designed keeping climate action in mind. Simultaneously, I organized climate action rallies, addressed youth at various forums spreading knowledge about climate change & SDGs, and arranged multiple interactions between youth & policy makers. I led youth in various events, including diplomatic missions at embassies of multiple countries, discussions with foreign ambassadors & ministers, and Climate Action Summit with UN Deputy Secretary-General.
• I’ve been working down till grassroot levels for on ground climate action. Leading by example. I’ve undertaken multiple projects, including but not limited to transitioning barren desert lands into green parks, play fields, gardens, orchards, etc. using waste material and employing solar power in communities to cater for various energy needs. Also, I’m working with a number of organizations & youth networks, GirlUp, Animal Rehabilitation & Protection Front, Studomatrix, YOUNGO, Child Rights & You, United Nations Volunteers, Unite 2030, to name a few.
• I’d the opportunity of meeting & conversing with policy makers including Presidents, Ambassadors & Diplomats, UN Senior Leadership, Academicians, Entrepreneurs & Dignitaries by virtue of me getting invited to various meetings & conferences. On all these occasions, I make it a point to discuss climate action & sustainable development, including policy coherence and inter-sectoral coordination, in addition to the named agenda. I have been keeping my points on how climate change isn’t a silo in itself but affects all other sectors.
Any advice for managing a team?
I was once invited to serve as Chief Advisor of a youth lead social organization working in education sector. As it was a social organization, the entire work force comprised of people who voluntarily decided to work for a good cause and betterment of society. The people weren’t very active and the work kept piling up day by day. After a couple of weeks, the founder was extremely frustrated and decided to dissolve the organization. As the Chief Advisor, I requested her not to take such impulsive decision and asked her to give me a few days to make the organizational environment better. I called in for a team meeting scheduled considering everyone’s calendar to ensure complete participation. I used the meeting as an opportunity to get to know each and every team member better. After sometime, I had a better picture of everyone’s problems, expectations from organization, expectations from senior leadership, aim behind joining the organization, etc. Considering all these factors, I talked to my team members individually, helping them find a purpose they relate with within the organization, resolving their issues, motivating them to work better, while advising them on how to avoid getting burnt out. Right from the next day, there was an exponential increase in the productivity and everything was running smooth. While everyone worked with enthusiasm, I made sure that they get enough rest. Later, I started a trend of having weekly informal fun sessions where work related discussions were banned, this made everyone connect with each other better, greatly increased their team spirit, and bridged the communication gaps. While doing all this, I made sure that I always lead by example in every initiative and take the responsibilities. After all, if my team didn’t see me putting in all my efforts, how can I expect them to be all in? Though I put in a lot at times, I believe that ‘a person can never be a good leader if they aren’t going through more than the people they’re leading’.
Hence my only advice for managing a team and maintaining high morale is, make the welfare of your team members your primary focus. Pay more emphasis on well-being of your members, than their output, and they’ll outperform your expectations in no time. Lastly, whenever faced with a crisis, try to stay calm and have faith in yourself. Have faith that you’ll make through it and come up with flying colors. This will greatly motivate your teammates and increase their morale. Remember that the true identity of a leader is in their capability of transferring their willpower to their teammates.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The sole mission driving my journey is my aim to make this world a better place to live in for all, including the species we share this beautiful planet with, while making contributions to humankind that outlive my lifespan.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/parth._.bhatt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parth.bhatt.79462815
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/bhatt-parth
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/genius_parth?lang=en
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCjY2x1V-jrur5FeHjDPRoQg