Topic: Joy, Hope and Positivity
Gurdeep Pandher is an internationally known, Yukon-based, Sikh author, teacher and performer who has made, and continues to make, extraordinary contributions to society and our collective well-being by sharing bhangra dancing with the world.
Mr. Pandher moved to Canada from his ancestral village Siahar, in his native Punjab, in 2006; he became a Canadian citizen in 2011. He completed a bachelor of education from the Yukon University and a master’s degree in public administration from Panjab University.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he posted daily videos of himself dancing traditional Punjabi bhangra folk dance in the outdoor setting of his remote cabin in the Yukon as a way of spreading hope and joy.
Apart from the physical and mental uplift created through his dance movement, another meaningful side of Mr. Pandher’s work is cultural knowledge sharing and learning for building inter-racial and cross-cultural bridges. He has collaborated with people and artists from many different backgrounds, including Indigenous artists, to build a deeper understanding of multicultural Canada.
He also promotes inclusivity in sport, the military, charities and non-profit organizations. In 2017 he performed with Stephanie Dixon, a Canadian Paralympic Games medallist. In 2019, he visited the northernmost and self-government Indigenous community of Old Crow in the Yukon to share his dance art with the Elders and other community members as part of his efforts to create connections and understanding across cultures. In 2019 he collaborated with the Canadian Armed Forces to create a video to celebrate diversity and inclusivity in the military. He held free dance workshops with Doctors Without Borders and the Canadian Mental Health Association.
In 2021 Mr. Pandher received the Canadian Public Relations Society National President’s Award for Outstanding Public Relations and Communications Management.
Also in 2021, he received the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Louie Kamookak Medal for making Canada’s geography better known to Canadians and to the world.
Also in 2021, The Government of Yukon awarded the Community Recreation Leadership Award to Mr. Pandher for making an outstanding contribution to community recreation in the Yukon Territory. In 2023, he was a panellist on CBC Canada Reads.
In 2023, The Memorial University of Newfoundland decided to give the honorary degree “Doctor of Laws honoris causa” to Mr. Pandher