Working with UNICEF has been a dream come true: Lilly Singh

The last year has also been a big one for the YouTuber who was appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to advocate for children's rights. Ahead of her appearance at the Sharjah Book Fair, we catch up with her for some life lessons and laughs. Snippets from the interview:
You're coming to the UAE again for the Sharjah Book Fair. Are you excited?
I'm super excited. I've been to Dubai before but I've never been to Sharjah and I feel like some of my most loyal fans are in that area.
As someone who is already world-famous, what inspired you to go that extra mile and pen down How to be a Bawse?
I'm all about different experiences. My career has been about trying different things and stepping outside my comfort zone. For example, when I first started, I thought I would never do comedy. I thought 'I'll just make a couple of videos' but then suddenly I was learning editing. And then I started getting emails asking me if I wanted to do standup, perform live or model! Those were things I never thought about but why waste the opportunities? A lot of my successes have come from continuously stepping out of my comfort zone and the same goes for this book. When I was younger, I never thought I was going to write a book but I've had a lot of life experiences and I wanted to extract valuable lessons and share them with people.
You've done so many things - vlogging, acting, writing - but what do you personally see yourself as?
I like to call myself a content creator or entertainer. I don't consider myself a comedian - I'm not trained in comedy. I'm not even trained in acting. What I'm really passionate about is creating and entertaining.
Going back to the book - did you anticipate the reaction it would get?
Not really! Very often, when I meet people, the first thing they bring up is the book. I'm blown away by how many people have read it and connected with it. And also about the way people have analysed it. I got a tweet yesterday saying 'my mum is taking notes from your book'! People taking notes - that's something I was not expecting.
There's also talk about the book being adapted for the small screen. When can we see that?
With the launch of my new production company Unicorn Island, one of the things that is a high priority is adapting How to be a Bawse into a script. So, we're doing the meetings and the due diligence but it will probably be a good while before it happens.
Speaking of on-screen, this year saw you in Maroon 5's music video for the song Girls Like You. How was the experience?
That was really cool. Not only was the entire team really supportive but the way they shot it was really interesting with the camera rotating - it's the only one of its kind in north America. It took three days to set up! When I shot the video, I didn't know Cardi B was on the song. That was a cool surprise for me too.
What was it like to be alongside such amazing women?
It was so flattering. It was a super prestigious group of women and I was honoured to be on that list. But I also thought it was such a good video with a message about strength and diversity of women of all walks of life. I thought it had a lot of depth.
What was it like to be chosen as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador last year?
That was definitely one of the highlights of my life. As I'm progressing and growing older, I prioritise different things. No number of subscribers is going to be enough. Everyone says, 'bring in more views in' but I've learnt that it is not a good enough legacy to leave behind. Years from now, what's going to matter more - that I helped send a girl to school or that one of my videos got a million views? Working with UNICEF has been a dream come true.
One of your first campaigns was GirlLove. Tell me about that.
GirlLove is all about encouraging women to build up other women and to tackle girl-on-girl hate. In so many schools that I speak at and even at my own school experiences, girl-on-girl hate is so prevalent. I really believe we are too evolved for that to be happening. And if we really want to help people, then we have to stand together and do something. And we can't do that if we're too busy hating each other.
In the global climate we're living in right now, why is it so important for women to support one another?
Now is a really exciting time for women. With all the movements happening online, women are really making their voices heard and talking about issues that have otherwise been taboo. We need to address these issues - not just for those in North America but for girls around the world who do not have the opportunities we have. We've to use this momentum to help.
You also recently spoke at the UN General Assembly about Generation Unlimited. It sounds like an ambitious project.
It is the first time, in a long time, that the UN General Assembly has put youth at the forefront. And to have the youth there to voice their opinions and concerns and hearing presidents around the world commit to initiatives that support the youth is very important.
When you think of any issue around the world, whether it's poverty, education or climate change, the solution does have to start with young people. It was amazing to be in a room full of prestigious people and have them acknowledge that.
Around the world, a lot of people trivilaise what younger people go through. Why do you think it is so important to listen to what they have to say?
Young people make up 25 per cent of the population but 100 per cent of the future. So, it's important to hear their experiences, not just assume what they are. Also, young people today are growing up in a climate that is very different from what previous generations remember. They are the only generation growing up with social media, with so much access and different platforms. You really have to hear from them firsthand to know what their experiences are.
It's true that this is the most connected generation, but that doesn't mean that life is easier for them. What do you think are the challenges they face?
I obviously can't speak on behalf of all of them. I've had the opportunity to speak to youth in different parts of the world like Ecuador, Some African countries and India. And for people in that side of the world, I think opportunity is a big thing. It's a culture shift that needs to happen. So many parts of the world have taboos over what women can and cannot do. A lot of that falls into culture.
How can modern technology help with these issues?
Social media is great for connecting people, great for giving people a voice and for creating communities and movements. But at the same time, everyone has a voice and so there are things like cyberbullying or unsafe places for young people. I think it's up to social media platforms to do their part in terms of regulations and what can be discussed and showcased.
What words of advice do you have for young people around the world?
My job did not exist years ago - I created a job I was passionate about. And I think young people should do the same thing. I think we're a generation that is more connected and entrepreneurial. I think it's about creating that job and then working really hard so you can add value to the world. So often ,our culture, our parents and society tell us not to do that. But I really think we are that generation that can do outstanding things by being creative, innovative and entrepreneurial so I encourage all young people to do that - if they desire to do that.
What can we hope to see in the future from you?
You can hope to see a lot of philanthropy, working on things like GirlLove and with the UNICEF. I'm going to continue doing that because that's what makes me happy. From an entertainment standpoint, my production company wants to tell important stories that represent different communities like women of colour - the kind of stories no one else wants to tell. I'm working day and night to make this happen.
Do you think more social media personalities should use their platforms to raise awareness on different issues?
I'm a big believer that people should do whatever their heart tells them to do. I wish that every person could but everyone is on their own journey and their own path.
But I do think that everyone should look into causes that are important to them. Because you can't force people to care about certain things. I am such a huge believer in gender equality because I am a woman who was raised in a culture that unfortunately isn't the most supportive of women all the time. So, that cause is passionate to me. But, it is very hard to push those causes on someone who has not had the same experiences. I encourage people to use whatever experience they do have. If they've faced racism, or struggled with mental health - whatever that issue is that burns in your heart, work towards it. There are many causes in the world and we can all relate to one of them.
When you say you were raised in a culture that isn't always supportive, were you identifying with your Indian roots or your Canadian ones?
Many cultures around the world aren't too supportive of women. What I was referring to was being South Asian but that's not to say that in America there's a culture that supports women all the time.
Can we hope for another book in the future?
You know, I would really want to write another book. I might not do it for a while because writing a book is a lot of work and this one almost killed me (laughs). It's going to be a while - but I definitely want to.
janice@khaleejtimes.com