ScandAsia April 2020

APRIL 2020

Business:

Swedish AI-specialist in Singapore

Community:

SSS 100 Years: Party of the century

Personal

Development:

Attitude is everything

International

Schools theme

April 2020

ScandAsia

Stories

14 Danish maritime

companies to get new

financing opportunities

15 Scandinavian countries

among most innovative

46 More mindful citizens,

please

50 Celebrating Fastelavn

in Bangkok

Corona virus creating

a mess in international

travel and domestic

economies worldwide

How to choose

the right school

24

14

15

Party of the century:

Scandinavian Society Siam

celebrates 100 years

16

20

Rebecka Lundin:

A Swedish entrepreneur

in Hong Kong

46

4 ScandAsia • April 2020

52

Anna Frummerin:


50

Editorial

Covid-19 - do our home

countries care about us?

The world is facing an unprecedented global health

emergency. The containment of the Covid-19

pandemic is the utmost priority and the Nordic

countries and their companies all over Asia are in each

their way committed to support all measures taken to

curb the outbreak.

The COVID-19 outbreak has brought our world to

a standstill with unparalleled and unforeseen impact in

our lives, our economies, our societies and our livelihoods

and there are growing risks of a global recession and a

massive loss of jobs.

Any assessment of the impact of this unparalleled

crisis is quickly surpassed by the fast-changing reality.

Based on the latest developments (quarantine

measures, travel bans & border closures in most of Asia

and Europe, which represents 50% of international tourism,

tourist arrivals in Asia could decline by 20% to 30%

in 2020. This would translate into a loss of hundreds of

billion of US-dollars in international tourism receipts

and will send a ripple effect into every corner of every

national economy.

What we don’t know is, when we will we see the

end of this crisis?

What we do know is, that millions of jobs are already

lost or at risk of being lost.

What we do know is, that we need to protect the

most vulnerable segments such as SMEs, self-employed,

women and start-ups. That we need to create survival

mechanisms for companies.

We know we need strong support in navigating the

unparalleled social and economic impact of COVID19. In

the immediate, we need urgent fiscal and monetary measures

that help protect jobs, sustain the self-employed

and support companies’ liquidity and operations and accelerate

recovery in the future.

The challenge is that the more we do to flatten

the infection curve, the more we are also worsening the

economic recession curve

We do the right measures to save human lives, but

the same measures cost the lives of many businesses.

Reviving dead businesses is just as difficult as reviving

dead people.

What we do know is, that countries in Asia will tend

to rescue their own SME’s before tending to business run

by foreigners.

What Nordic companies in Asia needs urgently is

attention and fiscal support from our home countries

which we have never before asked for help. We need

short term soft loans of max. 3 percent interest for

Nordic related companies and Nordic self employed and

start-ups operating in Asia.

Do our home countries care about us?

Gregers Moller

Editor in Chief

ScandAsia is a printed magazine and online media

covering the people and businesses of Denmark,

Sweden, Norway, Finland living and working in

China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,

Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

and Myanmar.

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and companies from the Nordic countries living

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Realise your

ambitions in Asia.

Being the leading Nordic bank in Singapore we understand the unique challenges

you face when living and investing in Asia. As your partner, we will use our decades

of experience in the region to help you achieve your goals.

Contact us at singapore@seb.sg

Care for ambition

April 2020 • ScandAsia 7

News brief

Denmark airlifted Danes stranded

in the Philippines

The chartered flight DK9025 was an Airbus A330-243 from Thomas Cook.

A

total of 236 Danish individuals

were registered as need-

Foreign Ministry had sent a team

In preparation for the airlift, the

ing assistance in returning to of helpers to the Danish Embassy

Denmark from the Philippines as of in Manila, to assist the Danish passengers,

who were instructed to

24 March 2020. To provide home

transportation for them, the Danish

Foreign Ministry in collaboration international airports Mactan-Cebu

find accommodation near the two

with the travel industry and the Filipino

authorities established an air-

Ninoy Aquino International Airport,

International Airport and Manila

lift using dedicated planes. The first so they could be ready for boarding

flights took off on 28 March 2020. on short notice.

The Cebu flight had left Denmark

to Phuket, then changed crew

there for the flight Phuket-Cebu-

Phuket. Finally the flight left Phuket-

Copenhagen with the first crew. The

passengers had to pay for the tickets

for the flight.

The Danish Foreign Ministry

stressed in the press release that

Danes, who are currently in a foreign

country and wishes to return home,

should not expect that a similar

airlift would be arranged for them.

Instead they were encouraged to

search for commercial flights to return

home.

“We have to prioritize the

places, where the health- and security

situations is a challenge,” Minister

of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod said.

“The Foreign Ministry can only

try to install our own exclusive flights

in extraordinary situations, where

no other solutions are available.”

All Nordic countries closed their borders

All the Nordic countries announced

one after another

restrictions on travelers

visiting their countries to limit the

spread of the novel coronavirus.

The first country was Denmark

which decided to close the Danish

borders as of 13 March 2020. The

Norwegian government made the

same decision 16 March 2020.

The day after, the Swedish- and

Finnish governments announced

that both countries would close

their borders as of 19 March 2020.

Although the borders are formally

closed, all Nordic countries still

allow some movements, in particular

regarding their own nationals. For

most of the countries the measure

was to block entry from countries

outside the EU.

“Today’s decision is in line with

the European Council and Commission’s

advice to EU member states

to introduce a temporary ban on

inbound travel to the EU from third

countries,” said the Swedish Minister

of Internal Affairs Mikeal Damberg

in a statement when announcing the

closure of the Swedish borders.

The last Nordic country to

take the drastic measures was Iceland

which on 20 March 2020 announced

that it would only allow

foreign nationals from EU (+EFTA)

and UK nationals to enter Iceland. All

other travelers will not be allowed

to board transportation to Iceland.

The ban was set to expire on 17

April 2020.


No tears: All passengers

to Europe passed check-in

News brief

By Sofia S. Flittner-Nielsen

We are in Suvarnabhumi

airport in Bangkok. The

time is almost 22.00 on

Friday 21 March 2020. In a few minutes

the check-in counters for Thai

Airways flights to Europe will open.

We are here to see, if any passengers

are refused boarding because

they do not have the required documents

or sufficient reason to travel.

There are fewer people than

on an ordinary day. Some seem to

bee cool, strolling around and taking

their time. Others are power

walking as they frantically look for

the right check-in counter. Some

sprint ahead off the others to secure

themselves a good place in the

queue in front of the check-in counters.

When they get there, they are

greeted by a buzzing sea of people

waiting for the check-in to open.

The clock ticks as it nears 22.00

and the two lines grow longer and

longer as families, friends and solo

travelers’ race to join at the end of

the queue, clearly desperate to not

be the last person in the growing line

of people. Most trolleys are stacked

like towers with suitcases and colorful

backpacks. Children use the

suitcases on the trolley as a seat as

they play on their phones while their

parents whisper and check their

boarding passes. People frequently

clean their hands with hand sanitizer

as they slip masks and gloves on. The

air quickly becomes thick with the

bitter smell of sanitizer.

Suddenly the line starts to

move, just a few meters, as the first

travelers hurry to the counters. The

many faces are painted with relief

as the line continues to move – but

slowly. And as seconds turns into

minutes the relief transforms into

impatience. People tap their feet to

an unknown beat, children ask their

parents when they will get to the

counters, people begin to wander

around restlessly while constantly

keeping an eye of the staff – some

people make an attempt to cut the

lines to get to the front quicker

but are told to find the end of the

queue.

A man wipes down his suitcase

with hand gel and sanitizer. It seems

irrational as the suitcase will surely

pass many hands before it reaches

his destination – why not save it to

the moment when he takes it off the

baggage band then?

The air fills with an anxious

tension under the white fluorescent

lights of the airport.

The closer people get to

the counters, the more nervous

they look. Their eyes flicker as they

swallow. Some take their annoying

masks off, rapidly talking to their

co-travelers and frequently checking

their passports. The reason for

their anxiety is that Thai Airways can

deny people access based on a list

of instructions and criteria provided

by the Embassies in Thailand. As the

clock ticks, the tension intensifies:

people want to go home. Will they

allow me?

But despite the tension, checkin

goes smoothly. People walk away

from the check-in counters as they

smile and hurry towards security.

Some people sprint away from the

counters through the hall to purchase

passage for an either overweight

or over-sized luggage.

The palpable tension peaks

when the speakers cut through the

low buzz of the last people waiting

in line to announce that check-in

is closing soon – and boarding to

several flights has begun. The line

isn’t long but the last few people

begin to pace restlessly around their

luggage trolley, their feet and hands

tapping away.

But this evening ended smoothly

– smooth as silk. Nobody were

turned away at the check-in counter,

everybody got their boarding tickets.

No cries tonight – everyone got on

their flights to Europe in time.


News brief

Nordic countries contribute funds

for Covid-19 vaccine research

Norwegian Prime Minister

Erna Solberg and Minister

of International Development

Dag-Inge Ulstein appealed

already in January for donors to

support the Coalition for Epidemic

Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to

quickly develop a vaccine against the

novel coronavirus.

“Several countries are now

supporting Norway’s appeal for

funding the development of a vaccine

against the Covid-19 virus. Germany,

Sweden, Finland and Denmark

are among the countries that are

now pledging millions,” said Minster

of International Development H.E.

Ulstein.

“Nevertheless, we are still

USD 1,7 billion short of the funding

we need to reach our goal of USD

2 billion in contributions to CEPI. It

is important to get more countries

and other actors on board so that

we can work together to improve

global health security,” he said.

CEPI needs the funds to enable

it to expand the number of vaccine

candidates, to increase the probability

of success against COVID-19.

It’s ambition is to have at least three

vaccines in development to submit

to regulatory authorities for general

and emergency use.

CEPI has outlined ‘five funding

phases’ to help it achieve its mission.

An initial $100m is needed to

help fund phase 1 clinical trials of

eight vaccine candidates, and then a

further $375m by the end of March

2020 to prepare four-six for phase

2/3 trials.

This will be followed by $400m

by the end of June 2020 to take at

least two candidates into phase 2/3

trials and prepare for trials to be carried

out in a number of locations. At

this stage, the investment will also be

used to scale up the manufacturing

process for up to six candidates.

Lastly, CEPI says that $500m-

$750m in 2021 will be needed to

support the global manufacturing

capacity, with tech transfer, to geographically

distributed locations of

up to three candidates.

This will also allow for the

completion of clinical testing and the

preparation of regulatory submissions

for emergency authorisation

and licensure submission.

The Coalition for Epidemic

Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

was established after the Ebola crisis

to develop vaccines to stop future

epidemics faster than has previously

been possible using traditional approaches.

CEPI is headquartered in

Odlo, Norway, and key contributors

in establishing the organisation was

Norway, Germany, Japan, India, the

Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and

the Welcome Trust.

LEGO to expand in China despite

coronavirus

LEGO, the Danish toy giant,

opened 80 new Lego-stores

in China in 2019 and the plan

is to expand with another 80 stores

in 2020 – making the total number

of LEGO-stores in China 220 stores

spread across 55 Chinese cities,

according to Niels B. Christiansen,

CEO of LEGO.

“The short-term uncertainty,

the coronavirus has brought, won’t

make us change our long-term

goals and the investments we have

planned,” tells Niels B. Christiansen.


Despite the coronavirus causing

a temporary shut-down of the

Chinese LEGO factory and several

LEGO offices across China the CEO

reports that the company has not

experienced a significant decrease

in sales in China.

“We can see that the purchases

of LEGO has not been in the

stores but rather on our website

instead. But it’s too soon to predict

if it will affect our total sale of 2020,”

tells the CEO of Lego.

Photo: Just2Good.

Norway stepped up home

transport arrangements

News brief

Many Norwegians travelling

abroad found themselves

in difficulties due to the

coronavirus pandemic and asked

for help returning to Norway. The

Ministry of Foreign Affairs scaled up

staffing at its operational centre and

received more than 5 500 inquiries

in just three days leading up to the

closure of the Norwegian borders.

“It is becoming harder for many

Norwegian citizens to return home

because more and more countries

are closing their borders and

airspace and introducing states of

emergency,” said Minister of Foreign

Affairs H.E. Ine Eriksen Søreide.

“The Government wants very

much to help Norwegian travelers

get home safely to Norway and we

are working closely with SAS, Norwegian

and Widerøe airlines to help

Norwegian citizens who are now on

trips abroad.”

The Norwegian government

informed the airlines Widerøe, Norwegian

and SAS that the Norwegian

state would step forward to

cover additional costs of maintaining

certain flights bringing Norwegians

home that the airlines would otherwise

have cancelled, or of making

essential extraordinary flights to

carry Norwegians who are travelling

home through 31 March 2020.

Flights information were made

available on the airlines’ websites and

the airlines charged normal payment

from travelers. The airlines would be

attempting to limit additional costs.

“I am grateful for the good

cooperation we have had with the

airlines,” Minister of Transport H.E.

Knut Arild Hareide. “They are the

ones who will be administering this,

and people trying to get home must

contact the airlines directly. Our

common goal is to allow many travelling

Norwegians to make it home,

and we are looking in particular at

places where there are many of

them. I would like to thank SAS,

Norwegian and Widerøe and their

personnel who are pitching in to

make this collective effort work.’

Qatar Airways offers discount

to fly home from Jakarta

Qatar Airways extended in

March via NordCham in

Indonesia an offer that

members of the chamber and their

family members could receive a 10%

discount on economy and business

class flights to return home. The offer

is valid for bookings and flights

until 15th April 2020.

The special offer is a result of

NordCham’s partnership discussions

with Qatar Airways over some

time, says Magnus Ramstad Dahl,

NordCham Indonesia.

“Nordcham would like Qatar

to be the Chamber’s airline partner

with up to 20% discounts on flights,

flexible bookings and cancellations,

accelerated loyalty points accumulation

and transferring members from

other loyalty programs to Qatar’s

loyalty program at the same membership

tier.”

Magnus Ramstad Dahl adds,

that these discussions have temporarily

been but on hold due to

corona but will resume once the

situation returns to normal.

Qatar Airways operates two

daily flights between Jakarta and

Doha with connecting flights onward

to Scandinavia. QR955 departs

daily 25 minutes past mindnight

from Jakarta to Doha while QR957

departs daily 20 minutes past noon

from Jakarta to Doha.


News brief

Salmon ocean farm built

in China on its way to Norway

A

floating salmon farm to be

put into production off the

coast of Norway is now

on its way from China to Norway

where it is expected to arrive during

the summer.

The farm has been named

Havfarm 1. It is designed by NSK

Ship Design in Norway and built at

Yantai Shipyard, a city in the Shandong

province of China.

“Although this area is quite

some distance away from the epicenter

of the COVID-19 outbreak,

extended Chinese holidays and selfquarantine

regulations began affecting

the project at an early stage.

The situation in Yantai is now fairly

normalized, but Chinese travel restrictions

have recently been implemented

to prevent new outbreaks,”

says Lars Fredrik Martinussen, Communications

Chief in Nordlaks which

is the customer that will operate the

salmon farm.

A timeline for the completion,

final launch, and testing of onboard

equipment is currently hard to estimate,

the firm said. During this

phase of the project, Nordlaks relies

heavily on personnel from multiple

suppliers, and strict travel restrictions

to and from China are creating

uncertainty regarding the completion

process.

The Norwegian Seamen’s Church

in Singapore closes temporarily – but

offers social solution

Due to the novel coronavirus

the Norwegian Seamen’s

Church in Singapore is closing

its doors temporarily, announced

the Church in its newsletter 26

March 2020. The closure will last

until 13 April 2020 to prevent the

spreading and reduce the risk of infection

by the novel coronavirus by

not gathering many people together.

“We still wish to be “open” and

to be of service to the Norwegian

colony in Singapore,” states the Seamen’s

Church in the newsletter.

Since the Church has closed its

physical premises, the Norwegians in

Singapore were invited to try to join

an online coffee-meeting 31 March

2020 using the app Zoom Cloud

Meetings. (https://zoom.us/)


International ski conference

in Pattaya moved

News brief

The International Ski Federation

FIS has decided to move

its world congress planned

for May 17-23 in Pattaya, Thailand

due to the corona crisis. The Congress

gathers every year over 1000

participants from national skiing federations

around the world.

Norwegian Ski Federation’s

President Erik Röste has from the

beginning strongly opposed holding

the congress in Pattaya, saying it

hurts the reputation of the FIS. Outgoing

President Gian Franco Kasper

has defended the selection which

came after the first choice Marrakesh,

Morocco opted out, saying

that “Pattaya is not only sex tourism,

but also normal tourism.”

The Congress should have

taken place at Royal Cliff Grand

Hotel with participants staying also

at Royal Cliff Beach Hotel, Royal

Cliff Beach Terrace and Royal Wing

Suites & Spa.

The Norwegian Ski Federation

is hoping that the Congress, which

will now take place in the autumn,

will endorse Trondheim as home for

the 2025 Nordic World Ski Championships.

Trondheim is not known for

its prostitution.


News brief

Danish maritime companies

to get new opportunities

in China and Singapore

Denmark’s Export Credit

Agency (EKF) have teamed

up with the Danish Trade

Council, the Royal Danish Embassy

in Beijing and Embassy of Denmark

in Singapore to develop an alliance,

which will give small and mediumsized

Danish companies more op-

portunities to offer and deliver maritime

technologies for shipyards in

China and Singapore.

The alliance will be dubbed

“The Maritime Shopping Line Alliance”

and will be open to all Danish

companies within Maritime technology

and innovation.

The alliance aims to present a

collective image of Danish technology

and solutions as supportive,

reliable, relevant and worthy.

The alliance will be supported

by Denmark’s Export Credit Agency,

who will offer Chinese and Singaporean

shipyards- and owners’ access

to pre-approved credit, as this

will make the action of purchasing

Danish solutions easy and comfortable.

“The alliance with businesses

will offer Danish companies and

businesses the opportunity to receive

orders, that normally would

have been too small for the businesses

banks to fund. This alliance

will create opportunities for export

that normally wouldn’t be possible,”

says Marek Zandberg, Chief Underwriter

at EKF.

Sweden and Cambodia to cooperate

in education of human rights

The Embassy of Sweden in

Cambodia signed an agreement

with Raoul Wallenberg

Institute (RWI) of Human Rights and

Humanitarian Law 12 March 2020.

The agreement aims to strengthen

human rights education at the kingdom

of Cambodia’s educational institutions,

reports the Cambodian

newspaper Khmer Times.

The agreement will last from

2020 to 2022 with Sweden pledging

$3.2 million to the cause.

The economic aid will allow

the RWI to continue supporting

human rights education for the next

generation of Cambodian decisionmakers,

stated Raoul Wallenberg

Institute in a press release.

This will include research in

different areas on the spectrum of

human rights, such as gender and

environment among others. The

research aims to stimulate betterinformed

debates and increase co-

Samuel Hurtig, Head of Development Cooperation at Embassy of Sweden in

Cambodia (left) and Morten Kjarum, Headqueater Director of RWI. Photo: RWI.

operation between different sectors

of the Cambodian society, added the

institute.

The Head of development cooperation

at the Swedish Embassy,

Samuel Hurtig, acknowledges the

RWI’s activities as a significant contribution

to improving knowledge

of human rights and gender equality

among citizens and the public sector

in Cambodia.

“We are pleased to partner

with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute.

The support is in line with Swedish

government’s strategy for development

cooperation with Cambodia

and drive for democracy, with the

promotion and protection of human

rights at the core,” said Samuel

Hurtig at the event 12 March 2020.


News brief

Danish Church in Thailand sponsored

by Grundfos and ScanProducts

The Danish Church in Thailand

has secured sponsor support

that will help the church economically

in the future. The two

sponsors are Grundfos, a global and

well-known pump manufacturer, and

Jens Bergsoe from ScanProducts,

a local business that specializes in

sale of Danish Design. The combined

money donated from the two

new sponsors will allow the Danish

Church economic freedom to maintain

the cultural and social services

the Church offers.

“We’re very pleased to have

come to an agreement with Grundfos

and Jens Bergsoe from Scan-

Products. The Church offers a lot

of services and social events that

need sponsoring, so it’s an economic

relief,” says Peter Sand, Chairman of

the Church Council.

Kenth Hvid Nielsen, Grundfos

Thailand, says the decision to support

the Danish Church was an easy

choice.

“The Danish Church is playing

a very important role regarding of

social responsibility, and we want

to support them, so they can have

better conditions to execute their

work,” he said, referring to the work

the Church does in helping elderly,

lonely or troubled Danes and visiting

imprisoned or hospitalized Danes in

Thailand.

Jens Bergsoe, ScanProducts,

agrees. Both Danes highlighted also

the Church as a social and cultural

gathering point.

“It’s not just the Church, we’re

sponsoring we’re also sponsoring

the Danish Community and unity.

It’s a thing worth supporting”, said

Kenth Hvid Nielsen.

Peter Sand,

Chairman of the

Danish Church

in Thailand, with

the Danish vicar,

Christa Lund

Herum.

Singapore, Denmark, Sweden and

Finland in top 10 of the worlds most

innovative countries in 2020

A

recent report of a study

made by Bloomberg shows

the most innovative countries

in the world based on criteria

within research and development

spending, manufacturing capability

and the countries’ concentration of

high-tech companies. The list of criteria

makes up a 100-point ranking

system, according to the statistics

firm Statista.

While Germany and South Korea

took first and second place Singapore

swooped in on third place

with 87.01 points out of 100 points

– jumping three rankings up compared

to 2019.

Sweden took fifth place with

85.50 point – jumping two rankings

up.

Finland dropped four rankings

to a seventh place with 84.00 points

out of 100 points.

Denmark finally entered the

top 10 list of innovative countries

with a eighth place, jumping three

rankings up compared to 2019,

where the Nordic country was close

to becoming number 10.


Party of the Century:

Scandinavian Society

Siam celebrates 100 Years


Scandinavian Society Siam celebrated its 100

Year Anniversary in magnificent style on 5

March 2020 - exactly on the same day as Dansk

Samfund Siam was established one hundred

years ago in a completely different world.

The location was God's gift to the organizers: The

Glass House in old Nai Lert Park Heritage Home garden

was perfect with its beautiful transparent structure surrounded

by century old rain trees and willows. It was

made possible with generous donations by key companies

in the Nordic community.

This was a once in a lifetime occasion and it should

have been jumped upon by any Nordic person lucky

enough to be in Thailand during this spring. But with only

100 participants, it appears that not everybody looked

at it this way. Personally, I enjoyed meeting almost everybody

that I had hoped to meet at this unique party - only

a few were sadly not there for a variety of individually

very reasonable reasons.

The menu was not extravagant but exquisite and to

the point. There was a seafood starter. It was followed by

the most tender duck breast that I have ever tasted. And

for desert we had a crispy layered cake with raspberry

compost in between. There were fancy names for it all

on the menu card, but I forgot to pocket one. Wine and

beer was free flowing. So was coffee throughout the

night, which was very nice.

We heard a very informative speech by the Chairman

Lasse Stalung, introduced by the cool MC Kim Alexandersen

wearing a huge bowler with an extra wide brim

that gave him the looks of a traditional Roman Catholic

clergy. In his speech, Chairman Lasse took us on an entertaining

journey through the 100 years and highlighted

interesting facts he had stumbled upon in his research on

the subject. See some of the slides above.



We also heard an entertaining speech by past Chairman

Tom Sorensen, whose talent as a party speaker is legendary

- and he didn't fail us this time either. Somewhere

in the middle, the party broke down during the distribution

of door prized, as is usually the case. Now, we have

another hundred years before the next grand anniversary

to learn how to handle this. We were all, however, jolted

back into attention with the solo performance of the

amazing Adrian Angelico, the Norwegian mezzo-soprano

whom I had had the pleasure of sitting at the same table

with, seated next to his childhood friend, the Norwegian

Author Anne Marie Stamnestrø.

On stage, Adrian's pleasant and distinct conversational

voice suddenly exploded into the evening’s greatest

thrills, his rich voice effortlessly filling the hall at whatever

dynamic without a microphone. Amazing, if only too

short. Back at the table, I - by the way - finally got the

explanation why he spoke so flawlessly Danish. As a child,

his mother had lived together with Charman Lasse for

two years in Denmark!

We also heard interesting speeches from Honorary

Member Dr. Kristian Boe and from Palle Havmoeller,

whose father had been one of the founders of the Dansk

Samfund Siam. And we cut a genuine Danish "kransekage"

to mark the anniversary.

Just in time to kick the party one notch higher, the

Swing Kings Band took over the stage and had us all up

and dancing the night away, giving the Chairman and the

Grey Eminence of the party, past Chairman Eid Alexandersen

a moment to breath. The success of the night was

in the bag and she and past Chairman Leo could relax

and enjoy the rest of the night as any other participant.

Enough words. Chairman Lasse Staalung has uploaded

lots of more photos here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YMzRR6gaceBMwvCJ7


Rebecka Lundin:

An Environmentally Aware

Swedish Entrepreneur

in Hong Kong


Rebecka Lundin is proud of

her Swedish heritage and she

visits her homeland regularly.

She owns a country house

outside Stockholm and loves

to spend as much time as

possible there, with all her

family around. She has a high

regard for Stockholm and

recognizes it as a leading

player in the fashion industry.

By Colin Rampton

Sheung Wan is an interesting area of Hong

Kong. Just one MTR stop to the west of noisy

Central, it is totally different in character from

its modern and bustling neighbor. Sheung Wan

contains old Chinese medicine stores, antique

and curio shops, the Man Ho temple and the famous Cat

Street market. The labyrinth of streets and alleys, many

very steep, has not changed for years. It was after climbing

the steps of well-named Ladder Street, that I arrived at

a bar in Hollywood Road to keep my appointment with

the charismatic Rebecka Lundin.

A Busy Lady

Rebecka lives in Sheung Wan and catches a double decker

tram in the mornings to her work in Wan Chai. These

trams are unique to the North of Hong Kong Island and

they have been slowly trundling along their narrow-gauge

lines for more than 100 years. Perhaps her slow journey

to work is Rebecka’s thinking time, for to say that she

lives a busy life is an understatement. As well as working

as a sourcing manager for a well-known Swedish fashion

brand, Rebecka finds the time to run three businesses,

and to also sing in different choirs and attend a class in

the mysterious Chinese Art of ‘feng-shui’.

The largest of her three companies is called Chinese

Whispers. This is a successful online sales forum and Rebecka

was a founding partner with her local friend Carol

Lee. The company sources and supplies home decoration

such as ginger jars, porcelain stools, lamps, artifacts and

jewelry from various locations around Asia. In her own

words:

“It’s an ideal webstore if you are looking for that perfect

leaving present, milestone birthday present or special occasion

gift.”

Rebecka also founded her Footprint Sock company

in 2016 after realizing there was a gap in the market for

hard-wearing yoga and Pilates socks. She used her cre-

It’s an ideal webstore if

you are looking for that

perfect leaving present,

milestone birthday

present or special

occasion gift.

ativity in fashion design to come up with a unique grip

and anti-slide system that is used by no other sock on

the market. The socks have proven to be popular and are

sold in yoga and Pilates studios and chiropody practices

in various parts of the world.

Natural Body Care

But Rebecka’s first creation and perhaps the one nearest

to her heart is Swedish’s Handmade Bodycare which began

in her kitchen but has expanded considerably. Rebecka

has many friends with different nationalities and her

local nickname is “Swedish”. This seemed an appropriate

prefix for her body care business. She is intensely proud

of the purity of her ingredients and the naturalness of


keeping with her life philosophy, she researches clothing

factories to ensure that the highest standards are maintained,

that rules are obeyed, and exploitation eliminated.

Her current employer has a high reputation for its care of

the environment, and it encourages the use of sustainable

and organic fabrics. As well as Sweden, the UK, and Hong

Kong, Rebecka has spent short periods of time living and

working in China and India.

her products which have no chemicals or preservatives.

“This means you need to consider my products as you

would do with food. They are all freshly made and have an

expiry date.”

The desire of more and more people to want only

natural, pure oils has encouraged Rebecka to produce an

increasing number of items -shower-gel, lip-balm, handcream,

makeup remover, soy scented candles and many

more.

As well as selling on-line and to loyal customers,

Rebecka is a regular participant in temporary “Pop-up”

shops, Farmers’ markets and Christmas fairs. She enjoys

chatting to other vendors at these events.

International Experience

Despite her youthful looks, Rebecka has a wealth of life

experience, including living in five different countries.

After her early days in Stockholm, she relocated to

London and studied for a BA (Hons) at the London

College of Fashion. She lived in London for 10 years

working as a designer in the fashion industry. Her itchy

feet, her adventurous nature and the knowledge of the

‘opening up’ of China led her to Hong Kong. Skills honed

in England were invaluable, and she secured a job as a

product developer at the Hong Kong office of a large

Swedish retail company. Over the years she has worked

on many different levels within the fashion industry with

several well-known retailer brands on her merit list. Her

sourcing and product development roles have led to significant

travel throughout Asia and involve regular trips

to Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. In

Early Days

Rebecka grew up in Stockholm within a loving family, one

of three daughters. She has a fraternal twin and a sister

just one and a half years older. She was educated at a

Waldorf School, which follows the innovative educational

principles of Rudolph Steiner. She fondly recalls walking

to school with her sisters through a forest. She feels that

the freedom and creativity which was encouraged during

her learning at the Waldorf school, helped her to develop

an independence and confidence which have stood her

in good stead during adulthood. Rebecka comes across

as an articulate, intelligent lady with high principles. She

clearly likes to get things done and does not waste time.

Her achievements are impressive.

Rebecka is proud of her Swedish heritage and she

visits her homeland regularly. She owns a country house

outside Stockholm and loves to spend as much time as

possible there, with all her family around. She has a high

regard for Stockholm and recognizes it as a leading player

in the fashion industry.

“Often hairstyles and fashion choices develop in Stockholm

before London or even New York.”

The Future

Rebecka’s experiences in some of the poorer parts of

the world have made her humble and appreciative of

the life she leads. She is grateful for her heritage, and she

feels lucky that she is from a country where people are

well educated and health conscious. She misses Sweden’s

clean air and beautiful countryside as well as her mother’s

home cooking. But she does not miss the cold winters

when darkness descends at 2 o’clock in the afternoon!

For the foreseeable future Hong Kong is her established

home and despite the recent political troubles,

she has no plans to leave. She was not fazed when she

arrived here alone 15 years ago. The intervening time has

seen her make many international friends and to share

her passion to provide people with good quality goods,

while caring for the environment.

After a very enjoyable couple of hours in Rebecka’s

company I descended Ladder Street to Sheung Wan

MTR station and set off for home. It was a pleasure to

spend time with this talented and exuberant Swedish lady.

For more information about Rebecka’s Hong Kong enterprises,

please visit:

www.swedish-handmade.com

www.chinesewhisper.se

www.footprintsock.com


Your Move. Our World.

- Moving Services - Relocation Services - Visa & Immigration - Home Search

- School Search - Orientation

www.asiantigersgroup.com


International Schools

How to choose

the right school

To decide on something as important as your child’s education

and well-being might be the toughest part about moving to

another country.


A good start is to ask other parents of your own

nationality which school they have chosen and why.

You will find many associations and institutions

for your nationality in your country on the website

www.scandasia.com under “Contacts Directory”.

By Gregers Moller

Choosing a new school when moving has

become increasingly difficult for parents.

There are more and more schools established

all the time, and each institution has

its own unique philosophy and attributes.

Comparing what they offer with the needs of your child

is no simple task.

A good start is to ask other parents of your own

nationality which school they have chosen and why. You

will find many associations and institutions for your nationality

in your country on the website www.scandasia.

com under “Contacts Directory”.

You will find that they have chosen different schools

and for different reasons but if you ask why, you will find

that they all can be analyzed in the triangle “child needs

- family needs - school offerings.”

Local vs International

First choice is if you are looking for a local school or an

international school? In most countries in Asia, a local

school is an option - although certainly a more challenging

option for your child. If you child is mixed Scandinavian

- Asian this may, however, not be so frightening a prospect.

And mostly it will have an economic silver lining as local

private schools are less costly compared to international

schools.

However, physical punishment has not been abolished

in many Asian school systems, so talk to the school

how they administer physical punishment and ask if they

can make an exception for your child if you are not comfortable

with this.

If you go for the International school, consider that

international students grow up and evolve in a cultural

environment that is vastly different to that of your own.

Known as Third Culture Kids (TCKs), they often develop

a very different attitude to many issues compared to their

former friends back home and even you yourself. If you

are uncomfortable with this prospect you may prefer

to look into the option of choosing a local school or a

boarding school back home.

Once this is said, most expat families decide to go

for the international school, at least through primary

school up to grade 9, where other options may come into

play. At this point, not only boarding schools in Scandinavia

but also boarding school in Asia may be considered.

Family needs

In the triangle “Family needs - child needs - school offerings”

the situation of the family must necessarily come

first - even when you always say “the child comes first”.

These include your family’s financial constraints, your

need for child care during non-school hours, transportation,

coordination if you have several children under

education, etc.

Every family brings different capabilities and constraints

to the table. Be honest with yourself about your

family’s aspirations and requirements. You must start with

a true and clear picture of your family needs, and trust

yourself to balance these with your child’s needs and with

your search for a good quality school.


Child needs

Now, your child’s needs must be considered.

Ask yourself what strengths, challenges and other

characteristics really stand out about your child. Consider

(a) what your child likes or is able to do well, (b) what

your child does not like or has difficulty doing, and (c)

how your child works and interacts best with adults and

other children.

All children need a school that will appropriately

challenge and nurture them to succeed in core academic

subjects, but research shows you can significantly improve

your child’s life and school performance by choosing and

working with the right school, so you have plenty of reasons

to give it your best effort.

There is also the curriculum to consider - what your

child should learn and achieve at school - and how it fits

with the school system back home if you should ever go

back to Scandinavia.

School offerings

School offerings is the third element in the triangle. Repeated,

unbiased research shows that all truly outstanding

schools adhere to certain principles. While all are important,

the two most important factors are:

1. The school has high expectations for all students. It

means all students are expected & helped to meet high

minimum goals; goals are raised for individual students as

soon as they are ready to learn beyond grade level

Avoid schools that make excuses for kids who are

behind academically. If your child struggles, they may

make excuses rather than help your child, too. Also avoid

schools that pretend none of their students struggle. All

schools have more than a few students who face learning

challenges at some point. You need to know in advance

how the school will respond

2. The school monitors progress and adjusts teaching.

It means the school assesses individual student progress

often and changes teaching approaches to ensure that

every child locks onto learning.

Avoid schools that say, “Our grade level work is

tough enough for all students” and schools where everyone

makes grade level, but few kids score far above

grade level. Both academically gifted children and motivated

“typical” kids miss out in a school that is focusing

on grade level only.

Here are a few more suggestions to help you make

up your mind:

Talk to people as much as possible to learn about a certain

schools reputation. If many say the same it is probably true.

But don’t listen to opinions expressed by people who

have no children at the school themselves - those parents

are often quick to seek confirmation of their own choice

by adopting opinions about the competing schools.

The age of the school is no sure indication either.

Nothing guarantees that the reputation of a hundred year

old school is better than a one year old school.

Is the native language and culture of your child taught as

optional learning. It is important for your child to keep his

or her ties to your cultural background. It is also important

for you.

Ask questions about the tests and exams which

are offered and used as evaluation method. If your child

is already a secondary school student, ask how well the

graduating students do in getting accepted into major

universities both in your current country, back home and

elsewhere overseas.

Talk to some of the existing students if possible. Are they

happy there? Do they look motivated to learn? How


will the school help your child get started? Do they assign

so-called “buddies” (another student from the same

country) for new students?

How is the relationship between the school and the

parents? You will obviously not be able to monitor your

child in school. The teacher will have to be your eyes and

ears. You must be notified of your child’s functionality

regardless of grade, and regardless of whether it includes

bad behavior or progress your child has made. Make

sure that you can get informed as often as possible. You

may join a parents’ volunteer program if available. Some

schools may offer activities for the whole family as well.

Watch your child!

Never mind how diligent you do your homework - and

maybe the above list is a bit excessive - you will never

be able to foresee if your child will thrive at the school.

It is therefore important that you make a habit of

spending more time than you used to be back home talking

to your child about how school was today. What they

did in class, and what they did outside. Let her or him tell

about their new friends. Listen.

All may initially sound fine and uncomplicated, but

that may just be a honeymoon period. This is the most important

step of them all. If your child develops in any way

you find disturbing or even develops signs of discomfort

with going to school, you should think twice before you

tell your child that “this is life - it is not always pleasant!”.

A change of school at the right time might be the

single most important decision to make to put the future

of your child on the right track!

Top Ten Signs of a Great Fit

Between Your Child and School

1. Your child is eager to go to school and energized

and happy at the end of most school days

2. Your child regularly has to work hard to learn and

perform in school work

3. Your child regularly experiences success learning

and performing in school work

4. You see big progress in your child’s overall development

– academic, social, emotional and

physical

5. Your child is learning and performing academically

at the level of which you think (s)he is capable

6. Your child’s teachers really understand and appreciate

your child’s strengths

7. Your child talks about school positively, using

words like “fun,” “interesting,” or “cool”

8. You and your child feel positive about your

child’s health, behavior and personal well-being

at school

9. Your child has friends and acquaintances who like,

accept and treat your child kindly at school

10. School work and friends are important, but not

allconsuming, parts of your child’s life

Top Ten Signs of a Bad Fit

Between Your Child and School

1. Your child is hesitant to go to school or worn

down and unhappy at the end of most school days

2. Your child has made little progress in the past

year — academically, socially, emotionally or

physically

3. Your child is not performing as well academically

as you reasonably think (s)he can

4. Your child says “school is boring” or expresses

little interest in what (s)he’s learning

5. Your child learns more in a core subject outside

of school than in school

6. Your child’s teachers do not seem to understand

your child or appreciate your child’s strengths

7. Your child doesn’t seem to have any close friends

or friendly acquaintances at school

8. Your child regularly makes poor choices at school,

such as befriending bullies, choosing work of little

interest, focusing on weaknesses rather than

strengths — and school staff does nothing to

intervene

9. You or your child are worried about your child’s

health, behavior or personal well-being at school

10. Your child shows symptoms of stress only when

school’s in session (e.g., sleeplessness, fatigue,

excessive clinginess and whining, new nervous

habits, regressing to younger behaviors)

Source: Picky Parent Guide: Choose Your Child’s School with

Confidence, available as at PickyParent.com at $13.57


Harrow Bangkok.

The place where the Jürgensen boys

are growing up happy and confident.

By Richard Green

There is plenty of choice of schools in Bangkok.

Naturally, this gives lots of opportunities but

it can be daunting choosing the perfect one

for your child. Denmark born Kim, and his

Thai wife Pinya spoke about their choice of

international school for their boy’s Victor, 12, and Jacob, 9:

Harrow International School Bangkok.

Kim Jürgensen is a 20 year resident in Thailand.

He works in the audio-visual industry currently, as Live

Sound Manager for ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand

for US based QSC, a global leader in networked AV and

pro-audio solutions.

His wife Pinya, Aye, taught at Kasetsart University

for 15 years. After her boys were born, she set up a now

thriving consumer research and consultancy company.

When it was time for their two boys to go to school,

Kim and Pinya chose Harrow International School Bangkok.

Victor joined in Pre Nursery and Jacob in Toddlers.

From their perspective, the quality associated with

the Harrow brand, through the ties with Harrow London’s

iconic identity, was particularly important. Alongside

this is a more long-term benefit for their sons:

‘When our children go somewhere else in the future and

are asked Where did you go to school? Harrow carries

its own name, recognition, reflecting the quality of the

school,’ explains Kim.

Being Danish, the European style British curriculum

was also important to Kim and Pinya. Their boys may

choose to study in Europe after Harrow Bangkok so they

prefer the European outlook, the way of teaching and attitude.

‘A more European mind-set has a huge influence

on how your children will grow up, their manners, speaking,

outlook on life,’ Kim believes.

Now, ten years later, Kim and Pinya are still happy

with their choice of school and the holistic education

their sons receive there. ‘They come out after school


A more European

mind-set has a huge

influence on how your

children will grow up,

their manners,

speaking,

outlook on life.

smiling every single day. The school always giving challenge

to the students. They love that, we love it. They feel

very happy and confident,’ explains Pinya.

The school facilities too are an asset to their boy’s

education. ‘I can definitely see that the musical department

has helped a lot, ICT and Design Technology too.’

After-school activities have allowed both Victor and

Jacob to grow. Initially, they were both in the swim team.

‘That really gave them self-discipline,’ says Pinya.

Nowadays basketball is both boy’s passion. ‘Parents

from other schools ask ‘Why does your son and his

friends from Harrow Bangkok play basketball and smile all

the time? I answer they are happy, they are confident, they

are independent. They’re just reflecting this,’ states Pinya.

Victor plays football, softball and T-ball, both boys

learn about robotics and coding. Victor has also joined

Model United Nations (MUN) and is in the school performance.

Jacob is enjoying learning to play the piano.

Ultimately the whole family are very happy with

all that Harrow Bangkok offers. The boys are happy and

thriving and Kim and Pinya confident in the high-quality

education their sons are receiving.

Harrow Bangkok is a popular and successful British

curriculum school catering for boys and girls from

18 months to 18 years. Based in Don Mueang District

in North Bangkok, close to Don Muaeng International

Airport, the school has a 35-acre campus and offers day

and boarding education. The curriculum leads to IGCSEs

and A Levels and school graduates move on to highranking

universities in the UK, US and worldwide. The

school has close affiliations with its namesake Harrow

School in England, a 450-year-old British institution. Harrow

Bangkok has its own legacy of over two decades of

successful alumni.

Visit www.harrowschool.ac.th to find out more.


Supporting Learners at Home:

Helpful Tips for Parents

In Thailand, and around the world, we have seen

a number of schools move to virtual learning out

of necessity in the recent weeks. There are many

benefits to the virtual format and it has gained momentum

as a credible and effective way of engaging

learners. However, virtual learning is a different experience

and a different learning environment.

At International School Bangkok (ISB), we understand

the sudden transition to Virtual School can come

with any number of challenges for parents. Supporting

your child’s learning, while also managing the demands of

your regular daily routine is difficult. Ensuring support and

resources for your child’s home learning are integrated

into your normal home environment is the first step in

creating a smooth transition.

To ease this transition, we have listed some tips below

that include advice on caring for yourself during this

time as you support your child’s learning in the best way.

1. Remember to reach out to others. You are not

going through this alone. Reaching out to share

ideas, concerns and frustrations can help you manage

your own feelings and find new ways to support

your child. Many people around the world are

experiencing the same challenge as you right now

and everyone could use the support.

2. Craft a new routine. A consistent routine creates

a sense of order and reassurance in the face of uncertain

circumstances. Try building your new routine

around the hours put forward for Virtual School.

Ensure your routine is achievable and that “less is

more”. Allow room for flexibility and relaxation

time for both you and your child.


3. Create a learning space. An allocated quiet space

will help your child to shift into learning mode more

easily. This will reinforce your new routine and allow

for a clear distinction between learning time and

free time. Important Tip: avoid the bedroom when

establishing your learning space!

4. Get the whole family involved! This is a great time

to bond and collaborate as a family. Older siblings

can support younger siblings and parents can share

responsibilities around their work schedules. For

those fortunate enough to have family members

nearby: assign them tasks as well! Learning at home

is a great way of supporting your child’s learning

in your home language. Encourage conversations

about your child’s learning in both English and your

home language to boost development of concepts.

5. Develop self-awareness. As you navigate change,

try to develop an awareness of your limits and

those of your child. Take a few minutes each day

to connect with yourself; ask yourself how you are

feeling and whether you need support. Encourage

your child to do the same. Open and honest communication

with your child will help preempt any

challenges in adapting to change.

6. Forgive yourself. Many will experience temporary

frustration and confusion as they manage

the substantial amount of new information and

unfamiliar routine associated with home learning.

Forgive yourself for the inevitable mistakes that will

be made along the way. Take each task as it comes

and remember there are many people there to

support you.

Learning about knowing

in the IB Diploma

By Daniel Trump, DP Coordinator

at KIS International School,

and enthusiastic ToK Teacher

for the last 15 years!

Theory of Knowledge, or TOK… Anyone familiar

with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma

Programme will have heard of this mandatory

course in the IB, but few of us know exactly

what it is and may wonder, what’s the point?

It’s an obvious cliché that if you want to be exceptional

in any field you have to think, and do, things differently

from the rest of that field. If you want to solve

problems in any field you need to think, and do, things

differently from how people have previously tackled

the problem. Theory of Knowledge (ToK) is the course

which teaches different ways of thinking. ToK is part of the

mandatory core for all IB Diploma students; ToK could be

called “The Exceptionals Course”.

Theory of Knowledge is the study of how Knowledge

is made. It asks the questions “How is that idea

constructed ?” ,“How and why did someone conjure up that

idea ?”,“What would have happened if that knowledge had

never been created ?”.

Some of the ‘classic’ cases of knowledge creation

that ToK students will consider are:

1. Darwin’s development of the Theory of Evolution,

and survival of the fittest.

2. Marie Curie’s discovery of radioactivity, and invention

of x-ray.

3. Alexander Fleming’s 1928 ‘discovery’ of Penicillin.

4. Vincent Van Gogh and The Post Impressionist

Movement.

5. Claudius Ptolemy’s role in the paradigm shift from

Geocentrism to Heliocentrism.

These examples are just starting points, which may

run the risk of tending towards platitude, but they also

provide stark examples into the oft found contradictions

of knowledge construction.

As such, I would sum up ‘the point’ of ToK with 5

main benefits:

1. ToK helps us to develop better original and critical

thinking skills.

2. ToK helps us to become better academics, and will

help us to produce ‘better knowledge’ in the future.

3. ToK helps us to play an active role in tackling local

and global problems.

4. ToK helps students to better understand their

other DP subjects, and therefore helps them to get

better scores.

5. ToK helps us to better understand how we have

created the world as it is, and therefore can create

it in a different way should we so wish.

There is no other subject like Theory of Knowledge

taught in most high school curricula, it is one of the main

reasons that I left the British Curriculum to join the IB

15 years ago. When we think carefully about “What is

the point of ToK ?” we start to realise that ToK is about

learning how to be a better human.

Learn more about TOK and the IB Diploma at KIS, visit

https://www.kis.ac.th/the-ib-diploma-programme

For questions, please contact admissions@kis.ac.th

KIS International School www.kis.ac.th

Tel 02-2743444

admissions@kis.ac.th


Environmental Initiatives

with an Impact

International recognition for

efforts to promote child-led

environmental change.

Inspirational young people have brought concerns

about our damaged planet into the mainstream. And

youngsters are leading calls for more sustainable lifestyles,

greener approaches to business and government

action across the world. International schools

are challenging themselves to tailor the education they

offer to prepare their students to

tackle the environmental problems

we face.

“Educators must make all young

people aware about sustainability

as it’s now a significant part of the

culture students are growing up in.

Moreover, children are increasingly

interested in it,” said Paul Schofield,

the headteacher of St Andrews International

School Bangkok, a Nord

Anglia Education School. “If schools

don’t get this right, where will we be

in 15 or 20 years time?” he asks.

Young student leaders at St Andrews fueled the initiative

to develop an action plan focusing on the changes

they would like to see which would have the greatest impact

on sustainability in their school and community. The

7 to 11-year-olds worked tirelessly during after school

club time to put their plans into practice.

For example, after learning about the environmental

effects of animal agriculture, children met with the

school’s catering company to discuss lowering meat

consumption. The students explained their reasoning to

fellow pupils, teachers and parents during assemblies and


events. All children provided feedback on the new menu

and St Andrews became the first school in Thailand to

implement Meat Free Monday.

The children were also fully involved in the launch of

the country’s first school-based zero-waste shop. Members

of the community can now buy snacks, toiletries and

household cleaning products in refillable and re-useable

containers eliminating the need for single-use plastic. The

students submitted designs for the layout of the shop,

helped choose the shop’s name (‘Little Steps to Zero

Waste’), and created an instructional video for parents

showing how to purchase items in this

special shop.

The children encouraged other

students to take part in Precious Plastic,

which is an ongoing project that

supports a local NGO campaign to

collect plastic bottle tops for recycling.

To engage and maximise participation,

a competition between the

St Andrews Houses was introduced

and promotion and collection sites

were located around the school. The

project organisers even brought their

recycling machine into school for a

special set of lessons.

The work of the students and the support of the

school community was recognised at the 2020 International

School Awards ceremony hosted by ISC Research

in London this January. St Andrews International School

Bangkok won the coveted International School of the

Year Award for supporting the far-reaching, communityengaging,

environmentally-focused initiatives. Congratulations

to these students who, as future leaders, promote

responsible, environmentally-conscious choices to help

drive the transition to a sustainable society.


The Four Essential Skills to Prepare

Your Child for Their Future

Children today, whether they know it or not,

are in an incredibly exciting and unique

position. Gone are the days where exam

results alone dictate your success – so how

to prepare your child for what lies ahead?

Canadian International School (CIS) focuses on four key

areas to ensure that their students are ready for their

future, no matter where they end up in life.

Making Connections

These days learning is all about making connections –

whether between theory and practice, or intention and

action. One of the ways CIS brings lessons to life and allows

students to connect their classroom learning to real

world examples is through outdoor learning; a fundamental

part of the school’s approach to a balanced education.

Students experience the Open Minds Programme – a

unique hands-on learning experience which takes place

in locations such as Fort Canning Park and Sungei Buloh

Wetland Reserve – as well as field trips and excursions

around Singapore.

Asking Questions

CIS teaches students HOW to ask questions, and to process

the answers by connecting, analysing and surmising.

Just like in real life, local and global issues are examined

in relation to the curriculum, and lessons span across

subject areas. An inquiry-based teaching style encourages

students to ask questions, and develops their ability to

problem solve, think critically and find creative solutions.

Creating and Implementing Ideas

‘Imagine if we could build a….’ Well, at CIS you actually

can! CIS not only teaches students how to come up with

innovative and fresh ideas, but also how to take those

ideas and turn them into action. CIS’s unique STEAM

programme (science, technology, entrepreneurship,

arts and mathematics) is integrated from Kindergarten

to Grade 12, and allows students access to stimulating

maker spaces, where they can use traditional and cutting

edge equipment to work together on projects.

Communicating Effectively

Communicating well has never been more important,

regardless of age or industry. Whether it’s writing, speaking,

or being bi-lingual, these are essential skills that cut

across industries and allow students to effectively shape

the world they will eventually lead. CIS students are

required to study an additional language from Junior

Kindergarten, and take daily classes in either Mandarin,

French or Spanish. They also offer two bi-lingual

programmes in Chinese-English or French-English.

CIS constantly strives to equip students with the necessary

knowledge and skills needed to adapt and navigate

the world as it changes – to find out more contact their

admissions team on (+65) 6734 8088 or at https://www.

cis.edu.sg/admissions/inquire.


WORLD

CHANGING

— one

MUDPIE

at a time.

Our students are learning math

and science concepts as they

pour, measure and explore

volume while playing in the

mud kitchen or sandpit.

Preparing your child for

a changing world.

Book a personal campus tour to explore our

kindergarten learning spaces and meet our

team at www.cis.edu.sg/kindergarten.


As an IB World School, CIS offers the PYP, MYP and IB DP. Canadian International School Pte. Ltd. CPE Registration No: 199002243H. Period of Registration: 8 June 2019 - 7 June 2023

What is Your Child’s

Learning Style?

Cath Okill, Head of Early Years at Shrewsbury City Campus

explains how seemingly unusual behaviours in our children can

give us an important insight into their learning and development.

Have you ever noticed that your child likes

to line up all their trucks in a row, and

then becomes distraught when someone

moves them? Or that your child is far

more interested in the box that a present

came in, rather than the gift itself?

These kinds of behaviours point to what is known

in child development as ‘schemas’. Schemas are a way of

organising knowledge. Evidence of schemas is particularly

apparent in a child’s early years.

Young children will often display repetitive types of

behaviour, such as (but certainly not limited to) hiding

their toys, organising food on their plate by colour or simply

rolling around on the floor. All these habits can point

to particular types of schemas. These kinds of repetitive

actions allow your child to find meaning in what they are

doing, and to form new pathways in their young brains.

There are 8 widely acknowledged forms of schematic

behaviour:

Enclosing: Children are fascinated by spaces,

boundaries and order.

Positioning:Children like to arrange objects in

rows or patterns

Transforming:Children like to explore cause and

effect

Connection:Children will investigate how things

join together or come apart

Rotation: Children love to play with things that

rotate

Enveloping: Children are interested in space and

capacity

Transporting: Children will focus on moving themselves

and other objects from place to place

Trajectory: Children will be interested in how

things move and respond

One of the boys in my class has a trajectory schema.

He is fascinated by the flow of the fountains in our splash

pool. He loves the climbing tree in our Early Years garden.

It is my job to respect and extend his schema, by allowing

him to explore and investigate in his own way. During the

school day, I will bring the learning to him. For example,

I may want to do some maths with him while he is

climbing. Rather than asking him to come down into the

classroom, I’ll simply climb up the tree and teach maths

with him and his friends in the branches.

Perhaps your child is a transporter, an enveloper

or a positioner. Children need to know what happens

when they pick up and move a big handful of mud. Or

when they fill up a glass of water and it overflows. Or

when they want to eat their food in a certain order. We

must allow our children to make these discoveries by

themselves, to allow them to develop their confidence,

their own problem-solving skills, and their understanding

of the world.

Understanding schemas is a vital part of our early

years teaching at Shrewsbury. The research gives our

teachers a framework to celebrate the uniqueness of

each of the children in our classes. It is also important

for parents to be aware of the research surrounding

schemas, to help their child develop in the very best way.

Shrewsbury International School Bangkok City Campus

is currently accepting applications for children aged 3-11

years. Places are limited. To contact the school’s Admissions

team, please visit: http://bit.ly/2PEQDGB


Sukhumvit-Rama 9

An Inspirational

Education Where

Experience Matters

BOOK

YOUR VISIT

TODAY

HOLISTIC

CURRICULUM

PLAY-BASED

CHILD-LED

PARTNERSHIP

WITH PARENTS

A LEARNING

JOURNEY

Now accepting applications for August 2020.

Call our Admissions Team on +66 2 203 1222 or

email admissions-city@shrewsbury.ac.th

www.shrewsbury.ac.th/city

Register today at

bit.ly/2x1IzJH

Exceptional People • Outstanding Opportunities • Academic Excellence

The Outdoor Classroom

Holds Many Wonders

for Primary Students

The Outdoor Classroom at

Bangkok Patana School offers

real-life experience in a functioning

bio-diverse eco-system on campus

for students from Nursery through Year 13.

The younger students love the opportunity to get out of

the classroom and learn about nature first-hand.

Foundation Stage students have used their visits

to the Outdoor Classroom to create their own natural

jungle in the classroom and inspire artwork based on

nature. Their teachers said the children’s most recent visit

to the Outdoor Classroom kick-started some fantastic

scientific thinking and develop the children’s curiosity to

investigate further by asking questions such as “How do

plants get food”.

Older children in Primary learn more about Biology

and how plants grow. Year 3 students germinated seeds

and then planted them in the garden area of the Outdoor

Classroom to study the growth patterns of beans and

herbs. Inspired to help, the students donated the delicious

results to the guards and gardeners.

Year 6 students used their visits to the Outdoor

Classroom to discover what nature means and to use

digital photography to explore that more closely. Further

inspiration came to produce artwork using natural items

around them, they also used the outdoor space to focus

on mindfulness, what it means and what it looks like. Of

course, Science was important, as the students also studied

microorganisms such as algae and fungi in the Outdoor

Classroom as part of their Biology lessons. Having

studied the various organisms found, they then returned

to the classroom to create their own plasticine models

of bacteria, algae, protozoa and fungi.

Being on the same campus as their classrooms

makes it easy for teachers to plan visits to the Outdoor

Classroom. The area with its closed canopy forest, combination

of native and invasive plants and the fauna found

from pond dipping give students ample opportunity to

delve deep into the science nature presents. Students

also study the solar panels in the Outdoor Classroom,

learning about renewable and sustainable energy sources.

The area’s newest residents include a small family of

chickens which ties in with the mission to show how

natural eco-systems can coexist with human systems

such as small scale vegetable gardens and animal rearing

operations.

More than just an educational experience, more

than just an outing from the indoors, the Outdoor Classroom

gives students a chance to interact with and study

nature in a functioning mangrove eco-system in the heart

of Bangkok.



An inspiring world of education.

A

campus tour at any of our St. Andrews International

Schools, Thailand could easily induce

a feeling of envy in people who were

educated in my era. Whilst the St. Andrews

Schools are all slightly different, for instance

Green Valley (Eastern Seaboard) and S107 (Near BTS

Bearing) are for 2 to18 year old children, all through British

Curriculum & IB schools, whilst the other two Bangkok

Schools Sathorn and Dusit are primary schools following

a British Curriculum. Yet, the 4 sister schools are absolutely

united in ethos and attitude to learning, and steadfast in

our desire to offer a personalised, character based, joyful

learning experience and to ensure every

decision we make considers our learners

first. We are part of Cognita, which is a

world leading international schools group,

currently encompassing 72 schools across

the UK, Europe, Latin America and South-

East Asia. Cognita employs some 4,000

teaching and support staff in the care and

education of around 27,500 children and

there is one simple aim that unites all 72

schools. Cognita’s key aim is that we give

the students ‘an inspiring world of education’.

At S107 we believe that delivering

an inspiring world of education demands constant

change. Our belief is that children should not come to

any school and ‘fit in’. The school should be so flexible

that it should wrap itself around the child no matter their

interests, abilities or aptitudes. We have changed our curriculum

each year and the offer is broadening. We offer

3 strands in secondary with additional individual adjustment

depending on the child. In 2020-21 we will begin

offering Pearson BTEC qualifications as part of the IB

Career-related Programme (CP) course, with initial career

focus options in Business and Sport (this is very rare


and we are the only school running the IB CP in Bangkok).

It is often said that the happiest children in a school

are the youngest and, whilst I am not sure this is totally

applicable to S107 children, we do believe the play-based,

child focussed, flexible approach in the early years should

be a feature throughout the school so this is expanding

into Year 1 and then Year 2. Yet at the same time for

some of our most able students, we are unashamedly

academic. Our highest achieving students obtain IB

scores in the 40s and we aim to get every student into

their preferred further education institution no matter

what and where they are aiming for. As a result, all four

St. Andrews schools give children access

to a school counsellor so that every child

succeeds and Cognita puts well-being at

the top of the agenda for all its people.

At all the St. Andrews schools,

learning takes place all year round and

for many S107 children, holidays already

encompass a four-week summer camp,

2 weeks of drama workshops, sporting

camps and this will expand to include

university preparation weeks, leadership

courses, foreign language classes and

English booster classes. On an average

weekend during term time, there can

be IB Film students in working on their coursework,

students on the sports teams, basketball team training,

drama rehearsals and academic booster classes.

At Team S107 we genuinely believe in our strategic

intention, ‘Everyone Succeeds in a Community of care’,

and every day we check whether what we are doing fits

this. If it does we should think about doing more of it, if

it doesn’t we should stop it, and if we are not sure we

should find out from the students!

Dr. John Moore, Head of School, St. Andrews International

School, Sukhumvit 107.


10 Reasons

Why Parents Trust DBS

Denla British School

A good education is a precious gift that parents

choose for their children, because knowledge and skills

will always be a child’s most important acquisition.

DBS Denla British School implements an

Enhanced British Curriculum from the

best practices of UK independent schools.

Here are 10 reasons why parents would

want their children to study at DBS.

1. DBS uses today’s best educational platform:

The Enhanced British Curriculum is the perfect platform

to allow students to achieve their potential. This curriculum

has been implemented in world-renowned independent

schools where students are challenged, and later

they are successful in their careers.

2. The Personalised Learning method is intrinsic

to the Enhanced British Curriculum: DBS

Teachers don’t believe in ‘One Size Fits All’ and focus on

Personalised Learning, based on a deep understanding of

the child, by concentrating on each student according to

their skills and preferences.

3. The Extended Day system - a key to success:

An additional learning period for students to spend time

studying and engaging in activities. At DBS, students will

have 1 hour per day more school time than students in

other schools, adding up to 5 hours per week. At DBS, we

offer intense Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) from over

60 courses and activities.

4. Learning many subjects: Beside the initial core

of English, Maths and Science, the Enhanced British Curriculum

offers Computing, Geography, History, Music, Art,

Drama, PE, Well-being and languages for students to learn

too, like Mandarin.

5. Concrete assessment: Other than daily, termly,

and annual internal assessments, there are assessments

for English, Maths, and Science called GL Assessments to

measure against the world’s average. These results help

teachers to accurately plan for each student’s academic

excellence.

6. Our classrooms facilities are world-class:

They are 50% larger than normal international schools.

The 40 facilities located throughout the school include, a

FIFA standard artificial grass football pitch, a world standard

running track, a large indoor swimming pool (salt

water), tennis courts, a golf pitch, music rooms, an art

studio, exhibition halls etc.

7. House System as in UK Schools – a strong

foundation of relationship and networking: DBS

implements the uniqueness of the UK ‘House System’

very strongly. There are 4 houses at DBS; Buckingham,

Sandringham, Windsor, and Balmoral. All students stay

in each House, and know other students from different

years and classes. That’s why students at DBS have many

friends from within their class and beyond.

8. Pastoral Care as in UK schools: Class Teachers,

and Form Tutors for the older students, look after the

individual students in their class or form. The role of these

teachers is to nurture and guide. They are a vital link with

parents, too. Other than the Class Teachers and Form Tutors,

all teachers and Learning Assistants work together

to create a nurturing team of carers.

9. Apple Distinguished School: DBS uses the

best technology for education, and looks to the future.

The school has laid excellent and efficient foundations for

IT, using Apple products for teaching and learning. DBS

has a Mac Lab and Maker Space rooms, so that students

can use the technology to create innovations

10. Guaranteed by world-class standards from

ISAT and CIS, which are the leading institutions that assess

the quality and certification of educational standards

of international schools globally. CIS praised DBS in a

huge number of areas, including the quality of the teaching,

the facilities comparable to leading British independent

schools, and relationships that are well-developed

between teachers and parents.

DBS is reputed to be a leading international school

that prepares students fully for the future, which is in line

with the school’s vision: “Nurturing Global Leaders.”


ENHANCED BRITISH CURRICULUM

THE BEST OF UK EDUCATION

“ENROLLING NOW”

2-14 years old

• Enhanced British Curriculum.

• 100% Native English-Speaking Teachers.

• World Class Facilities.

• Friendly and Welcoming Community.

• Enormous Land of 60 Rai.

“NURTURING GLOBAL LEADERS”

King’s Bangkok

preparing children for an

exciting and successful future

As parents, we want one thing: for our children

to be happy. This isn’t about giving

them sweets and chocolate so they are

content for five minutes, it’s about giving

them the tools to be successful throughout

life. We also want this success to be achieved with

kindness and empathy because we know that having a

great heart leads to true wellbeing. So how does King’s

Bangkok look to develop happy young men and women?

At King’s Bangkok, we have a clear vision to ‘engage,

inspire and extend’ each child in all aspects of school

life. We do this because we know that we are happiest

when we can feel that they are doing well and making

progress. To ‘do well’, students must be engaged by what

they are doing and inspired to give their best. Once students

have produced work that they are proud of, they

must be encouraged to go further so they can see their

own progress over time and build self-esteem. The more

self-esteem a child has, the harder they will try and the

better they will do; the better they do, the more selfesteem

they will gain and the virtuous circle of progression

continues.

Our curriculum is adapted from and approved by

King’s College School, Wimbledon which is one of the

world’s most academically successful schools. Many parents

are surprised by how much sport and art we have

each week. Some even make the mistake of assuming the

school is less ‘academic’. However, at King’s Bangkok we

realise that students are highly motivated by having a day

filled with different things to do. The results are very easy

to see: around 25% of students from King’s Wimbledon

achieve places at Oxford or Cambridge each year, with

further going on to study at Ivy League universities in

America. I would say that we have very high academic

standards!

While there are countless ways to ‘engage, inspire

and extend’ to achieve success within our curriculum,

we realise that choice is a huge factor in our wellbeing.

Therefore, we have built a comprehensive co-curricular

programme to allow every student to choose activities

at the end of the school day. These can be creative,

academic or sporting and are run by our own teachers

or trusted external providers to ensure they are taught

with the same educational vision and focus on student

wellbeing. On top of this, we have a rotation of activities

built into the school day which we call CCAs, as well as

clubs and societies during lunchtimes.

The curriculum and the co-curricular programme

are powerful forces in developing happy young men and

women who will have the tools to lead a successful life

once they leave King’s Bangkok. We are accepting boys

and girls aged 2-11 for August 2020 entry as well as ages

2-14 for August 2021 entry. If you would like to find out

more, please visit our admissions office in Ratchada-

Rama 3 or join our ‘Meet the Heads’ event, details of

which are coming soon.


School life is about the journey

and not the destination.

At Varee Chiangmai International School

(VCIS) we aim to help our students create

a journey they wish to be on; one in which

they are invested and that exceeds their

expectations.

Our participation in the Duke of Edinburgh International

Award is part of that journey and has been

completed by over 8 million 14-25 year olds worldwide

since its inception in 1954. VCIS offer hiking, sailing and

winter sports expeditions as part of this International

Award. Throughout these expeditions our students have

the opportunity to improve their physical strength, social

and emotional development, and planning and critical

thinking.

Nowhere has this been more evident than in our

recent sailing expedition to Krabi. In February, 16 VCIS

students aged 13-17 headed south to undertake six days

of intensive sailing instruction, adventurous training, passage

planning and camping.

Starting the week as absolute beginners, they divided

into crews of four and quickly gained confidence

and technical understanding in all elements of sailing a

Platu 25 yacht. By the end of the second day they were

independently tacking upwind and gybing downwind,

passage planning, navigating and demonstrating a clear

understanding of wind, weather and tide.

They then undertook an independent sailing voyage

across the open seas of Thailand’s Andaman coast. All

crews successfully navigated their way westwards from

Krabi, landing at an isolated beach before sunset. The following

morning they broke camp and returned to Krabi

in difficult sailing conditions, showing themselves to be

extremely competent sailors and navigators.

Needless to say, upon arrival at Krabi they were

extremely proud of themselves and of their accomplishments

on this Expedition. As a result of this fantastic

experience, plans are well underway for our 2020 Expedition.


More Mindful

Citizens Please

By C. M. Rubin,

The Global Search for Education

The Dalai Lama once said, “if every 8 year old is

taught meditation, we will eliminate violence

from the world within one generation.”

Mindfulness has become much more

relevant and effective in a constantly changing

environment. Clinical psychologist Dr. Addie Wootten

insists that inducting young children into the principles of

mindfulness early on in education allows them to focus

more in class, improve their learning outcomes and build

healthier and more constructive relationships with all

those around them. Addie is a well-known leader in delivering

innovative programs to promote wellbeing. She

is also the CEO of Smiling Mind.

The Global Search for Education is pleased to

welcome Addie to talk about the numerous benefits of

practicing mindfulness, the challenges to implementing

good programs in classrooms, and how good practice can

help every mind thrive in a modern world.

Mindfulness has been used by clinicians to treat stress,

anxiety depression, eating disorders and addiction. Why

isn’t mindfulness an important part of every student’s

education?

We are passionate about bringing mindfulness into every

classroom for exactly that reason. We envision a world

where every young person has the skills and resources

that they need to thrive. Mindfulness provides the foundation

for young people to be mentally healthy and to


build strong and compassionate relationships. It is this

strong foundation that supports learning and academic

success.

Over the last 5 years, there has been exponential

growth in schools’ interest to implement mindfulness

programs. However, this implementation has varied

widely according to each school. It ranges from one

teacher who is passionate about supporting their class

using mindfulness techniques, to more systematic and

structured programs spearheaded by the school leaders.

We consider both approaches as equally important. Yet, it

has proven to be passionate individual teachers who have

been invaluable in helping us achieve what we have. Right

now, we have over 45,000 Australian teachers subscribed

to our mindfulness programs and resources to enhance

their classrooms. Nevertheless, our aim is to eventually

provide support to schools as institutions, rather than

just individual teachers. Research shows an entire school

participating in mindfulness techniques will yield a much

larger impact. This will positively affect students, the culture

and climate of the school, and teacher wellbeing.

We even hope to reach beyond schools by encouraging

parents to use mindfulness practices at home.

At the moment, wellbeing initiatives are often seen

as secondary to a student’s academics. With such a large

focus on educating students in STEM, most believe that

mindfulness programs only detract from other, more important,

areas of learning. On the contrary, mindfulness

programs have a positive effect on students’ ability to

perform in an academic context. We can only focus when

our minds are calm and therefore our learning is optimized

by improved mental health. I hope to see a change

in attitude where mental wellbeing can be appreciated as

supportive to academic learning.

Thinking of today’s context versus the past, what do

you believe are the new skills youth need in an age

of search, robotics and AI? How are the goals of your

framework aligned with social and emotional learning

in the age of AI?

Our modern world is more connected and unstable than

ever before. The skills that students require are fundamentally

different to the skills needed only a few generations

ago. There has been a decrease of the stable and

defined professions that had shaped the working world.

Moreover, the development of Artificial Intelligence has

rendered many jobs obsolete. As a result, there is an

C M Rubin and Addie Wootten

“It’s amazing to see the impact that mindfulness has on young people, and how it encourages students

to support each other.” – Addie Wootten


“We should look for opportunities to integrate mindfulness

across the learning environment.” – Addie Wootten

increasing need for students to develop general and

transferable skills that can apply to the multiple different

career paths. The future of work will rely on our ability

to adapt, innovate and work creatively without defined

borders or even stable workspaces.

Our programs are designed to encourage students

to develop these skills while they are at school. These

skills underpin essential social and emotional learning. We

want to foster a growth mindset in children that makes

them resilient and open to new experiences.

Is mindfulness something that can be taught with

toolkits and slides in a classroom? How do real world

experiences enhance/amplify the learning?

Toolkits and slides are just the beginning. Initially, students

need to be introduced to the foundational concepts and

discuss them with their peers. Although peer-to-peer

learning and debriefing is very important, it’s not until

students are able to apply these concepts to the real

world that they are able to appreciate the potential positive

impact that mindfulness has on their life. Therefore,

alongside meditation practices, we recommend mindfulness

activities that clearly link mindfulness with everyday

activities. This can be as simple as spending time in a

garden or mindful movement activities, or more complex

such as activities designed to build social relationships.

We also encourage teachers to encourage students to

use mindfulness more informally such as when they are

“We can only focus when our minds are calm and

therefore our learning is optimized by improved mental

health.” – Addie Wootten

interacting with their friends and when they’re at home.

It’s amazing to see the impact that mindfulness has on

young people, and how it encourages students to support

each other.

What are the mindfulness learning skills needed at different

points in a student’s learning journey?

Our programs are designed to support students of all

ages. We recently launched our new Mindfulness Curriculum

for primary school years. Our programs for

young students are more focused on emotional awareness.

These younger level programs provide foundational

mindfulness skills such as focusing your attention, tuning

into your emotions and listening to your body. As students

mature we incorporate a variety of practices such

as emotion regulation skills. Finally, as they mature into

their senior years of school we focus on the integration

of these ideas and concepts into real world experiences

like exams, managing relationships and exploring personal

values.

Curriculum is “overloaded” and many believe kids are

“overstressed” with required material. Do you see

mindfulness education as another “add-on” or should

it be part of school culture?

This is one of the biggest barriers for many teachers;

there is already so much required material that they can

never find the time for mindfulness programs. I hope that


“We want mindfulness to be as common as brushing your teeth!” – Addie Wootten

more teachers and school leaders will begin to consider

mindfulness as inherently part of their school culture

and teaching way, rather than considering it an add on.

Schools that have been successful in doing this have actually

found that it helps save time. For instance, schools

that begin with a mindfulness session every day have

displayed a significant decrease in the time needed to

gather the attention of students across all subject areas.

Teaching quickly becomes more efficient as students are

focused and there are often less behavioral disruptions

during class time.

Personally, I don’t think we have to choose between

traditional curriculum and mindfulness sessions. Rather,

we should look for opportunities to integrate mindfulness

across the learning environment – even at the start

of science or math class!

The movie, Room to Breathe, illustrates to me that not

only do students need help with mindfulness education,

teachers and parents who care for them need it too.

In what ways does your framework nurture more of a

community learning experience?

We believe strongly it is most effective to involve an entire

school – that includes encouraging teachers to use

mindfulness in their personal time when we train them,

and also allowing parents to use techniques home with

their children. Parents and teachers are hugely influential

and we hope they will become mindfulness role models.

It’s not until you feel the benefits of mindfulness yourself

that you can truly teach young people to imitate you. Also,

if we believe that mindfulness can help young people,

why wouldn’t we want teachers and parents to reap the

benefits as well? We have therefore committed time to

developing programs and resources to support mindfulness

in schools, in the home and in workplaces. We want

mindfulness to be as common as brushing your teeth!

The Global Search for Education

Community

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online

series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair

award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How

Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling

books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland,

is the publisher of CMRubinWorld and is a Disruptor

Foundation Fellow.

Dr Addie Wootten is the CEO of Smiling Mind and a

Clinical Psychologist by background. Addie has been

using mindfulness meditation as a part of her clinical

psychology practice for many years, and also has a

strong personal mindfulness practice.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@

cmrubinworld


Jazz, candy and barrels:

Celebrating ‘fastelavn’

with the Danish Church

in Thailand

An old Danish tradition originally

celebrated with alcohol and partying that

with time have evolved into a child-friendly

tradition filled with fun and candy. The celebration

of ‘fastelavn’ of 2020 took place at ‘Fastelavn’.

the Church of Christ in Thailand and included a church

service by the Danish priest Christa Lund Herum, followed

by a small party and the famous barrel whacking

called ‘at slå katten af tønden’ – directly translated this

means “whacking the cat off the barrel”, as there originally

was a live black cat in the barrel, when ‘fastelavn’ was

celebrated in the olden days.

At 1PM priest Christa Lund Herum welcomed

the 35 attendees and invited to prayer. In the following

speech the priest talked about the history

of the Danish celebration and its importance to the

Danish people.

Most of the participants were children who were

dressed in a variety of costumes; from everything

from a tiger, a gymnast, a unicorn, a firefighter, Spiderman,

Superwoman to a boxer. Looking at the children

and their costumes, priest Christa Lund Herum, told

a valuable lesson.

“Sometimes, we subconsciously dress up in costumes

that show our innermost wishes and desires.

When we dress up as a superman or superwoman,

we want to be strong and save the world. When we

dress up as a unicorn, we want to bring peace and calm.

When we dress up as a tiger, we want to be fierce

and brave”.


Fastelavn er mit navn…

The service was followed by a musical performance

by the renowned Jazz duo, consisting of vocalist

Yasmin Kierkegaard and saxophonist Jakob Dinesen.

The duo played traditional Danish ‘fastelavn’ songs

such as ‘Fastelavn er mit navn’ and ‘Kan du gætte

hvem jeg er?’ and invited the kids and their parents

to sing and dance with Yasmin Kierkegaard. To show

the kids that ‘fastelavn’ can be celebrated in multiple

ways the duo also performed the song ‘Jamaica’ and

a Brazillian carnival song, while leading the crowd of

participants into the co-joining room where the party

took place.

Barely had the party started before a new wave of

guests joined the party, making the number of participants

50 people. The parents were talking and enjoying

their hotdogs and a traditional cream bun, while the

children were playing with balloons and confetti, buzzing

with excitement to ‘slå katten af tønden’.

As the clock turned 2:20PM, the moment the

children had been waiting for finally happened. It was

time to ‘slå katten af tønden’. The children raced outside

where the barrel, filled to the brim with candy

and goods, hung on the basketball course.

After 20 minutes of taking turns to whack the

barrel, a boy dressed as a hurt footballer finally manage

to whack the barrel open, candy and goods spilling out

for the kids to enjoy. The boy proudly received his crown

as he became ‘the king of cats’.

The last event of the celebration was to crown and

announce the child with the best costume. And with a

unanimous jury hailing girl-power, it was a girl dressed

as a boxer.



10 steps to improve your life:


Leaving the safe, known and secure life in your native home

country is never easy. Harder for some than others and most

often the “follower” in the family gets to tackle questions and

issues that they never had to think about before.

By Anna Frummerin

Moving to Bangkok 4 years ago with my

husband was a big step for me. It has

changed my life in so many ways, mostly

to the better. One of the upsides is a way

more active social life than what I had

back in Sweden.

As the President for SWEA in Asia and Australia,

an Executive Coach and a passionate networker I meet

a lot of people, both men and women. I often get questions

from these people following their spouses for their

job. These are most often women, but I have also come

across a couple of men in the same situation.

“What happened to me?” “What will I do “when I

grow up”?” “I worked before but now I don’t know what

I can do for work anymore. I am not even allowed to

work.” “Who am I?” “What would I like to do?”

The common ground behind these questions is

the feeling of being lost in life, that no one really understands

their situation and that their self-confidence has

decreased year by year.

I read a facebook statement the other day about an

EXPAT housewife here in Bangkok and her view on her

life in Bangkok. She claimed that it is the most difficult job

she has ever had. No routine and no pay-check fully dependent

on your husband. Living abroad a long way from

your friends and extended family, adapting and dedicating

all of your life to your husband and children.

The last part in the posting was about the her job to

manage the nanny, maid and driver, in the end she clarifies

that she was writing because many people wonder about

how the EXPAT life is and she answered the question by

saying; “Life here is not easy, one adapts but life here is

not easy.”

I have seen so many powerful, exciting, fun and stunning

women that in some ways sadly become more and

more invisible and lose their self-belief as the year passes

by. Living as a man in Bangkok seems a lot like the time

when I was a young woman living in the South of Italy.

Continuously being in the centre of attention by handsome

men. This was a way more intense experience than

what I was used to back in Sweden but still it was men

wooing women. I was not used to the number of men

and the intensity but I was used to men giving me attention.

In our culture it is not as common with the opposite,

that women give clear attention to men. For this reason,

I strongly believe that women are better equipped to

handle these situations.

Imagine a man, used to always having to take the first

step to be noticed and then coming here to Thailand it

is the other way around. The reason behind the interest

might be another story but that is nothing I will focus on

here and now. I have observed the men and I understand

their excitement with suddenly feeling irresistible, wanted

and needed.

Working late, stopping by the bar and in the bar the

most fabulous, young, fun, beautiful women come and

talk to him. They smile and with no worries in the world

make him laugh and forget about the tough day at work.

Should he take one more drink or go home to his family?

Knowing that his wife probably will be in a bad mood,

probably most of the day having been at home. Perhaps

upset that the maid has not cleaned your apartment as

she was told to do, the water delivery not showing up or

some other, in her world, very important topic.

Working late at the bar might just seem like the best

alternative for the evening?

The negative spiral is getting deeper and deeper.

This could have been the happiest time for the

family and couple - living abroad in a lovely country as

Thailand. Instead, now the wife is feeling miserable and

the husband buries himself in work.

I know that many companies have a preparation

program before moving abroad, but I don’t think that this

area is an area that is covered. It should be included, how

to prepare for the marriage to be healthy and satisfying

for both parties.


So, take the victim

jacket off, we all make

choices every day.

We can choose to be

a victim or a fighter,

to see the glass half full

or half empty.

When you are deep in the negative spiral it is common

to see what your partner is doing and not doing, “if

only she/he had done this and that…”.

Stop playing the blame game!

When I am asked for advice in these situations, I usually

suggest to start taking ownership over yourself and what

you can change. You know that you can never change

anyone else.

Taking ownership and responsibility for your actions

is a crucial part of healthy relationships. Doing so is an

empowering reminder that you have control over the

role you play in your relationship.

Can we see our time here differently? Is it possible

to turn our mindset? Instead of feeling and thinking that

being the housewife is the toughest you have ever done,

can we see the situation in a different perspective?

I quit my job in Stockholm, Sweden to follow my

husband for a job that he got in Bangkok. I was excited

and happy about the move but at the same time it was

one of the scariest things I have ever done. I realised

quickly that quitting my job was also leaving my identity.

It was the first time in my life that I became dependent

on my husband’s salary and I didn’t like it at all. I felt lost

and started to wonder about what I liked to do, what

was my passion?

Take a simple example like how I introduce myself

to new people. Coming from Stockholm, Sweden, your

job title and where you live are the subjects that often are

the first things you talk about when meeting new people.

I now embarrassingly heard myself introduce myself and

what I had been working with in sweden and I didn’t like

that at all. I thought that I cannot live in the past and I

am not my previous job title, in fact I did not even want

to be that.

My journey started, I wanted to figure out who

Anna really was, her core values and find her passion that

was lost since so many years back. Even scarier was the

question: what will I do when I grow up? For the first time

in my life I was given the chance to do just that. Focus

only on me and what I wanted to do with the rest of my

life. Yes, I was dependent on my husband, but we had a

financially stable life even with me not earning wages and

I even got a maid to help us with the household. Still

insecure and feeling out of place, how could that be, I

should be happy, or?

Why do I share my story with you?

We are many that have gone through this same story, you

are not alone. But you choose what to do with the rest

of the story, you write the end of the story. You have a

once in a lifetime opportunity. When will you again have

the chance to have all this time for yourself not having

to work? When will you again be able to really evaluate

your life and perhaps end up taking the chance to change

the course?

So, first step. Being aware of you, have the courage

to look at the whole, being true to your-self. Look at all

the beautiful parts within you that are your strengths,

bring out the power-house in you, look back at times

when you were the person that you liked to be. How

did it feel to be her? Is that someone you like to bring

back again?

Be true to yourself when you look at the parts

within you that you might be not so proud of. We all

have those parts. What parts within you do you want to

get most of your time? And how can you give the good

parts more time. Your good thoughts about yourself and

others.

So, take the victim jacket off, we all make choices

every day. We can choose to be a victim or a fighter, to

see the glass half full or half empty, to stay at the bar or

go to the bar with your spouse, to find activities, voluntary

jobs or paid jobs or to feel sorry for yourself.

I haven’t said it is easy, but all changes start with you,

what you choose to do with your time. And every step

outside your comfort zone will build your confidence

and power.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

10 tips to help you begin to see

yourself in a more positive light!

Most people don’t feel 100% every day. Even the most

beautiful and successful people have off days, but if you’re

feeling bad about yourself more than you feel good, you

might read this tip.

The feeling of being more attractive and desirable

has little to do with your outward appearance. It is more


about the inside of you and there is much you can work

with yourself.

• Affirmations

It’s always nice when someone close to you notices

or points out a good quality, but you don’t have to wait

around for that extra boost.

Start already today, repeating positive affirmations

to yourself in the mirror or saying things that you like

about yourself will help you validate those traits and value

them in yourself.

• Smile

It’s no secret that smiling makes you seem kind and

inviting to other people, which can help how they see you.

But it turns out you may even get the same benefits by

looking in a mirror and smiling at yourself.

• Show appreciation

A simple act of showing appreciation for your partner,

friend, co-worker goes a long way in making them

feel important and attractive. After all, everyone wants

to be noticed, whether they’re in a relationship, a friend

or at work.

• Exercise

You might dread exercise, but it can play a big role

in helping yourself feel more attractive.

It is not only the exercise’s effect on your body

physically — exercise is a great way to take some time

to get out your aggression, have some time for yourself,

and release endorphins, a chemical that can improve your

mood.

• See others

Let those close to you know how great they are.

Focusing on the great parts instead is helping your

mindset to think happy thoughts. The brain can only think

one thought at a time, which makes less room for thinking

thoughts.

• Don’t self-sabotage

Identify what habits are getting in your way.

If you find yourself making negative statements

about yourself, you need to pay close attention to why.

Identify what is causing you to make these statements

and eliminate the cause if you can. What is triggering the

self-sabotaging? Is it in specific situations, persons or in a

particular environment? When you have identified the

triggers of negative self-talk, you have a better chance of

turning the negative self-talk into positive ones and even

preventing them.

• Assess your relationships

Cut out the toxic people in your life. The weight of

a toxic person in your life may be preventing you from

feeling your best.

• Fake it until you make it

The easiest way to make yourself feel confident is

to act like you already are.

Challenge yourself to feel good about yourself, use

your self-talk, your affirmations to make it easier.

Make your body language, smile and eye contact

work for you. When you enter a room make sure that

you are doing it with confidence.

• Rock some red

Having a wardrobe that makes you feel confident is

a huge step in driving up how you see yourself but feeling

better about your appearance may be as simple as

wearing a different colour.

• Stand tall

Having good posture can make you look good, but

it can also make you feel good.

About the author:

Anna Frummerin is a Swedish coach based in Bangkok

with extensive experience in coaching and training

individuals, teams and organisations by supporting

their development and learning to enact change.

Specialist within areas including leadership, sales and

marketing. She is dedicated to creating leaders and

empowering staff through training and ongoing professional

development and passionate about taking a

business, brand, team, or individual and leading it to

greatness through implementation of personal management

style and experiences.

Anna Frummerin is certified by the International

Coaching Federation (ICF, www.coachfederation.

org) as an Associate Certified Coach and certified

by WIAL (World Institute for Action Learning) as an

Action Learning Team Coach.



Aron Pettersson:

Swedish AI specialist

co-founder of Singaporebased

start-up

The birth of Musiio is the story of how an AI

(articifial intelligence)-based start-up came about

thanks to a ‘talent investor’ facilitator, and where

a Swedish tech-talent individual found his match.

By Joakim Persson

Technical lead and CTO Aron Pettersson and

CEO Hazel Savage found each other over

a cup of coffee via Entrepreneur First, an

unconventional company that interestingly

invests in matching talented and ambitious

individuals to find a co-founder and develop ideas and

businesses.

Also over a cup of coffee, in Singapore’s vibrant

downtown CBD, Aron tells the story of the music-tech

company Musiio so far - which went from two employees

to fifteen within a period of 12 months. Impressively this

start-up also acquired in total 15 deals within 2019, having

started off the year with zero customers.

To come up with the idea and ways for Musiio to

make money Aron’s knowledge about AI was paired with

Hazel’s marketing and business skills and music industry

knowhow.

“I joined an incubator programme called ‘Entrepreneur

First’. My wife lives in Singapore so I had moved here.

Then I met with Hazel and we found that we could be a

very good combination. She knows all about the business

side of the music industry, has great contacts and knows

how to market products, while I know how to build what

is needed.”

“It is completely thanks to the programme that I

met with Hazel. We have very different backgrounds so

it would have been very unlikely we had met otherwise,”

he adds.

Entrepreneur First selects the best talents and ambitious

individuals with an interest in starting companies to

join a half-year programme.

“They take you in before you have an idea, based

on scholarships, and take a small share of the company, if

one goes through. Half the way they evaluate and decide

if they think one has a good business idea or not and

decides which ones can continue.”

After the programme one continues developing

the start-up more on one’s own, explains Aron, who has

a background studying molecular biology and neuroscience

at Stockholm University, followed by Physics at KTH

(Royal Institute of Technology)

“I’ve always been involved with things relating to IT,

including a game I built together with three other friends,

and working for a number of other game companies. I

have also done some data science and machine learning.”

“As for AI it has been a big interest for me all the

way back since I was studying neuroscience when I

started to experiment with it on my own. It was exciting

to work with, and then things have evolved fast with AI,

especially in the last few years.”


Musiio is based on what problems within the music

industry that could be solved with the latest

technology, using AI and machine learning.

Today, the world is being absolutely flooded with

new music, and actually most of it will go unnoticed by

the majority of consumers; music sold via Bandcamp

or streamed via Spotify and Soundcloud for instance –

where algorithms are doing their best to match one’s

taste with the music in databases. And the more music

the more difficult it gets to find the type of music that

you favour.

The B2B side of the industry are facing similar problems.

Groups and businesses that are looking for music

are for example disc jockeys, Artists and Repertoire

(A&R) persons and production music companies.

The gap between the user and the music they are

looking for will continue to get wider as a catalogue

grows or as more and more new music, including new

styles, is published via a variety of channels.

“Imagine you have a catalogue with 40 million songs

in it. Then you want to find something, say some electronic

music with 120 beats per minute that has a positive

vibe and matches the image you have for your scene.

How do you do that based only on the human capacity? It

is nearly impossible; you cannot remember what is there.

You can only hope that you might have heard something

before that could fit.”

That is where Musiio comes in with solutions for

search, categorising and tagging – tedious work that a machine

can perform much more effectively than humans,

and on large scale. Their AI technology can find tracks

that fit a certain sonic profile. Instead of finding exactly

the track you search, it returns tracks that sound similar.

Any large catalogue with music needs to be managed

with some type of meta data with information what

kind of music it is, including for instance information about

the tempo and style.

“For advertising, for instance, you want to match the

music to what happens in the script and you then need

a lot of parameters to search on.”

“Musiio’s technology can scan a catalogue of music

of any size, listen to the sound files and describe them.

It takes 15-20 seconds per file but you can do unlimited

files simultaneously. It keeps on ticking. And that’s the

beauty with this technology; that it can cope with any

volume of music. We have customers going through 20

000 files per day.”

Music labels and production libraries can now dive

deeper than ever before into both their own catalogues

and new material.


It is completely

thanks to the

programme that I

met with Hazel. We

have very different

backgrounds so it

would have been

very unlikely we

had met otherwise

Aron and Hazel have clearly struck the right note,

given how fast they have grown as a start-up.

“Getting our first customer took quite a

while and interestingly three customers signed up the

same week.”

“It’s very difficult to anticipate what will happen as

a start-up but looking at things with a longer perspective

things have progressed well in line with our long-term

plans.”

Having the right team members is Aron’s pick as the

most important thing in order to succeed with a start-up.

“And it is required to be at least two persons who

have the skills in different areas. None of us would have

been able to accomplish this company on our own. So

we basically have no overlap when it comes to our skills.”

VC-funded from day one Musiio has closed a seed

funding round of USD 1 million so far.

Product development and improvements continue.

“But we have reached the level where we have many

base elements that one can use together and combine

in various ways and customise pretty much to what a

customer needs. The longer time that passes the more

components we have and the more technology we have

developed. And that becomes exponentially more powerful,”

says Aaron.

Their new off-the-shelf Genre Classifier now includes

84 genres. And just in, they have launched something

suitable for, among others, disc jockeys as well; App.

Musiio, a self-service that let’s anyone use AI to tag and

search their own catalogue of music.

With customers worldwide and increasing types of

users this start-up’s success is bound to continue.

More precisely it can work like this: an A&R person

teaches the AI what sort of music they would sign. Then

it analyses and returns a sensible playlist of tracks from

newly released music online.

Audio Network in the U.K, a production music

company, is one of the customers helped by Musiio so far.

“They have hundreds of thousands of songs, so we

have delivered the tools for them to be able scan that

catalogue. They had a good system also previously. Their

problem was the search work. And if you get specific

requests to find something with a similar flavour to something

else, or they have an example how it should sound,

it’s very difficult to remember which those songs are. For

that we are using one of our products that enable us to

search based on similarities in sound.”

“It’s not absolutely perfect but it is usually around 90

– 95 per cent accuracy. So I’d say it’s quite good after all!”

Musiio have various ways to provide their cloud

technology, including via API and with choices of interfaces

on top for those less tech-savvy.

Machine learning-wise, Aron says that they have

used TensorFlow (open source) as basis. “It has been very

useful as a base to develop from. Then we have built our

own layer on top of that, specifically to solve sound-based

problems.”


ScandAsia April 2020

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