ScandAsia April 2019

April 2019

OPINION

Expats income hurt

by the strong Thai Baht

COMMUNITY

China’s two pandas visiting Denmark

INTERVIEW

Henrik Yde Andersen:

Cooking up success

LIFESTYLE

Cool Kuala Lumpur

International

School Theme

April 2019

How to choose the

right school

20

ScandAsia

Stories

12 Creating Carro

16 King of Drones

44 Bringing the environment

to the table in Myanmar

58 SWEA celebrates 40th

anniversary

Expats income hurt


6

12

52

Henrik Yde Andersen

Cooking up success

16

11

China’s two pandas coming to

Denmark in April

44

56

Swedish-made app for

LGBTQ travelers

58

Dear Reader,

This issue of ScandAsia includes

a special theme on education.

How to find the best international

school?

Nordic parents bring with them a

dilemma from back home. In all the

Nordic countries, we fundamentally believe

in the principle, that parents’ lack

of economic resources should not prevent

children from getting education of

good quality. Education is offered free

of charge from primary to tertiary level.

Nordic school children have access to

free healthcare, special education for

those in need of such support, career

counselling and school transport.

It is all based on the principle that

all children should have access to equal

quality education. We believe in the

principle of equality and the benefit of

children of various socioeconomic backgrounds

mixing and making friendships

regardless of these differences.

Free schools are for all. They are not

allowed to select students on the basis

of tests or grades, and they are prohibited

from excluding, for example, pupils

with special needs.

In recent years, this policy has indirectly

become an incentive for many

parents to select one of the increasing

number of private schools. They don't

see why their child should potentially be

held back by less bright children, or children

with a different ethnic background.

Sometimes they hope that in a private

school their children would make lifelong

friendships with students of their

own background and income level.

To water this down, the Nordic governments

have passed laws to make

these private schools fully or partially

subsidized by the state to maintain the

principle that ideally all should be able

to make this choice. But of course there

is a difference.

The private schools are allowed to

communicate their various differences

in educational approach and otherwise.

Competition and marketing has come

into play. In 2015, for example, young

people in the Stockholm area could

choose between almost 100 upper secondary

schools in Stockholm city, threefourths

of which were free schools and

more than 560 programs – a rather

overwhelming smorgasbord.

In the end, parents choose among

the educational alternatives based on

perceived future possibilities for their

children and the resources they have

available to invest in an active school

choice, like the time it takes to transport

their child across town to another part

of the city.

They find a way to live with their

principled belief in the Nordic egalitarian

society and equal opportunity for

all, which is such a fundamental part of

our national identities, but eventually

end up deciding that with money they

might give their children more and a

better chance of fully realising their

potential.

Should we all go through the same

channel because we are all equal - or is

it OK to jump to a faster channel, since

you can afford it?

This dilemma is lifted for expat Nordic

parents while posted in South East

Asia. The norm is here to select a private

international school - in some countries

this is your only option since local

schools do not take in foreigners. And

you are expected to choose based on

the available information, which of the

international schools in your city that

you believe will be the best for your

child.

This issue of ScandAsia provides you

with that. A good selection of schools

have taken the opportunity to communicate

to you, in which way they are the

right choice. But in essence, each one

of these schools will be the opposite of

the free, public, socially equalizing school

system, these parents are most likely

themselves a product of.

It is good to be clear on this. If you

believe in the Nordic ideals of inclusive

schools where all social levels are integrated,

including students in need of

special support in ordinary classrooms,

etc. you could consider it your special

mission during your posting in South

East Asia to pass on this set of values to

your child since this is not likely to be

the idea of the private school, that you

eventually will have to choose.

Unless of course you come to the

conclusion that you do not believe in

this Nordic education model.

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.

Who should subscribe:

ScandAsia subscribers are typically Nordic

expats and companies from the Nordic

countries living in and active in Asia. Another

group of subscribers are Nordic people living

in the Nordic countries who subscribe to

ScandAsia for personal or business reasons.

We also have many Asian subscribers, who

for a wide range of reasons are following the

activities of the Nordic expats and companies

via a subscription to ScandAsia.

The ScandAsia magazine is produced every

month and distributed to all print version

subscribers via postal services and to all

eMagazine subscribers via email. Subscribing

to the eMagazine is FREE - simply sign up on

the ScandAsia.com website.

Become a ScandAsia user/

get free digital ScandAsia magazine

or paid subscription via

www.scandasia.com!

Publisher :

ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd.

211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29

Prasert Manukitch Road

Bangkok 10230,

Thailand

Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8

Fax: +66 2 943 7169

E-mail: news@scandasia.com

Editor-in-Chief :

Gregers A.W. Møller

gregers@scandmedia.com

Managing Editor:

Manta Klangboonkrong

manta@scandasia.com

Journalist

Nilobon Bantoey

nilobon@scandasia.com

Advertising :

Finn Balslev

finn@scandmedia.com

Frank Leong

frank@scandasia.com

Graphic Designer :

Disraporn Yatprom

Production Manager:

Sopida Yatprom

Printing :

Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.

4 ScandAsia • April 2019

Opinion

Expats income hurt


By Flemming Kruhøffer,

Asia Correspondent, Ritzaus Bureau

Many a European expat living in

Thailand has increasingly felt

their income from abroad -

whether it is their pension, salary or

return on capital investments – diminished

or reduced to a point, where their

former easygoing life in Thailand has

become a bit rough.

The money isn’t as good as it used

to be, spending has been cut, and the

extravaganzas buried in the backyard

while waiting and longing for better

times in anticipation of the return to the

past economic glory.

The Scandinavians – not to mention

the Brits recently – are especially feeling

the heat from the baht-appreciation

and the simultaneously weakening of the

Danish krone, the Swedish “Peseta” and

the Norwegian “lire”.

But why? What is the reasons for

the economical strain that has hit the

Scandinavian expat-community in “The

Land of Smile”.

Well, it’s a result of a number of

reasons, that has developed over the

last couple of years spanning from huge

job creation in USA, and a newly found

American attempt wind back globalization,

to a mismatch between major

central bank policies especially in the US

and Europe, and on top, a shortsighted

Thai military juntas attempt to “bring

back happiness” to the people.

But what has American job creation

and central bank manipulation got to

do with me? The answer is “everything”!

Euro versus dollar

While the Scandinavian currencies are

related to mainly the euro, Thailand has a

dollar based economy and everything is

measured in the mighty US dollar, or the

greenback nicknamed due to the colour

of the physical banknotes.

And with a globally strengthening of

the dollar over the last couple of years,

the Thai baht has followed through as

Sancho Panza did don Quixote.

Coup d’etat spurred baht

weakness

In the aftermath of the 2014 coup

d’etat the baht weakened to over

36.50 to the dollar, while the dollar

meanwhile still was on the weak side

against the euro with an exchange rate

of 1.25 dollar to the single currency.

Dollar hit as low as 1.60 dollar in

the months after the financial crisis

broke out in the wake of the fall of

Lehman Brothers in 2008. And that

bankruptcy spurred the biggest economic

downturn since the great depression

in 1929, sparking the Federal

Reserve in Washington to launch the

biggest monetary experiment ever:

lowering the US interest rate to a

round zero.

The measure was meant to pump

out enormous amounts of liquidity to

get the wheels rolling. And it worked.

After years of “free money”

the American consumer again began

spending, the confidence in the

economy grew and the job creation

picked up while the inflation due to

the impact of globalization – read: the

increasing switch to cheap manufacturing

in China – kept a tight lid on

price increases.

And without inflation, the way was

paved for a blooming American economy

until the Federal Reserve – ever

worried as central bankers tend to be

– finally took to the first of a string of

interest-rate increases in December

2015, to make sure, the now steaming

hot economy did not run off track.

Trailing ECB

Following several years of watching the

US monetary experiment, the European

Central Bank (ECB) finally said “So ein

Ding müssen wir auch haben” and reduced

the interest in the Eurozone to

zero.

These events reversed the difference

between the US and the EU interest

rates and benefitted the now mighty

dollar at the expense of the euro, and

the common currency weakened to a

pale 1.05 dollar.

But the European effort came to late,

as when the economy despite the ever

eruptively elements of Greece, Italy and

Spain finally began to move forward,

“the Orange Wig” in Washington took

to the trade war with China and disrupted

the global trade, threatening the

whole global economy.

From bad to worse

From the local point of view of an expat

in Thailand, it’s even worse.

The shortsighted – if any at all – economic

policies of the military junta has

opened the door for huge amounts of

Chinese money. Allowing the Chinese

special economic zones and the Road

and Belt Initiative has resulted in a huge

capital inflow.

And the booming property-market

makes it hard for the ever so foresighted

Bank of Thailand to lower the interest, to

keep the capital-inflow at bay.

Result at the bottom line is, that

while Thai baht has strengthened to the

current level of 31.50 baht to the dollar,

the Danish krone has depreciated 27

pct., the Swedish krona 35 pct. and the

Norwegian krone 42 pct. against the

Thai baht over the last five years.

That hurts!


April 2019 • ScandAsia 7

News Brief

Cambodia’s internet service provider

teams up with Nokia

By Nilobon Bantoey

SINET, Cambodia’s leading internet

service provider, has chosen Nokia

to provide faster speed per user as

well as cut down 50% of operating costs.

With Nokia’s high-speed broadband

services that are the Nokia Gigabit-capable

Passive Optical Network

(GPON) and Mini Optical Line Terminal

(OLT), SINET’s customers will be

able to use high-speed and high-quality

internet access to serve the future

smart-home services including video

streaming and home-security systems.

According to Nokia’s press release

on 19 March 2019, SINET’s new service

provided by Nokia will be operated “in

major residential and gated communities,

locally known as borey and housing

apartments in Phnom Penh and Siem

Reap.”

Meta Sy, CEO of SINET shared that

the broadband servives in Cambodia

market were in low-quality because it

used “many off-the-shelf access equipment”

but did not consider the “long

term quality and reliability” of the services.

Therefore, SINET decided to choose

Nokia to provide high-standard internet

for the customers in borey and housing

apartments.

“We wanted a quality-based and

future-proof offering that would set

us apart from the competitions. That

means the service has to be on-par with

international broadband standard in

terms of speed, reliability, efficiency and

ease of troubleshooting which are key

criteria why we selected Nokia.” he said.

Sebastien Laurent, head of Thailand

and Cambodia at Nokia also emphasized

the solutions that Nokia will offer

to SINET. For instance, Mini OLT service

will deliver high-speed broadband internet

to low-density residential areas as

well as helps save space and operational

expenditure.

“With Nokia GPON technology, the

country’s first such deployment will address

the growing customer demand for

affordable ultra-broadband services at

home.” Sebastien shared.

Meeting on Fishery: Norway’s Ambassador

met Vietnam’s Minister

By Nilobon Bantoey


Grete Løchen, the Ambassador

of Norway to Vietnam, had a

meeting with Nguyen Xuan Cuong,

Minister of Agriculture and Rural

Development of Vietnam on Tuesday, 19

March 2019.

The Ambassador underlined effective

bilateral relations between Vietnam

and Norway over the past 30 years

since it began in the early 1970s. She

also affirmed that Norway’s government

intended to continually promote

bilateral relations with Vietnam especially

in the field of fishery and marine

resources.

“Norway and the Norwegian companies

are willing to share experiences,

expertise and technologies with Vietnam

to develop a marine aquaculture

industry in a sustainable way” said the

Ambassador.

Agreeing with Grete Lochen, Nguyen

Xuan Cuong said “Norway is a power in

the marine aquaculture area, and Vietnam

sees Norway as a strategic partner

in the implementation of its National

Marine Aquaculture Strategy.”

But there are a lot of works that

need to do to enhance the strategy

between two sides, he added.

In near future, Norway and Vietnam

will have another meeting to discuss and

assure that Vietnam is ready to attend

the Aqua Nor, Seafood Trade Fair, that

will be held in Norway in August 2019.

AAK to invest £25m in its facility in China

By Nilobon Bantoey

News Brief

AAK, a Swedish-Danish company

well-known as a leading provider

of value-adding vegetable

oils & fats, announced to inject £24.4m

to expand its facility in China.

After opened the first plant in

Zhangjiagang, China in 2017, AAK decided

to increase capacity and support

volume growth especially in Special Nutrition

and Bakery segments in China

by filling an additional £24.4m. to AAK’s

Zhangjiagang factory.

Johan Westman, president and CEO

at AAK said “China is a key growth market

for AAK and the country will continue

to present attractive opportunities

for profitable and sustainable growth in

the speciality and semi-speciality vegetable

oils and fats market”.

“AAK has established a solid presence

in the Chinese market and with

these new investments we are very

well positioned to continue to grow

organically and capture market share.”

he added.

According to AAK’s press release on

11 March 2019, the £24.4m investment

will provide AAK’s China an independent

special nutrition processing plant

focusing on infant nutrition production

and bakery segment to support the

increasing demand for AAK’s high-end

bakery solutions and special nutrition.

Furthermore, Torben Friis Lange,

President AAK Asia said “the processing

plant for Special Nutrition will significantly

strengthen the product and

service offering for end customers”

“Combined with the investment related

to our high-end bakery solutions,

we will support our long-term growth

in the fast-growing and very important

Chinese market.”

Maersk’s new office launched in Yangon,

Myanmar

By Nilobon Bantoey

Maersk officially hosted the

opening ceremony of its new

central city office in Yangon on

Thursday, 7 March 2019.

The ribbon was cut as a mark of

the commencement by John Nielson,

Ambassador of Denmark to Myanmar,

Mr. Bo Wegener, Managing Director of

Sealand Asia, Mr. Marco Civardi, Area

Managing Director of Maersk Vietnam,

Cambodia & Myanmar, Ms. Flora Pintusoontorn,

Managing Director, Maersk

Myanmar, Ms. Tuyen Nguyen, District

Managing Director of Damco Vietnam,

Cambodia & Myanmar and Mr. Ni Aung,

Managing Director of Myanmar Port

Authority.

The new office located in Junction

City, the newest and world-class office

tower in Yangon will serve as a work

space for more than 80 employees from

Maersk and its subsidiary companies

consisting Sealand and Damco Freight

Forwarding.

Marco Civardi stated that the flexibility

and multi-purpose space of Maersk’s

Junction office will provide the employees

an energetic work environment to

“promotes collaboration, engagement

and well-being” to give the customers a

better service from this new office.

“Moving into this new modern office

reflects our commitment to our employees

and to the Myanmar business

community now and for the future”, he

said.

Maersk is the Danish world’s largest

shipping company that has been

presented in Myanmar since 1991, and

opened its first office in Yangon in May

2014.


News Brief

Singaporean politician visited Finland on

educational summit

By Nilobon Bantoey


Indranee Rajah, the Minister in the

Prime Minister’s Office and Second

Minister for Finance and Education,

attended the 9th International Summit

on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) in

Helsinki, Finland.

Held from 14-15 March 2019, the

ISTP intended to assemble ministers and

authorities from countries and regions

that have “high-performing or rapidly

improving school systems” as measured

by the results of Programme for International

Student Assessment (PISA), a

global study aimed to evaluate educational

systems by measuring scholastic

performance on mathematics, science,

and reading.

Indranee Rajah arrived Finland on

March 12th and on the next day, she

visited the University of Helsinki, Faculty

of Educational Sciences.

During the University visit, the

minister was informed about Finland’s

study system by Professor Lasse Lipponen

who gave a summary on university

course for pre-school teachers and by

Ms Riia Palmqvist, Counsellor of Education,

Finnish National Agency for Education

on the policy supporting student

with special needs.

After that the minister and her delegation

were off to the Merilahti comprehensive

school. The visit highlighted

on the school’s policies that support

students with special educational needs

and harmonize multicultural students

from immigrant backgrounds.

On March14th, the first day of ISTP,

Ministers and Teacher Union leaders

discussed the following topics: Leading

together focusing on how to develop

school leaders and teacher leadership,

building strong foundations through innovative

pedagogy and the information

exchange by counterparts from other

countries.

On day two of ISTP, countries’ representatives

were invited to set out three

plans “Towards Sustainable Schools” for

2019.

According to Indranee Rajah, she

outlined three priorities for Singapore

that are: “Recalibration of an education

system” by reducing school-based

assessments to increase free time for

student so that the students can learn

and experience the joy of learning by

themselves, 2. “Sustaining a high-quality

teaching force” by supporting teacher’s

professional development and leveraging

technology to ensure that the

students can learn anytime, anywhere,

at their convenience and 3. “Strengthen

the quality of pre-school education” by

setting up foundation, courses, frameworks

and researches “to provide a

strong foundation for early childhood

learning.”

“I would like to thank the Finnish

government and their people for being

such excellent hosts and also to

congratulate them on a very successful

conference.” Indranee wrote on her

Facebook page.

China’s two pandas coming to

Denmark in April

By Nilobon Bantoey

News Brief

China scheduled its pair of giant

pandas named Mao Er and Xing

Er to land in Denmark in April,

4th 2019.

The pandas will transfer from the

Panda Base in Chengdu, China to its

new home in Copenhagen Zoo, one of

the oldest zoos in Europe and 4th most

visited attraction in Denmark.

The trip of the pandas will be accompanied

by Carsten Damsgaard, the

ambassador of Denmark to China, on

a Scandinavian Airlines flight to ensure

that the two Chinese travelers are safe

and sound during the flight.

“I am excited to be able to travel to

Denmark together with our two new

Chinese guests. They will be warmly

welcomed in Denmark,” the ambassador

said.

An earnest preparation for new

habitats

China offered to lend its two pandas

to Denmark when Queen Margrethe

and Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark

officially visited Beijing in 2014.

After that, Denmark has been working

on the preparation to welcome the

gifts from China for almost 2 years.

The new enclosed residence for the

bamboo munchers has been designed

by the renowned Danish architects, the

Bjarke Ingels Group that designed the

place to look like Yin-Yang symbol.

Since 2010, the zoo’s staffs including

keepers, zoologists, and veterinarians

have visited the panda base in Chengdu

many times to get more familiarize with

their new VIP guests and to learn more

about them by Chinese professionals.

Jorgen Nielsen, the CEO of Copenhagen

Zoo, defined the arrival of Mao Er

and Xing Er as one of the biggest events

in the 160-year history of Copenhagen

Zoo.

“The arrival of the two pandas is going

to be a great event in ZOO, and we

have set the bar high in terms of animal

welfare, guest experiences, architecture

and aesthetics.” he said.

Moreover, Denmark even built a new

plantation of bamboo on the island of

Zealand in the country’s south to reach

the culinary need of two inhabitants.

“To make sure the two new inhabitants

at Copenhagen Zoo get their favorite

food, a new farm in the southern part

of Zealand will make sure that sprawling

fresh bamboo is always in ample supply,”

said Nielsen.

The opening day

The formal launching day will take place

at the Copenhagen Zoo on April 10th,

2019 and it will also mark the official

start of the Sino-Danish Giant Panda

Joint Research Project.

The zoo will be set to welcome

the royal guests: Queen Margrethe

and Crown Princess Mary as well as

the honor guests including Lars Løkke

Rasmussen, Denmark’s Prime Minister,

Deng Ying, Chinese Ambassador

to Denmark and senior officials from

China National Forestry and Grassland

Administration.

A black and white fluffy bear as a

representative of China’s diplomacy

Long time ago diplomacy used to

be only about people but as the time

passed animals took more roles in representing

diplomatic relationship between

countries.

With the China’s panda diplomacy,

it started way back in the Tang Dynasty

(618-907 CE) but became popular in

the era of Mao Zedong. The highlight

moment that was considered as the

beginning of panda diplomacy was when

China presented panda Ping Ping to Soviet

Union in 1957.

Between 1957 to 1982, China constantly

used pandas to be a symbol of

its cultural exchange by sending total

23 pandas to north Korea, the United

States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan,

Spain and Mexico.

In the present, China no longer gives

panda as a free gift to other countries

because the pandas became one of

global endangered animals so, China

gave the panda as a loan instead.

Some might say that Panda diplomacy

represents a goodwill and friendship

from China to other countries but some

might see this as a symbol presenting a

“seal of approval” of China, according to

an Oxford University study in 2013.


Interview

Creating

Carro

By Anita Surewicz

Swedish fashion designer and entrepreneur Caroline Wass finds the sunny,

multi-cultural Kuala Lumpur to be the inspiration of her designs and the base for

her family and business venture, Carro.


main benefit of running a business in Malaysia

is the proximity to suppliers and manufacturers.

“The

It is also warm all year round, which makes the

weather perfect for our active lifestyle apparel,” says Caroline

Wass, referring to her clothing brand for men, Carro. Named

after the nickname given to Caroline by her late grandmother,

the colorful label combines fashion, function and style. The

brand, which was launched at the Malaysia Fashion Week in

October 2017, also embodies Caroline’s zest for life and love

of the tropics, both traits that have served the Swedish fashion

designer well in her life and career.

Caroline fell in love with Kuala Lumpur in 1998 when she

visited her father who was working in the Malaysian capital at

the time. She officially moved to the city in 2000, and when

her parents decided to move back to Sweden, she stayed

on. The chaos of the bustling city stands in stark contrast to

Caroline’s home town of Gistad in Sweden, around a two

hours' drive from Stockholm, a tranquil settlement with a

population of only around 300 people. “I am currently living

in where we fondly call PJ - Petaling Jaya - which is pretty central,

and that means I have all I need - shops, restaurants and

cinemas - within an easy reach. Traffic in Kuala Lumpur can be

crazy, especially during peak hours, so I have had to choose a

strategic location to set up my home.”

The vivacious entrepreneur embarked on her career after

she moved to Kuala Lumpur, when she decided to study fashion

design. She then started an internship at an international

apparel company in 2003 before working as an apprentice for

a French fashion designer. “I was lucky enough to be exposed

to a wide scope of the apparel industry early in my career,

from design to product development, sourcing to production

and retail,” Caroline says. “After a few years, an opportunity

arose to start a venture with my now partner in business and

in life. For 12 years I designed stylish corporate attire for many

Malaysian companies, from banks to Big Pharma.”

Since Carro’s inception, Caroline has created three collec-

Achieving what you

think is perfection takes

up a lot of time. And very

often you will probably

end up not putting your

work out anyway because

you think it’s not good

enough. Not trying to

make everything perfect

anymore has allowed me

to enjoy my work without

stress or pressure.


Interview

tions, with her latest offering previewed at the Kuala Lumpur

Fashion Week in November 2018. The message behind the

colorful line of polos, tees and singlets is “Believe.” Caroline

says that positive values are an essential foundation of success,

and she wants her clothes to inspire confidence in their

wearers. “I design things that my husband and I would wear

ourselves. I focus on designs that stand out and make you feel

special,” she says, adding that while her main market is in Kuala

Lumpur, since making her attire available online, she has also

had clients from the United States, Singapore and Sweden.

Finding inspiration in a city as diverse as Kuala Lumpur is

not difficult. For Caroline, it can strike anywhere and at any

time. She thinks of herself as a “collector of images,” ideas that

she uses to create her storyboards prior to the design phase.

“There is this special mood or feeling I get when I am ready

to design. When I am in this zone, creating my designs is easy,”

she says. “I always start with lines and see where they take me.

I love the weather, the

sunshine and the diversity

of cultures. I love spicy

food. I definitely feel at

home here.


The patterns just emerge from my scribbling. Once the base

of the pattern is formed, I start to play around with colors.”

Caroline says that her Swedish heritage has served her well

on the road to success. Although, she is quick to admit that her

penchant for perfection does not necessarily always play in her

favor, she also says that over the years she has learnt how to let

go. “I am able to think outside the box, but also have an incredible

attention to detail and ability to follow guidelines. I have a

no-shortcut, no-excuse attitude, which sometimes drives my

suppliers and factories crazy,” she says, laughing. “Perfection

means something different to each individual. Achieving what

you think is perfection takes up a lot of time. And very often

you will probably end up not putting your work out anyway

because you think it’s not good enough. Not trying to make

everything perfect anymore has allowed me to enjoy my work

without stress or pressure.”

Reflecting Caroline’s tendency to look at life through

rose-colored glasses, Carro’s bright and bold designs are all

about encouraging the wearer to do the things they love with

family and friends, and living a healthier lifestyle. For Caroline,

maintaining a positive outlook and staying connected with her

community has been easy, and she attributes a large part of

her sunny disposition to her second home - Kuala Lumpur.

“Malaysia’s capital is a big city full of energy, plus people here

are friendly and it is easy to make friends, with endless fabric

stores, festivities all year round and a fascinating mix of cultures.

I love the weather, the sunshine and the diversity of cultures. I

love spicy food. I definitely feel at home here.”

www.carro.fashion

Home away from home

Making your new abode overseas comfortable is one good way to settle in. But

why stop at comfort when you can also have style? Here are four outlets in the

Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur that offer Scandinavian made home furnishing as

well as locally made items inspired by Nordic aesthetics.

By Manta Klangboonkrong

Smuk Living

Surround yourself with the fine designs

and meticulously made contemporary

furniture, dining sets, carpet and draperies

as well as small home décor items

from most respected Scandinavian

brands such as HAY, Cane-line, Normann

Copenhagen, Muuto, Ferm Living,

Bolia, Eilersen, Fredericia and many others.

The multi-brand outlet is located in

Solaris Dutamas on Jalan Dutamas.

Entrer Home Gallery

From furniture and accessories to textiles

and homeware, Entrer Home Gallery

is an inventory of beautiful objects

for everyday use from the Scandinavia

and beyond. The gallery, in association

with its award-winning Scandinavian

partners, does an excellent job at handpicking

aesthetically pleasing items from

mainly Danish and Spanish brands. Make

a house a home with beautiful and functional

pieces from brands like Expormim

and Nomon from Spain, Prostoria from

Croatia, Linie and MENU from Denmark

and Nordic-inspired JotterGoods

from Singapore among other few. The

outlet is on level 2 of MyTOWN Shopping

Centre.

Cellini

A stylish comfy bed is definitely worth

the investment. This Singaporean home

furnishing brand is known as the to-go

place for beds, as well as dining sets

and sofas. All designer furniture pieces

are designed in-house with luxury and

comfort in mind. Choose from L-shaped

lounge sets to recliners and fabric sofas

to suit your everyday lifestyle. Cellini

has three outlets in Kuala Lumpur: Mid

Valley Megamall, MyTOWN Shopping

Centre and Viva Home.

Commune Life

If you’d like you wooden furniture to

be a little edgy, look no further than

Commune Life, Singaporean furniture

maker that offers Nordic-inspired items.

Created with sustainable American walnut

and oak wood, the appeal of the

creations stems from a combination

of modern sleek designs and warm

wood tones, with a touch of timeworn

brass – the go-to store for chic wooden

furniture as statement pieces in the living

space. The Commune Life is on Jalan

Maarof in Bangsar.


Innovation

The

King

of Drones

By Teuvo Tuomi

Finnish aviation and IT wizard Jani

Hirvinen started the drone revolution,

and he’s now designing our future.


Technology is now available for everyone,

revolutionizing and defining our lives. This

new phase is going to change how humans are

going to live in the future.

day is for learning new

things. If not, the day is boring,”

Jani Hirvinen grins, while “Every

constantly searching something from the

endless piles of electronics and drone

frames at his somewhat chaotic office.

The Bangkok-based innovator is also

current Vice Chairman of the World

UAV Federation. “There are no stupid

questions. There are only solutions.”

It’s hard to believe that this is the

man responsible for the drone revolution.

He looks just like one of us.

But there possibly isn’t a thing that Jani

doesn’t know about drones. Or UVs

(unmanned vehicles), as he politely corrects.

“I hate the word drones. It doesn’t

explain anything.”

Jani is clearly into something much

bigger than just building small flying objects.

He is a specialist on underwater

systems, above the water vehicles,

ground vehicles, aerial vehicles, and even

spacecraft. He is a specialist on a whole

bunch of futuristic ideas that have been

utilized by well-known organizations like

NASA (The National Aeronautics and

Space Administration) and SpaceX.

At First There Was

ArduCopter

ArduCopter 1.0 started it all. The year

was 2010, and Jani was already a leader

of the newly established ArduPilot group

and its developers. He had been working

for a long time with AeroQuad and

many other multicopters. That’s why the

move to ArduPilot project was natural.

“We were all too lazy to fly. That’s

why we developed a device that would

fly for us. Suddenly it became a popular

product,” Jani smirks. “The idea was a

quick do-it-yourself solution that could

be modified. Ardu was based on an

open source system, and it was cheap.”

One of his most impressive contributions

was the hardware design for the

official ArduCopter platform, and also

motors, including the firmwares which

he created almost single-handedly. The

result was, apart from some military

applications, nothing less than the first

commercial drone platform. The one

that popularized the industry.

The Next Revolution

Jani says that for the industry and for us,

this is just the beginning. “Technology is

now available for everyone, revolutionizing

and defining our lives. This new

phase is going to change how humans

are going to live in the future.”

Unmanned technologies are quickly

starting to get out of their closets, penetrating

our everyday life. “It won’t take

long until we see fully automated transportation

systems and other unmanned

systems on macro level.”

Future urban societies will be designed

to handle ever growing unmanned

systems as there are a lot of different

needs to make locations accessible for

unmanned devices. This starts from how

we design our houses, buildings, road

systems, underground infrastructure and

all the way to the urban city designs.

Flying Cars Are Coming

The possibilities of UVs are endless.

Militaries around the world have used

drones for various purposes for a long

time, but industrial applications are the

ones where Jani sees the real potential.

“There are interesting projects for

example for local commuting. Flying cars

are not utopian anymore. Transportation

networks need a vertical dimension.”

However, some challenges remain.

One one the biggest is how to make

drones operate longer than now. “The

challenge is still the operating distance.

The mainstream UVs need to be operating

for a reasonable amount of time.

And here the point is the battery technology

and its limits.”

Even this is just another challenge for

Jani. And challenges make him tick. “We

are entering to the Planet 5.0 era where

whole humankind will be working differently

in sense of logistics, transportation

and how we all interact with each other.

This will not be limited to our current

planet but far beyond that.”

Unmanned devices will soon help

humankind to expand from our civilization

to the multi-planetary one. Mars

and Moon suddenly don’t seem that distant

anymore. “We need to get used to

advanced technologies, faster response

times and shorter distances.”

Currently there are already several



new urban cities under development

that will follow new design rules that

unmanned systems require. “We are

all in for the ride of a lifetime,” Jani

predicts.

China Leads the Field

This big change has already started,

especially in Asia. Many of the Asian

countries adapt new technologies a

lot faster than most Western countries.

Around here, countries can build

whole new cities by orders from governments.

One example is Shenzhen

that a few decades ago was just a tiny

fishing village. Now it’s a bustling electronics,

robotics and UV hub of 10

million people.

The Chinese have quickly become

leaders in the field of UVs, not just

drones. That’s why Jani’s peers are increasingly

looking at China’s technology

heaven Shenzhen. “China is the technology

and innovation leader now, and

Shenzhen is its drone capital.”

Jani knows this better than anyone.

He has recently joined forces with the

Shenzhen-based World UAV Federation

(WUAVF) that was established in

June 2017. On top of all his other duties,

he works as WUAVF’s Vice Chairman.

He is also a board member of the

Experts Committee of the Shenzhen

UAV Industry Association. In other

words, Jani is already a member of a

small elite, who is designing our future.

Aviation at Heart

Jani was born to a family of aviation,

his father being a Finnair Captain and a

flight instructor and his mother with all

kinds of flight license that inspires us to

challenge ourselves. And when Jani was

young he used to take off whenever his

mother was free from her car racing.

Jani’s journey in the world of aviation

and technology started early. He

began with electronics kits at the age

of 4, got his first computer at 6, and

started with hobby airplanes at 8. Sinclair

ZX80 is one of the early computers

that was launched in 1980 - way

before any current brands were even

on the drawing board. Jani received

We need to get

used to advanced

technologies,

faster response

times and shorter

distances.

his first Sinclair just a few weeks after

its release in the UK. After graduating

from High School, Hirvinen became

one of the youngest in Finland to get

involved in circuit board production,

using the surface- mount device (SMD)

technology.

Being an innovator at heart, Jani

started focusing on his passion and

quickly became one of the early Finnish

IT pioneers. In the early 1980s, he

was already developing FIDONet and

SiGNET bulletin board system (BBS)

networks.

Jani was also responsible of creating

one of the first SMD assemblies for the

Finnish Army back in 1987. He did all

this when his friends were just trying to

graduate from high school.

No Time to Rest

Jani lives in Bangkok’s Prawet district,

where he has his home, his drone

companies and naturally also a drone

assembly line. He is also still involved in

ArduPilot and unmanned technology

development and production in multiple

countries.

“My time goes for parts development,

management, dealing with all our

suppliers, looking for new and better

parts and testing. And for crashing a

lot of our products so our users don’t

need to,” Jani laughs.

For the last 20 years, Jani has also

been helping global internet service

providers, done IT training and consultation

projects. He has also helped high

tech technology transfers between

Finland and Thailand.

Jani lives with his young son, daughter

and Thai wife in the Land of Smiles

and, based on what his friends say,

works like there’s no tomorrow. His

hobbies include R/C heli flying, electronics,

occasional paragliding, sailplane

flying and, yes, ice skating.

After all, he is still a Finn.

inbound@asiantigers-thailand.com, outbound@asiantigers-thailand.com

Tel: +66 2687 7800 www.asiantigers-mobility.com/Thailand asiantigersmobilitythailand


International schools

How to

choose

the right school

By Gregers Moller

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”.

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.



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:

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.

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?

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.


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

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!

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





Why Children Need to Sometimes

Leave the Classroom

By Sarah Gaughan, Leader of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Bangkok Patana School

Around the world, everyone from governments,

business leaders and economists to

parents, teachers and paediatricians are

all asking the same question: What skills

will our children need to succeed? Lets’

consider this. It has been estimated that

two thirds of children today will work in

jobs that currently don’t exist. Now what

skills do we want them to have?

In 2016, the World Economics Forum

released a list that every parent, teacher

and anyone else involved in children’s

development needs. It is a list of the 21st

Century Skills most valued in today’s

complex, globalised and rapidly changing

world. A third of these skills are the

hard skills such as reading, writing and

mathematics, sometimes referred to

as IQ skills. More notable however, are

other two thirds, such as critical thinking,

curiosity, creativity, communication,

social intelligence and resilience that

are gaining prominence in classrooms

and board rooms across the world.

Academic success is simply not enough.

At Bangkok Patana School, we have

been researching and working hard to

raise the profile of these characteristics

for our students in order to ensure that

they can be successful now and beyond

their school years. As teachers, we continually

ask ourselves, “Are we preparing

our students’ success now and in THEIR

future?”

Our Primary Residential program

is an excellent example of one way in

which we provide opportunities for

students to put down their pencils and


spend some quality time developing

these very important skills and characteristics.

Students spend from two to

five days exploring a location outside

Bangkok. Parents and electronic devices

are not invited, so children have to develop

skills such as independence and

social intelligence.

Giving children opportunities to explore

the world through ‘play’ is fundamental

to their development as they use

their imagination, communicate ideas,

take risks, negotiate, make plans, build

relationships and follow their own interests.

The children were so excited to

have quality time together to ‘play’ on

the beaches and in Thailand’s beautiful

national parks. The itineraries on our

residential visits involve thinking critically,

solving problems and being creative.

This year children had opportunities

to make kites, build boats and design

survival shelters and many more activities

that had them working in teams to

solve problems. An important element

of our visits is to develop children’s

motivation through risk taking, trying

new things and using their senses to

explore the natural world. It is wonderful

to watch the children overcoming

initial fears about getting wet and messy!

With a little reassurance from their

friends and teachers, the children found

that taking risks led to fantastic experiences.

Many children were very proud

of meeting challenges and achieving

new things! We saw so many examples

of children demonstrating resilience,

perseverance and being proud of what

they accomplished. Wading through rivers,

paddling alongside living fish, kayaking

through the mangroves and learning

to ride bikes are just some examples

of how children challenged themselves

throughout the trip. The staff on residential

always return to school having seen a

very different side of their students. They

say how proud they are to watch the

children becoming more experienced

and growing in ways they rarely see in

the classroom!

Reference: Dr Laura Jana TED talk https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_1Zv_

ECy0g#action=share


7 Reasons Why the MYP is Great

Preparation for the IB Diploma

Many International Schools in Bangkok

offer the International Baccalaureate (IB)

Diploma programme to students in the

last two years of high school. However

KIS International School, which offers a

full IB education, through the IB Primary

Years Programme (for 3-12 year olds)

and the IB Middle Years Programme, or

MYP (11-16 year-olds) as a preparation

for the IB Diploma, gives its students a

head start on the IB Diploma. Here are

7 reasons why the MYP sets your child

up for success in the IB Diploma.

1. MYP students are confident

and independent in managing

their learning

The MYP incorporates Approaches to

Learning, helping students to learn how

to learn. MYP students become aware

of their learning strengths and weaknesses

and they improve their skills in

areas such as time management, communication,

self management, research,

and thinking, as well as improving their

social skills. Students in the MYP also

engage in an extended “Personal Project”

which teaches them to complete

a project from a concept to a finished

product, and to reflect on this process as

well. All of this helps set them up for success

in the IB Diploma where students

are expected to be self-motivated and

independent learners.

2. MYP students do better than

non-IB students in higher order

thinking skills such as analyzing

and evaluating information

Teachers ask students to explain their

reasoning and to use their research to

support their opinion. Students continuously

analyze the quality of their

information and approach problems

from different perspectives. They design

their own experiments and challenge

each other through discussions. These

thinking skills are necessary for the IB

Diploma subjects and are key when

students start their Extended Essay and

their Theory of Knowledge classes.

3. MYP students are better

writers and researchers

Students in the MYP conduct hands-on

research based on real world information

and situations. They are taught to

evaluate their sources and how to apply

the information they find. Many projects

are documented through written

reports, with correct citation and bibliographies,

and students regularly write

reflections about the learning process

and outcomes. This is all excellent preparation

for the IB Diploma extended

essay and for life at university.

4. MYP students have better

affective skills

Throughout the MYP students work

on developing their emotional intelligence.

They learn how to manage stress,

overcome challenges and how to be

more resilient. These skills are valuable

throughout a student’s life and they are

particularly useful in managing the demands

of the IB Diploma.

5. MYP students understand

how to transfer what they have

learned to new situations

Students don’t just learn knowledge, but

they also learn larger concepts. These

concepts (such as identity, aesthetics,

community, etc.) allow students to see

the bigger picture of what they are learning

and to use what they have learned in

other situations. The MYP also provides

so-called Global Contexts, which encourage

students to approach their reasoning

from different perspectives, such as Scientific

and Technical Innovation, Fairness

and Development, and Personal and

Cultural Expression. Working with these

tools helps students with their IB Internal

Assessments, their Extended Essay and

their Theory of Knowledge class, as well

as helping them to understand their subjects

in greater depth.

6. MYP students know how to

engage in meaningful service

CAS is an integral part of the IB Diplo-


ma. Students in the MYP often initiate

projects or activities which can then

form the basis for their Creativity, Action

and Service in the Diploma. One

benefit is that the experience they gain

in organizing events, fundraising, joining

sports teams or supporting their local

communities ensures that they don’t

have to reinvent the wheel in Grade

11 and 12. Moreover, on a deeper level,

engaging in service helps students to

think about and define their learning

outcomes, while the process of planning

and carrying out CAS activities

further promotes students’ leadership

skills.

7. And last, but certainly not

least, MYP students do better on

IB Diploma exams

Research shows that students who have

completed the IB Middle Years Programme

do better on the IB Diploma

exams, in Theory of Knowledge and

on the Extended Essay. Students who

completed the MYP understand the

expectations of the IB and they are familiar

with the IB language and approach.

They have higher levels of confidence,

which positively affect exam results, and

they have learned how to study well.

Students with MYP experience know

how to approach problems from different

perspectives and using different

disciplines (subjects), providing broader,

deeper and more creative solutions to

problems in general and for the IB Diploma

requirements in particular.

The chart below shows the pass rate

and percentage of high scores of MYP

students compared to all students who

took the IB Diploma*.

* The IB Middle Years Programme at a Glance. The International Baccalaureate Organization, 2016.

Iborganization. “MYP Studies.” International Baccalaureate®, 2017, www.ibo.org/research/outcomes-research/myp-studies/.

Iborganization. “What Is the MYP?” International Baccalaureate®, www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/what-is-the-myp/.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP): Comparing IB Diploma Programme Outcomes of Students Who Complete the MYP and Other

Middle Years Courses of Study. ACER, 2015,



Top International School offers a serious

STEAM programme for everyone!

The emphasis on STEAM these days is unparalleled.

For the uninitiated, STEAM is an

interdisciplinary teaching approach that

stands for Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship

or Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.

At the Canadian International

School in Singapore (CIS), the approach

plays an integral part of their school curriculum.

Starting from pre-kindergarten,

students are repeatedly engaged in inspiring,

hands-on activities focused on developing

key 21st century skills that will be

beneficial throughout their life regardless

of where their interests lie.

tise in these areas. The approach is also

an effective way of developing students

with key 21st century skills such as collaboration,

research, problem solving

and critical thinking.

A hands-on programme for all

ages and interests

CIS’s STEAM approach has something to

offer everyone. It is student-led, handson

and focuses on integrating STEAM

into activities where students have the

opportunity to make connections and

solve real-life, authentic problems. From

Grade 1 onwards, students are exposed

to STEAM experiences in stimulating


Why the strong emphasis on

STEAM?

STEAM focuses on teaching students

how the disciplines of science, technology,

entrepreneurship (or engineering),

arts and mathematics are connected

and aligned with what they will experience

when they enter the workforce.

Today, nearly all jobs, no matter what

the profession, rely on people’s expermakerspaces

filled with state-of-the-art

equipment such as 3D printers, laser

cutters and an electric kiln.

STEAM in action

Lots of of exciting and innovative projects

are happening right across CIS.

Currently their youngest learners are

learning about early math skills through

water measurement activities in their

mud kitchen, while grade 3 students

have just completed building toys that

transform electrical energy into another

usable form such as light and sound

energy.

“The students’ passion and enthusiasm

for the programme is truly inspiring,”

says CIS PYP STEAM teacher

Andrew Deir. “It’s great to observe

them actively sharing their discoveries

with their peers and initiating their own,

individual projects (just recently a grade

6 student was inspired to develop his

own aquaponics system after engaging

in a separate classroom STEAM activity

). We always make sure our students

are motivated and excited to learn

more through practical, hands-on problem

solving where they are encouraged

to experiment, persevere and think

critically.”

For more information about CIS’

STEAM programme visit www.cis.

edu.sg/steam or contact one of their

Admissions Team members on +65

6734 8088.



Why International Education is Unique

and Why Great Teachers are Essential

“But in the end, a classroom can only be as good as the teacher who leads it”

The very idea of an international school

evokes an image of inclusion, and building

bridges across cultures. It suggests

a special passion for education from a

dedicated, global community. At International

School Bangkok (ISB), we embody

this globally-minded approach to education

with an emphasis on educating the

whole child and defining the essential

attributes and values we want every

child to take away from their time at our

school. Combining these forward-thinking

ideals with the extensive experience

that our diverse group of teachers bring

to each class and classroom setting – we

create environments where students

learn while they form bonds of empathy

with people from different backgrounds.

Our teachers strive to provide the

best environment for students to develop,

learn and grow. Through a variety

of creative approaches to learning,

teachers engage students through experiential-learning

that inspires curiosity

and determination, while teaching them

to be self-managing, courageous and

adaptable.

Excellence in the classroom

A well-designed system of education

and support can help children engage

more deeply with their studies. But in

the end, a classroom can only be as

good as the teacher who leads it.


Our dedicated staff at ISB are actively

involved in developing each student according

to their strengths, so they can

achieve their personal and academic

potential. Our entire faculty is committed

to helping students find their way

forward in life as they grow into passionate,

reflective and caring global citizens.

Exceptional teachers love working

with children, they see teaching as the

highest calling and are dedicated to providing

relevant learning opportunities

for every student:

• They are creative and innovative

• They work hard to know their students

as learners and people, they

study their content and design intentional

learning opportunities that

motivate students while improving

learning

• They are true learners themselves,

seeking opportunities to improve

their craft and become even better

at what they do for students

• Their beliefs align with ISB’s vision,

values, and focus on learning

International education offers a

unique setting where multiculturalism,

world-wide experience and a passion

for education can thrive – a community

made up of teachers, staff and students

from all around the globe.

Bringing you the best

By selecting International School Bangkok

(ISB) students benefit from the vast

and diverse experiences of the very

best teachers from around the world.

Our teachers bring original ideas and

viewpoints, unique cultural insights, and

a variety of effective approaches to

learning in order to spark academic curiosity

and personal development.

Finding the right teachers and developing

them through the ISB system

is therefore our highest priority. When

we recruit new teachers, we carefully

screen every candidate for experience,

proven success, collaborative spirit,

alignment to our mission and values,

and an attitude of caring for students

through compassionate practices.

Through the interview process, we

make sure that each of our teacher

candidates embodies the core values of

ISB. They must show care, responsibility,

commitment, gratitude, courage, balance,

respect, and integrity, not only in

their approach to teaching and education,

but in their personal lives as well.

ISB is much more than a school; it is a

lifestyle, and we want all of our teachers

and students to feel this is a place where

they truly belong – a place that they can

call home.



St. Andrews Sukhumvit 107:

Inclusive Education in an International School

context - the S107 ASDAN programme

St. Andrews International School Sukhumvit

107 (S107) was established in 1997 and

has grown to its current size of around

500 students aged 2-18. As part of the

Cognita global schools group and one of

four campuses in Thailand (Sukhumvit

107, Green Valley, Sathorn and Dusit), our

mission is to provide ‘an inspiring world of

education’. St. Andrews S107 is now known

as a school where ‘everyone succeeds in a

community of care’ regardless of age, ability,

background, interest and aptitude.

What does it mean to offer ‘an inspiring

world of education?’ What does

it mean to offer truly ‘personalised

learning’? What is it about being part of

the Cognita schools group, and the St.

Andrews group of schools in Thailand

(S107, Dusit, Green Valley and Sathorn)

that truly makes us distinctive?

At the start of this academic year, the

S107 Learning Support team launched

the ASDAN course (ASDAN stands for

‘Award Scheme Development and Accreditation

Network’ a UK accreditation

body) which “offers programmes and

qualifications that explicitly grow skills

for learning, skills for employment, and

skills for life.” Whilst at S107 we are aiming

for excellence in all areas, for some

students our IGCSE and IB programmes

are simply inaccessible and no amount

of personalisation will make them relevant

for young people who will need a

different pathway into a life of independence,

inspiration and fulfilment. With

tailored support and careful modification,

the IB and IGCSE work really well

for 95% of children you might encounter

at a typical international school. Yet if a

school is to be truly inclusive we have

to make sure our curriculum can inspire

every student!

We launched our S107 ASDAN

course for a small exclusive group of

students in Years 9 and 10 in August

2018 as an alternative to our traditional

academic courses with a degree

of trepidation. What has emerged has


been an unbridled joy with a great deal

of the most experimental, entrepreneurial

and exciting learning and teaching

revolving around the new learning

hub which houses our ASDAN team (2

full time learning support staff with the

4 students supplemented by specialists

who are flexibly drafted in depending

on the project). We have had many exciting

events: ASDAN Christmas Coffee

Morning incorporating feedback to parents

(something these students would

never have had the confidence to do

a year ago) with the students organising

themselves including budgeting and

shopping for supplies at the local Tesco,

gardening projects which have been

both profitable (especially given the innovative

pricing policy that meant the

Head of School had to pay double for a

bag of kale) and led to some tasty recipes

being created, exciting Science projects

based on real life problems such as

measuring how much activity is required

to expend the calorific intake of various

foods, building furniture for the Student

Support room as part of the Independent

Living course, making links with

a local vocational training centre, and

finally, caring for two turtles - Bob and

Pumpkin - named in an ASDAN run

competition and announced at a whole

school assembly by the students themselves

….and Bob and Pumpkin have

been the surprise well-being hit of the

year for S107!

Although this program is small scale,

given that most of our students excel on

their academic IB and IGCSE courses,

we believe in our own strategic goal:

‘Everyone Succeeds!’ not just those on a

more well-trodden academic track and

a genuine community of care makes

sure the curriculum is appropriate for

all its students. This program is making

a genuine difference to these young

people’s lives (and their parents lives,

who see them fulfilled, challenged and

being prepared for an exciting, rewarding

future beyond school).

If you would like to visit us at our

green and friendly campus please call

+66 (0) 2393 3883 or email admissionss107@standrews-schools.com

to

arrange a tour and come and see us in

action at Team S107 where Everyone

Succeeds in a Community of Care!



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.


CREATIVE LEARNING, CREATIVE CHILD

INTEGRATES LITERACY AND

NUMERACY THROUGH THE

ARTS AND LANGUAGES

Arts Kidz International's child-centred, enquirybased

curriculum approach focuses on learning

experiences that are responsive.

With specially curated learning spaces designed

for art, technology, science, music and more,

children at Arts Kidz International Pre-schools

are exposed to a variety of experiences to make

meaningful discoveries, exciting explorations

and learn through play.

All planned experiences will integrate principles

of collaboration and recognise the value of

inquiry.

Arts Kidz International adopts the IEYC

(International Early Years Curriculum) with

a focus on international-mindedness and

development of personal goals such as respect

and morality to enhance the development of the

whole child.

Specialist language programs offered include

Mandarin, Korean and Japanese. An eclectic

array of arts based specialists provide lessons in

visual arts, Chinese Speech & Drama, Violin

and Mindfulness for Kids.

Children can opt for full days, half days or threeday

weeks. There’s also an After School Club

that offers fun activities such as speech and

drama, soccer and cheerleading.

RAEBURN PARK CAMPUS

10 RAEBURN PARK, #02-33

SINGAPORE 088702

T : (65) 6456 8003

E: enquiry@artskidz.com.sg

W: artskidz.com.sg

Finnish Kide Science Center

expands to Singapore

Following the world's first Kide Science

Center outside of Finland in

Malaysia, the play-based learning

science center now partners with Edufarm

Learning Center to make impact

in Singapore.

Last August, Kide Science Center

made its way from Finland to Kuala Lumpur

in Malaysia to equip children aged

3-8 with inquisitive minds, awareness

of nature and fundamental scientific

knowledge through play-based and fun

interactive learning. The center now taps

into the cosmopolitan Singapore later

last year in partnership with Singaporean

Edufarm Learning Center.

“The significant thing for us is that

Singapore is one of the world’s top

countries for education and yet they

still want educational innovations from

Finland,” said Kide Science CEO and

co-founder Sari Hurme-Mehtälä. “The

world around us is changing rapidly, and

kids need to be prepared for whatever


the coming years might bring. If they

learn to respect nature and understand

its causes and effects, they’re likely to be

interested in knowing how to protect

the Earth and act accordingly.”

The agreement between the Finnish

and Singaporean learning centers was

signed in October last year, with first

students set to arrive at the start of

2019. This new deal follows the opening

of the world’s first Kide Science Center

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in late August.

Kide Science teaches science to children

between the ages of three and

eight through play. According to Hurme-

Mehtälä, learning an inquiry-based approach

helps to raise the problem-solvers

of the future. The science academy

states that its proven pedagogical methods

are based on rigorous academic

research conducted at the University of

Helsinki, Finland. Their pedagogical approach

is supervised by Jenni Vartiainen,

who is a leading researcher in the field

of play-based science education.

Children get to explore the wonders

of the world around them by exploring,

experimenting and observing. It is described

as “a thrilling science adventure

that has long-lasting effects”.

Finnish children’s science academy

Kide Science is growing rapidly with

more than 50 science clubs in Finland,

and now also a two-storey science center

in Malaysia. This collaboration agreement

was reached with local partner

Childhood enrichment, with the help of

Finnish education exporter Polkuni.

Kide Science is also part of the Education

Finland program co-ordinated by

the Finnish National Agency for Education,

which supports Finnish education

providers on the international markets.

Fight against corruption in Thailand

by Nordic Chambers

By Nilobon Bantoey

Four Nordic Chambers of Commerce

in Thailand co-hosted the

seminar on anti-corruption titled

“The next Big Thing in the Fight Against

Corruption: CAC Certification and

the Thai Anti-Corruption Initiative”, on

Wednesday, 27th March 2019 at Spaces,

Empire Tower Sathorn, Bangkok.

The anti-corruption seminar was

organized by the 4 Nordic chambers

of commerce (TSCC, DTCC, TNCC,

TFCC) together with the Thai Institute

of Directors (IOD), a leading organization

committing to improve director

professionalism and corporate governance

in Thailand, and the Collective Action

Coalition (CAC), one of the most

significant projects operated mainly by

IOD.

The purpose of the event was not

about being compliant with the corruption,

but it was about sending a signal

to fight against the corruption at the

company and industry levels.

Eric Hallin, the president of TSCC,

delivered an opening remark to welcome

all the participants who interested

in this seminar and thanks to the Nordic

sponsors: Spaces (the venue sponsor),

Securitas (the event sponsor) and also

TSCC’s partners: ARITCO, Husqvarna,

SAAB and Penn Investment “without

them this seminar would not be possible

to succeed.” he said.

He also commented on how Nordic

companies feel about corruption “corruption

was not what we wanted to be

involved with but it was what we wanted

to eliminate it as much as we can.”

The main point of the seminar was

started by Kulvech Janvatanavit, CEO of

Thai IOD and CAC Secretary who gave

the attendees an introduction to what is

CAC and why foreign companies need

to tackle corruption in Thailand.

Kulvech said that most people considered

the corruption as something

beyond their control and difficult to

combat and that were the reasons CAC

was established to create awareness

among companies so that they can learn

the appropriate method to resist corruption

here in Thailand.

With the CAC’s policies and effective

mechanisms, the companies joining

CAC’s program would gain the ability

to improve themselves in three different

levels: self (uplift legal risk mitigation and

international buyer expectation), sector

(address sectorial corruption issue) and

society (boost national competitiveness).

Kulvech concluded his presentation

by providing the reasons why it was

necessary for foreign firms to join CAC.

He said that the companies should join

the program to send strong signals to

Thai counterparts to underline that

foreign business communities stand firm

against corruption and to show that the

collaboration within countries that have

high integrity can also help improving

local practices.

ollow by the presentation from Pana

Ratanabanangkoon, CAC Director, he

raised the issues about the reasons why

do companies pay bribes, and how companies

of all sizes can be part of solutions.

Pana highlighted that companies pay

bribes due to three reasons: to speed

up process, to fix the error and to secure

business through different methods

such as giving gifts or taking part as a

sponsorship and business partner.

And to be a part of solutions, he

noted that companies of all sizes had

to involve relevant personals within the

organization in order to have the same

understanding of the corruption’s definition

so that each company can form

the policies covering all forms of bribery

in their industries.

The seminar was closed by Ratana

Chobchai, Vice President, Ethics and

Compliance Department, Total Access

Communication PLC (DTAC), who

shared a number of advantages that

DTAC obtained from being a member

of CAC.

The benefits of joining CAC helped

DTAC to realize which part of the

company should be improved and by

completing all CAC’s processes, DTAC

would gain the certification, an evidence

indicating the adequacy of DATC’s anticorruption

program.

Not only that being the member of

CAC can give achievements in company

sector but also can bring society positive

outcomes such as raising awareness

and empowering society to fight against

corruption.

This seminar on anti-corruption

made the audiences realized that corruption

was not that difficult to combat

and if the foreign companies work

together, they can change the game of

the corruption and shape the future

they want.


Community

DCCC Beijing’s 2019 Annual General Meeting

On March 7th, The Danish

Chamber of Commerce in

China (North China Chapter)

had its annual general meeting at the

Danish Cultural Center in 798 Art District.

Yearly achievements were evaluated

and new goals were set.

Presentations were given by Ambassador

of Denmark to China His Excellency

A. Carsten Damsgaard, Chairman

of the DCCC Beijing Mathias Boyer,

General Manager of DCCC Beijing

Mads Vesterager Nielsen, Treasurer of

the DCCC Beijing Klaus Petersen, and

Director of the Danish Cultural Center,

Eric Messerschmidt. Leading stake-

holders from the Danish community in

Beijing had the opportunity to present

themselves with speeches from representatives

of Sino-Danish Center for Education

dnd Research (Thomas Lykke),

Danish Young Professionals (Mads Lykke

Nygaard), China – Denmark Alumni

Network (Zhan Hu), The Danish School

in Beijing (Tina Dige Kjaergaard) and

Beijing Foreign Studies University (Catherine

Wang).

12 members of the board were

elected and the Danish Chamber of

Commerce in China welcomed Xinwei

Liu, Head of China and Vice President

of Arla Foods, and Ying-Fang Catherine

Yang, Regional Managing Director of

Grundfos China, as the new members of

the board of directors of DCCC Beijing.

DTCC’s 2019 Annual General Meeting

The Danish-Thai Chamber of

Commerce, or Dancham, held

their 2019 annual general meeting

on Thursday, 21 March 2019 at Two

Pacific Place building on Sukhumvit

Road, Bangkok, where seven candidates

were elected to the board.

Among seven candidates, there

were two members that was re-elected

to the board. I was also announced

that in April 2019, the board will have

another meeting where chairman

and vice chairman of the board are

to be selected to continue DTTC’s

operation.

The new members selected to

join the board of Danish-Thai Chamber

of Commerce include: Supareak

Charlie Chomchan (P. Rich Group),

Stiig Weaver (Weaver Group), Peter

Waagensen (Bang & Olufsen), Frank

D. Henriksen (DanThai Machinery),

Torben Zoffmann Wendelboe (ETK

EMS Asia Production), Hans Jørgen

Ibsen Nielsen (SHAW Group), Jakob

Lykkegaard Pedersen (Lykke Studios),


From left to right are Michael Andersen, Torben Zoffmann Wendelboe, Supareak Charlie

Chomchan, Frank D. Henriksen, Pimvimol Vipamaneerut, Claus Rasmussen, Stiig Weaver,

Hans Jørgen Ibsen Nielsen, Nanna Liborius Sjoerup, Siriporn Wongurai, Peter Waagensen.

Missing from the picture are Peter Sand and Jakob Lykkegaard Pedersen (Photo: DTCC’s

website)

Pimvimol Vipamaneerut (Tilleke &

Gibbins), Nanna Liborius Sjoerup

(Novo Nordisk), Siriporn Wongurai

(Falck Global Assistance Limited),

Claus Rasmussen (Pandora Production)

and Peter Sand (Embassy Representative).

According to DTCC’s official website,

the board’s intention this year was

to operate all the works under the

transparency and good governance to

merit Denmark’s reputation as it was

recently reported the least corrupted

country in the world.

Mads & Monopolet Show in Beijing

On March 2, more than 100

guests, including Danish expats

from different parts of China,

Sino-Danish Center For Education And

Research (SDC) students, teachers and

staff members made up the audience,

when SDC hosted a special edition of

the award-winning radio show, Mads &

Monopolet live. The event was organised

by the Danish Chamber of Commerce

in China Beijing Chapter and SDC.

The audience was given the opportunity

to have their dilemmas discussed

by a Danish panel that consisted of

musician Søren Rasted, fashion expert

Uffe Buchard and life style expert Mads

Christensen. For SDC it was the first

time to host an event that was pure

entertainment.

“The evening was a huge success.

The panel was very energetic and everyone

had a great night. It gave us the

opportunity to make ourselves more

known among Danish companies and

organisations in China and show that

SDC is an obvious gathering point. We

have already seen an effect, as some of

our corporate guests have expressed

interest in organising events at SDC in

the future”, says Thomas Lykke Pedersen,

Event and Relations Coordinator

at SDC.

The evening was concluded with

an after party in Beijing, where Mads &

Monopolet got to mingle with the Danish

community, before they continued

their trip to Hong Kong.

(Source: SDC website)

Singapore SwedCham 2019 Annual General Meeting

The Swedish Chamber of Commerce

in Singapore, SwedCham,

has quickly established itself as

a go-to hub for Swedish-related business

professionals seeking rewarding

networking and skills accelerating opportunities.

March 21, 2019, marked the date

for SwedCham’s second annual general

meeting at 1880 on Nanson Road. The

annual general meeting was well-attended

with over 50 participants, with the

key note speaker being Sweden’s only

astronaut, Christer Fuglesang. Following

the annual general meeting, the Swed-

Cham Board Committee elected new

board committee members and new alternate

board committee members. The

new board committee presents a strong

representation of the Swedish business

community, with high level executives

from a variety of sectors.

The members of the board committee

now are: Mr. Horst Wasel (Vice

President of Holding SE-Asia Atlas Copco),

Ms. Marie Helene Mansard (Strategy

and Business Development, Axis Communications),

Ms. Angelica Lundman

(Head of Large Corporates, SEB) and

Mr. Enrique Patrickson (CFO Aisa Pacific,

Africa and Middle East, Electrolux).

Alternate and non-elected members

of the board committee include: Mr.

Anders Liss (Regional Manager, Scania),

Ms. Anneli Carlström (Founder CAPA

HR Consulting), Ms Cecilia Håkansson

(Head of Legal Affairs, Ikano), Mr Lars

Bergström (Group Vice President Asia

Pacific & India, GAC) and Mr. Robert

Jessing (Senior Principal Strategy, Accenture).

Non-elected members include

H.E. Ambassador Niclas Kvarnström,

Embassy of Sweden, and Trade Commissioner

Emil Akander, Business Sweden.

SwedCham’s new board committee

assumed their responsibilities from April

1, 2019.


Interview

Bringing the environment to the

table in Myanmar

Swedish Hanna Helsingen works for World Wide Fund for Nature in Myanmar to

make the environment a priority for the Myanmar government. Her life here is

both challenging and enjoyable and she is only hesitantly getting ready to leave.

By Lærke Weensgaard

Underneath the green leaves of

the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape

in Myanmar, Asian elephants,

tigers and other wildlife still

roam the forest. Hornbills and other

birds still fly high and are heard singing

in the mornings and evenings. But

soon you will also hear the sound of

something completely different: Cars. A

multi-lane road, called the Dawei Road,

is set to be built through the forest.

One who works on convincing the

Myanmar government to design the

road in a way that interferes as little

as possible with the wildlife is Swedish

Hanna Helsingen. She works for


World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

and the 30-year-old Swede moved to

Myanmar in 2014 to be green economy

programme manager.

In her job she spends a lot of her

time in meetings and correspondence

with various departments of the Myanmar

government and other international

organisations.

“I try to ensure that environment is

constantly on the table when decisions

are being made,” she says.

WWF in Myanmar

When Hanna Helsingen was 24-years

old, she made a list of 10 countries

around the world where she could

imagine herself work. The only Asian

country to make it into her list was

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Myanmar has been a British colony

until it was granted independence after

World War Two, but became a military

dictatorship few years later. The military

government was officially dissolved

in 2010 following a general election.

Myanmar has opened up to the outside

world and attracts a growing number

of tourists, all though one third of the

country’s 50 million population still live

in poverty.

“I’ve always been intrigued by Myan-

mar’s history, but also the fact that it’s

very rich in nature. I have also been

very excited about being part of the

opening up of a country, that was still

fairly new to many,” Hanna Helsingen

says.

She started working in Myanmar

before WWF officially had opened

their first office in the country. Now,

they have four offices around the country.

WWF primarily focuses on conserving

the forests, rivers and wildlife in

Myanmar, especially the Dawna Tenasserim

Landscape that is one of WWF’s

five worldwide priority landscapes.

“WWF is not saving nature just for

nature itself but also for the people

living here, because they are truly dependent

on nature. We are trying to

strike a balance where both people

and nature can thrive at the same time,”

Hanna Helsingen explains.

I try to ensure

that environment

is constantly on

the table when

decisions are

being made.

elor of political science in Uppsala and

masters in public administration and

environmental science and policy in

New York. She has since lived in Switzerland

and now Myanmar.

She sits outside her home in Naypyidaw,

the capital of Myanmar, with

a street dog on her lap. A very clean

Life in Myanmar’s capital

As a kid, Hanna Helsingen picked mushrooms

with her grandfather when the

Swedish forests turned golden. Among

the Swedish forests and lakes her interest

in nature conservation started to

grow. That lead her to pursue a bachstreet

dog she underlines with a laugh.

Along with three other street dogs, it

decided to move in shortly after she

moved here herself.

When she first came to Myanmar

from Switzerland, she struggled to get

use to frequent power cuts and slow

internet that made it hard to keep in

touch with the family and friends she

left behind in Europe.

“Going from one of the most developed

and organised countries in the

world to one of least was a very big

change,” she says.

But the changing and challenging

everyday was interesting. “I felt instantly

more alive in Myanmar. Not a single day

is the same here.”

She lived in Yangon, the biggest city

in Myanmar, until August 2018 where

she decided to move to Naypyidaw in

order to be closer to the government

departments she works with. With her,

she brought two cats, that has found

the new life in Naypyidaw a bit strange

with four dogs suddenly craving for

their owner’s attention. Life here is

strange for Hanna Helsingen as well,

since Naypyidaw is a city unlike many

others.


Interview

In 2005, Yangon lost its status as

capital in favour of Naypyidaw. The new

capital was built to house a population

that never moved there, and now Naypyidaw

is known for its odd combination

of large size and low population

density.

Few expats like Hanna Helsingen

live here, and they have a WhatsApp

group called Need some life in Naypyidaw!

to help each other make the

most of life in the quiet city. Unlike

most other Asian capitals, Hanna Helsingen

does not spent hours in traffic

jam when she goes somewhere –

there are not enough cars to cause

traffic jam.

The lack of city noise also makes

room to the sound of birds. “I really

like to be able to hear birds. You don’t

get to do that in a lot of Asian cities.”

Different priorities

Hanna Helsingen has her office at the

environmental conservation department

and spends a lot of her time in

meetings with government departments

or other international organisations

working towards the same goals

as WWF.

One of the underlying challenges

in her work is the prioritization of the

environment:

“The problem with development

of a country is that there are many

different priorities like health, education

or peace to take care of. Often,

the environment is not one of the top

priorities.”

She also experiences, that there is

an idea about only to care for the environment

after the country has reached

a certain standard. She believes that is

a wrong approach. “Avoiding addressing

environmental issues only makes

it more expansive to fix later on and

also adds more issues in the long run.”

Despite the challenges, she is impressed

with the parts of the government

she works with. “They are in

general very hard working and I feel

there is a strong willingness to do

things differently.”

During her years in Myanmar, she

has watched the staff in the environment

conservation department grow

from 50 to more than 600.


Avoiding

addressing

environmental

issues only

makes it more

expensive to fix

later on.

For the past 1,5 year she has been

training the new staff in environmental

policy issues and she finds it exciting to

watch the new staff develop.

In her work with the Dawei Road

she has also experienced development

among the staff. “I’m proud of

how some of the government staff

on this project have changed their

mindset and actually understand that

roads have a lot of impact on the surrounding

nature.”

With that said, she still believes

WWF has a lot of work ahead of them

with the Dawei Road.

Next stop: Singapore

Hanna Helsingen’s life in Myanmar is

slowly coming to an end. Last year

she got married and she wants to live

with her husband, who is based in Singapore.

But she is not ready to leave

Myanmar behind.

“I became an adult in Myanmar and

that’s one of the reasons why I haven’t

left yet.”

Even though she is going to leave

the country, she will still keep her job

with WWF and on a regular basis

travel the more than 2000 kilometers

between Singapore and Myanmar.

It does not sound optimal, but the

country that at first was very unfamiliar

has grown on her. “Myanmar has a

dark history, a complicated present

and has many issues to deal with

in the future. But it has remarkable

people. I have experienced kindness

in its true meaning in the sense that

people, that being strangers, friends

or colleagues, have done things for

me without expecting anything in

return,” she says.

That is undoubtedly another reason

why she is still in Myanmar. There

is also a lot of work to be done on the

Dawei Road yet, so Myanmar is not

waving goodbye to her for a while.

EU donated EUR 221 million to

education in Myanmar

By Nilobon Bantoey

Photo: Embassy of Denmark in Myanmar’s Facebook page

European Union supported education

in Myanmar with EUR 221

million to provide equal acesses

to better quality education for all Myanmar

students.

The donation ceremony was officially

held on 21 March 2019 in the

presence of State Counsellor Daw

Aung San Suu Kyi, EU Ambassador

Kristian Schmidt, Permanent Secretary

of the Ministry of Planning and Finance

U Tun Tun Naing and Ambassador of

Denmark to Myanmar John Nielsen.

The attendees also included Union

Minister of Education Dr Myo Thein

Gyi, Union Minister of Planning and Finance

U Soe Win, and officials of their

respective ministries and the Ministry

of Investment and Foreign Economic

Relations.

The speech at the ceremony was

delivered by Dr Myo Thein Gyi, Union

Minister of Education. He considered

the donation from EU as an act presenting

partnership and trust between

EU and Myanmar’s government and

also a sign that EU supported Government’s

ambition on improving the

education system in Myanmar.

He continued that Myanmar government

has been improving its education

since 2016 by increasing budget

allowance for the education sector

every fiscal year.

“So, the EU support will also supplement

the Government’s investment in

education” said Dr. Myo.

Moreover, Kristian Schmidt, EU Ambassador

who was born in Denmark

underlined the EU’s commitment to assist

education reforms and the value of

education as a gateway for a better life.

“The EU is very proud to be Myanmar’s

partner in reforming and improving

education.

We believe youth in Myanmar deserves

better schools and training to

free their potential.” said the EU Ambassador.

With the contribution from EU,

Myanmar will be able to strengthen

the quality of education systems by

developing the policies on education,

teaching methods and assessment systems

to assure that the students can

have the better quality education in

ethnic areas.


Destination

new

Cool

Kuala Lumpur’s

lifestyle

attractions

By

Joakim Persson

Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur


Staircases, ceilings... every venue and

design detail are attention-grabbers!

The Kuala Lumpur hotel and bar

scene has turned really hot recently.

Any doubts you may have

about that will be gone after reading

this! Many of the global five-star brands

have arrived to significantly shake things

up and, in the process, step up the

sophistication and increase the luxury

selection.

The impressive line-up includes

Banyan Tree, Four Seasons, St. Regis

and W that have all debuted, turning

the Malaysian capital into a really strong

contender, with many more attentiongrabbing

venues than were previously

the case.

Sunway Putra Hotel

First out in this city update is however

a local contender; the refurbished Sunway

Putra Hotel (classified as five star).

Sunway Putra is easily accessible via

two nearby stations: a commuter railway

as well as LRT and offers a shuttle

to KLCC for guests.

Some of the room categories will

in particular appeal to guests from

the Nordics, given their design with

white, blonde wood and a blue-hued

carpet.

There are deluxe, family and club

rooms and suites to choose from,

all with ample size and comfortable

lounge chairs. Club rooms come at affordable

prices for club lounge access

with its panorama view of the city and

Petronas Towers in the distance.

Hotel Stripes Kuala

Lumpur

Closer to KLCC we find another gem

in the form of Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur

(Autograph Collection by Marriott),

which will appeal to both modern

and guests more into a classic feel.

Reflecting the rich character of the

neighbourhood Hotel Stripes comes

with an extra front facade made of red

brick wall and metal framework. Its décor

draws on its traditional surrounds;

for instance the red brick arcades in

restaurant Brasserie 25, or the enlarged

photographs from the neighbourhood

of yesteryear, above the oversized

rooms’ bed heads and bed lamps.

Today’s surroundings offer a shopping

center and cool cafes, bars and

restaurants on a nearby street with Art

Deco houses - Row Jalan Doraisamy.

All room types are amazingly

planned and designed into the last

detail, with a sofa at the foot of the

super comfy bed, on a brown-greenish

leaf-patterned carpet. A frosted glass

window separates the sandy marble

clad en-suite bathroom.

Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur

The inviting Brasserie 25 (with semiprivate

crescent sofas in mustard yellow)

offers a refreshing and delectable

French-style menu, with dishes such as

Pan-roasted black cod fillet with ratatouille,

or Stewed white bean with lamb

sausage and duck confit. The brasserie

serves excellent cocktails too, such as

French Blonde or The Montparnasse.

Also don’t miss the quintessential

Le Goûter experience: Afternoon tea

the French way, where exquisite pastries

and savouries with a local twist are

served to your table from trays.

Four Seasons Hotel Kuala

Lumpur

Next up is Four Seasons Hotel Kuala

Lumpur, situated in a new shiny 65 stories

skyscraper next to the twin towers,

where no expense has been spared to

surpass expectations and raise the bar.

And this hotel’s probably most stunning

venue – too many outlets to highlight

here - is a swish, sophisticated

cocktail bar with absolutely stunning

interiors. Bar Trigona – in this sleek new

cocktail bar, discover where creative

cocktails collide with the most coveted

masters of their craft. Named after

the native trigona bee, this discerning

venue boasts hand-crafted cocktails

and curated spirits, where artisan bartender

Ashish Sharma is at the helm.

Try classic cocktails with a re-imagined

twist while savouring the luxury design

and skyline outside.

Among the hotel’s extraordinary

culinary experiences, out to redefine

the city’s epicurean scene, is cutting

edge CurATE, where the international

buffet menu is infused with an assortment

of local and seasonal sustainable

ingredients.


Destination

Sunway Putra Hotel

W Hotel Kuala Lumpur

The same is in focus at the next wow

hotel, the most significant recent entry

to the ranks, which is nearby W Hotel

Kuala Lumpur. At its open kitchen allday

Flock every bite from the appetisers

to the entrées and desserts are

ethically and locally sourced, fresh and

organically grown.

The local roots and traditions that

are maintained by the city while keen

on always embracing what comes next

is a perfect balance act that have been

After this you’ll feel just ready for

wherever the journey takes you

next. Cheers! ‘À votre santé! Skål!

fully embraced by the vibrantly designed

W hotel.

Kuala Lumpur as a jungle city - nature

is juxtaposed against architecture

with towering skyscrapers emerging

from the canopy of green – is the

theme for the Welcome area with its

modern nods to the jungle (streaming

LED lights mimic waterfalls, ceiling patterns

depict an artistic interpretation of

Kuala Lumpur's topography etc.).

Staircases, ceilings... every venue and

design detail are attention-grabbers!

So are the rooms with their vibrant

colours, mixing W signature beds and


Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur

other essentials with traditional accents.

The multifunctional WET Deck,

the hotel’s swimming pool on level 12

overlooking KLCC, transcends into a

club venue by nightfall showcasing cutting-edge

DJ music mixing and cocktails.

This is truly a welcome concept and

vibe for Kuala Lumpur’s local discerning

crowd and visitors.

Nature also inspires the cocktail

concoctions, using infused exotic local

ingredients, including coconut, tuak, Tualang

royal black honey, and more.

Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur

For more cocktails and city views we

head to the opposite side of Petronas

Towers where all-new Banyan Tree

Kuala Lumpur (managed by Swede

Anders Dimblad) lies just near Paragon

mall, and that literally takes the city’s sky

bar scene to new heights.

There, you are whisked to floor 59

via express elevators for a Banyan Tree

signature experience and panorama

views of the whole valley!

The indoor/outdoor Vertigo sky bar

comes with a menu to match the elevated

setting. Some picks: ‘Sur Mesure’

St. Regis Kuala Lumpur

cocktail with hazelnut, Kraken Spiced

Rum, Gula Melaka (palm sugar), Frangelico,

Monin coconut syrup and fresh

Lime; white Pinot Grigio, “Placido” Banfi,

Tuscany or red Pinot Noir, Wairau

River, Marlborough; and for tapas Beef

Tartare (hand cut Angus steak tartare,

marinated Fresh Black Peppers, shallot,

capers and Wakame seaweed), Turmeric

spiced Atlantic salmon; or Spiced

roasted steak skewer with spicy chimichurri

Sauce, avocado guacamole and

mini naan bread.

St. Regis Kuala Lumpur

Visits to Kuala Lumpur usually start or

ends via KL Sentral, which is increasingly

growing into a city in the city, and

where this report’s last stop is St. Regis

Kuala Lumpur. If time permits stop by

for relaxed happy hour drinks in really

plush surroundings at its Astor Bar &

Decanter. This is a setting where to

celebrate any moment!

Drink O’Clock takes place during

three generous hours from 5 pm,

including cocktails like Lychee Martini,

Strawberry Margarita and Passion

Daiquiri. St. Regis’ specialty cocktails

must not be overlooked with titles like

‘Cuban Gentleman’ and ‘Phone Booth’

(Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila combined

with passion fruit juice, yuzu vinegar,

grenadine syrup, lime juice and peach

liqueur topped with soda). After this

you’ll feel just ready for wherever the

journey takes you next. Cheers! 'À

votre santé! Skål!


Interview

Henrik

Yde

Andersen

By Manta Klangboonkrong


Bangkok and Copenhagen-based Chef Henrik Yde Andersen talks about how passion,

perseverance and a bit of luck earned him culinary stardom and a refreshing worldview

on life.

25

years ago, when young Henrik

Yde Andersen, a classically

train chef from Copenhagen,

came to Thailand for a one- week

vacation, he found a crucial turning point

that later set him on a unique path of

his own, as a chef, a restaurateur and a

corporate businessman.

“I ran away from the professional

kitchen back home, which was at the

time mainly managed by fear,” Henrik

told us when he was in Bangkok recently

to launch the summer menu. “I liked to

cook, but I just couldn’t stand the environment.

It’s not because these chefs

want to scream and yell at each other,

it’s the only tool they have a in the box.

I don’t think it’s a way to drive forward

the whole team, let along to motivate

people under the supervision.”

And right then and there on the

beach of Krabi, a fiery hot Thai-style beef

salad inspired him to learn more about

Thai food. “I got tears streaming down

my cheeks because it was so hot, and at

the same time it was so delicious! There

was a lot of sugar in the food, which I

was not used to, and it surprisingly gave

such great balance to the flavors. The

next day, I went back and ask to train

there.

“One week became four years

straight that I was travelling all over

Thailand, learning about food. It was

very hard for me because I don’t have

that “Thai mother” like all the Thai chefs

that give them references of what Thai

food should be like. Thai food is fantastic.

It has more flavors than anything else in

the world. When you go Thai, you can’t

go back. So imagine when I’m home having

Nordic food!”

Henrik went back to Copenhagen

with a heart filled with hope to start a

Thai restaurant business, and not many

coins in his pocket. But luck was on his

side. “Because we had no money, we

could only afford rent in the then run

down, drug-ridden working class area

of Guldbergsgade,” the chef said. He

was 36 at the time. “We found a corner

building with cheap rent. The owner said

One week

became four

years straight

that I was

travelling all

over Thailand,

learning about

food.

if ‘well, if you could get rid of the junkies,

it’s all yours.’ We did, and the first Kiin

Kiin (eat eat in Thai) was opened.”

Henrik and co started small with

a Thai takeaway setup at the back of

the building. What ingredients he could

not get in Denmark, he improvised and

made things from scratch the way he

was trained in Thailand, offering improvised-but-not-compromised

Thai food

that set Kiin Kiin apart from other Thai

eateries at the time. The techniques and

approaches later become his signature

style, which he described as modern

Thai cuisine.

“Within a week I had 200 people

waiting for me to open the door for our

takeaway then we started decorating

the restaurant when we got a bit more

money,” the chef recalled. “By that time,

the area became popular with hip shops,

boutiques and cafes opening up. The

first day we opened Kiin Kiin, Denmark’s

biggest food critic came to dine. He gave

us a good review and we have been full

ever since. Seven months later, we got

one Michelin star.”

And the rest is history. Henrik’s culinary

empire now covers 18 restaurants

in Bangkok and Copenhagen. Among

them are three Kiin Kiin fine dining restaurants,

vegetarian restaurant Veve,

6-seat omakaze-style joint Kiin Kiin 71


Interview


Focus on the

guests, not

your own ego.

and several others in different concepts.

In Bangkok, Henrik teamed up with Siam

Kempinski Hotel Bangkok nine years ago

to open Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin – a Thai

restaurant that immediately caused a big

stir once it was launched.

What’s on the menu? Frozen curries,

pad kaprao moo (stir-fired basil

and minced pork on rice) that is completely

deconstructed beyond recognition,

Thai-style mini sausages infused

with “Bangkok’s street smog” and many

others that diners initially either found

“innovative and fun” or “over-the-top

and disrespectful”.

“I never say it is traditional Thai food,”

the chef said, smiling. “It’s more like Thai

food seen through Henrik’s eyes, so it is

not bound by tradition. But I get it [the

criticism]. If a Thai chef came to Denmark

and cooked Danish food, I would

be skeptical, too. That’s a normal reaction,

and it was in fact expected. We’re

all fighting for the same cause: getting

people to love Thai food. We’re on the

same side.”

While Henrik shows us Thai how

food can evolve, thrive and surprise

with a bit of imagination and creativity,

his experiences working in Thailand and

local associates gave him a new perspective

on life.

“I found out that even after years in

Thailand that I will always be a foreigner,

and this helps me when I work with my

own team because we also have a lot

of foreigners from many different coun-

tries working with us. I understand the

situation a lot more. 98% of our team

of 200 are from other countries, so our

company is very global,” Henrik said.

“In Denmark you can say your opinion,

whatever position you have in the

company, and that never happens here.

You have to go around a lot, before

you can put in the knife (laughs). I had

a friend from Denmark working here

and he complained a lot about this. I

said, ‘go home! If you can’t get it, go

home, or you’ll end up being even more

frustrated’. I think that when you’re in

a new country, you’re the one that has

to adapt. 60 million Thai people will not

follow your way just because. Thais are

forgiving, which is great. They’re proud of

their country and its legacy. People here

still love and eat Thai food every day. I

think it’s impressive.”

Henrik juggles his time between Copenhagen

and Bangkok, securing his

diverse fan bases doing what he loves

the most – cooking. “The day you stop

being curious, stop cooking. If you don’t

want to look for something new, don’t.

It’s over. And when that day comes for

me, I wish someone would tap me in the

shoulder and tell me to stop.

“People ask me a lot if I ever want

more [Michelin] stars. I don’t. For me

it’s like trying to become something I’m

not. I’m comfortable cooking at this level.

Perfection makes you sad, because you’ll

never get there. When a restaurant is

trying too hard, you can feel that as a

guest. I think you should cook at your

level and how you feel like, otherwise it

just becomes fake.”

If there’s any word of advice to chefs

and restaurateurs out there, Henrik said,

“Focus on the guests, not your own ego.

I was lucky I started late, when I grew

my palate and calmed down a little. We

are very loyal to our guests, and we

don’t mind to grow slowly but steady. In

Copenhagen we have to stick to local

clientele because we can’t really rely on

tourists like Thailand and Bangkok. And

they’re very loyal to us. I always say that

if your business is successful in Denmark,

you can be successful anywhere in the

world.”


Innovation

Swedish-made app for LGBTQ

travelers in SEA

Travel, explore, make friends and even find a date - Swedish-made travel application

Gayze makes navigating Southeast Asian cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and

Jakarta safe and fun for LGBTQ globetrotters.

By Jonas Boje Andersen

Traveling abroad and being openly

gay can sometimes be far from

safe. With different laws, cultures

and norms, gays risks persecution and

worse. Two Swedish friends, Elin Wibell

and Stelios Vasilantonakis, wanted to

minimize the danger and developed

Gayze – an app combining safety and

travel advises, social network and dating

for gays.

While Vasilantonakis is located in

Stockholm, Wibell is based in Kuala

Lumpur – and before that Singapore –

where she lives with her husband. Over

a Skype conversation they explain what

makes the app so special:

“What’s unique about Gayze is that

it is a travel app, but there is also a

possibility of dating, finding friends, and

learning about the LGBTQ situation in

the region, and the safety and local advises

on how to behave. So, it is pretty

broad,” Wibell says.

Stelios Vasilantonakis, who is working

as an artist, came up with the idea

for this app two and half years ago, as

he saw the need for it in the insecure

state of gay rights in many countries.

Elin Wibell who has a background in

corporate social responsibility helped

realise the idea as she too saw the

potential. Living in Southeast Asia she

has the insights and experience in the

Southeast Asian culture.

“For me being here is a perfect opportunity

to meet a lot of gay people

who can give me advices and potentially

be local editors – It is very valuable to

get to know the region to understand

which markets are the most interesting,”

Wibell explains.

Local editors

Wibell and Vasilantonakis are not building

the app in any haste. They realise


We respect the way things are, but

we believe we can be part of the

change by normalising something

that should be normal.

the responsibility to make this app a

safe tool for gays traveling, and they

carefully select their local insights –

who are volunteer editors who knows

the local customs.

“For us it is very important to keep

up the quality, that we have the right

information, the cool places and the

editors. Stelios is working pretty vigorously

making sure the editors is up to

standards and the places that they recommend

are real, and that it is a local

secret,” Wibell says.

So far, they have 40 destinations in

the app and around 25 local editors.

The app has a map where you see

yourself and places nearby that are gay

friendly or exclusively gay. The Swedish

duo is working on launching a second

version that is more community friendly

and with more places on the map.

They are also looking for investment

in and partnerships – mentioning

Hotels.com and misterb&b as potential

partners. They have also been in contact

with a Canadian company called

Destination Pride, that in a very visual

way are showing how gay-friendly

countries are. Wibell and Vasilantonakis

hope to be able to collaborate with

them and using data from Destination

Pride in their app to get an overall view

of a country.

Changing perceptions and

stereotypes

Even though the size and the knowledge

about the app is limited, they have gotten

a lot of positive response from their

users.

“We learned that many people in

different parts of the world are very

keen on helping because they want to

spread knowledge and also try to get

tourist to visit their country – in that

way breaking barriers and normalise

things,” Vasilantonakis explains.

Wibell is very positive about the

prospects in Southeast Asia. In her

words it is boiling a lot in Asia and a

lot of changes are coming – she points

out the pink dot-movement in Singapore

– a local LGBT-community – as

an exciting thing.

Though In 2018, it sparked headlines

worldwide when a sharia high

court in Malaysia sentenced two women

to caning for attempting to have

lesbian sex. This was the first conviction

for same-sex relations in Malaysia and

a backlash for the Muslim country that

has been known for being a moderate

country.

“So, it is a pretty tricky country and

Indonesia is kind of similar as well, so in

those places it is extremely important

for us to have really good editors who

can bring advises on which kind of precautions

you should take,” Wibell says

and continues:

“We are not here to be political.

We are not here to point fingers on

how things should be. We respect the

way things are, but we believe we can

be part of the change by normalising

something that should be normal.”

Elin Wibell and Stelios Vasilantonakis


Community

SWEA celebrates 40th anniversary

with a year-long celebration

By Agneta Bekassy

The Swedish Women Educational

Association (SWEA) has recently

celebrated its 40th anniversary

in Bangkok with joyful gatherings,

scholarship giving and an annual meeting.

SWEA kicked of the year-long 40th

anniversary celebration with a casual

dinner party on March 29, at new

member of SWEA Agneta de Bekassy’s

Bangkok abode at Shiva Tower on

Sukhumvit soi 15, where 17 members

enjoyed Swedish dishes with Asian

flairs. As dishes like smoked salmon,

horse radish cream, dill and capers as

well as yellow chicken curry with rice

filled the dining table, the night was

filled with lively fun.

“When a bunch of women of different

age, background and interests

come together at an event like this, the

conversations we had among us was

so much fun,” Agneta, the host of the

dinner, told us. “The evening went far

too fast and we were all having the Saturday’s

annual meeting on our minds,

which made us finish before midnight.”


After such pleasant prelude to the

big event, the annual meeting started

precisely at 10am the next day on Saturday

March 30 at Novotel Bangkok

Ploenchit Sukhumvit.

“The day before, all regional presidents,

together with SWEA International’s

current President Christina

Hallmert Rome, vice president, treasurer

and secretary, administrative

chef, and legal advisor had a whole

day with preparing work and discussions.

It’s more job than you might think

to run such a huge organization with

more than 7,000 members all over the

world,” said Agneta.

SWEA’s annual meeting is an important

meeting when all regional

presidents meet with the International

board to discuss matters of the organi-

zation’s operation, direction and implementation

through president’s reports

that cover the whole year’s activities

and accomplishment.

“From SWEA Bangkok, president

Anna Frummerin and board member

Martina Gehrman also attended together

with Lena Olsson, member in

SWEA Bangkok and myself, as new

member of SWEA International’s

Nominating Committee, representing

Asia, Berit Radencrantz from SWEA

Malmö and Pia Lassmann Mennit from

Milan also participated,” explained Agneta.

The highlight of the annual meeting

was the announcement of “The

Swedish Woman of the Year” (ÅSK) for

2019 – 16-year-old Greta Thunberg –

that received the award for her role as

political activist seeking to stop global

warming and climate change.

The annual meeting also included

scholarship giving for 2019. The

2019 “Literature Scholarship” went

to Maria Hansson-de Laage de Meux

of Sorbonne University, whose works

and thesis “Supernatural Element in

“There is

something

fantastic about

SWEA. Wherever

you go, if you meet

SWEA members,

they are always

willing to help you

out if you reach

out to them.

Swedish, Female 1880s Literature as a

Method for Social Critic” shed light on

female authors’ way of working. Agneta

& Gunnar Nilsson’s scholarship for “Intercultural

Relations” went to Somita

Sabeti, guest researcher at Migration

Research Center at Koc University

Research Center in Istanbul. And lastly,

Sigrid Paskell’s scholarship for “Art on

Stage” went to the young cellist Daniel

Thorell.

On the eve of the annual meeting,

the ladies of SWEA met again at Asiatique,

lifestyle and shopping complex

on the bank of the Chao Phraya River,

for a night of impressive dinner river

cruise from Baan Khanitha restaurant.

On board, a long dining table was set

up for 23 members with four-course

authentic Thai dinner on the menu. As

the boat idly cruised along the curves

of the river, stunning scenery of Bangkok

at night warmed the heart while

the fun conversation continued over

exquisite Thai dinner.

“This is the dinner that will stay in

my mind,” Agneta gushed. “The food

was great and the service was excellent.

I do believe that it capped off our

day perfectly. At the end of the night

we bid farewell, and promised to stay

in touch. There is something fantastic

about SWEA. Wherever you go, if you

meet SWEA members, they are always

willing to help you out if you reach out

to them, or if you simply want some

company.”

On May 10th, SWEA Bangkok will

host its own celebration with a gala

dinner at Pullman Bangkok Grande

Sukhumvit. The glamorous and fun

event promises live music, four-course

dinner, free flow drinks, lucky draws

with big prizes and so much more.

Make sure to sign up, dress up in white

and gold and come join the celebration.

Later on this year, members can

look forward to the SWEA World

Meeting in Dubai in November and

the traditional Swedish SWEA dinner

that takes place every summer

in Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö or

Västerås. This summer Stockholm is

the host and it surely will be something

extraordinary as SWEA celebrates 40

long years of success.


ScandAsia April 2019

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

Delete template?

Save as template ?