ScandAsia Singapore - June 2016

JUN 2016

Conscious Fika Café expanding in Singapore ScandAsia.dk

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News Brief

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Singapore receives big donation from Det norske

By Maria Andreasdottir

O

n Friday 20 May 2016 Det Norske Oljeselskap (The Norwegian Oil Company) has donated SGD 2000 to C.I.T.Y Community Services in Singapore (of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, seeking to meet the needs of underprivileged primary school children, incl. int. students who live and study in Singapore far away from their families). But this is not all; Det Norske wanted to share the best of the Norwegian culture to Singapore, why they in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy invited 60 boys from the famous 900-years old boys’ choir, Nidarosdomen’s Boys’ Choir, to perform a concert in the beautiful St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Singapore. Members of C.I.T.Y attended the concert, and they showed their gratitude of letting six children from C.I.T.Y

handing each choir member a handmade gift in form of a beautifully crafted notebook. They also gave flowers to both Karl Hersvik, the Norwegian Ambassador and the choir conductor, Bjørn Moes.

Det Nor ske thanked the Norwegian Ambassador and handed the Embassy a beautiful work of art “A man and a ship”.

Det Norske also hosted a reception to express their gratitude for Singapore. CEO of Det Norske, Karl Johnny Hersvik, welcomed the guests including Norwegian Ambassador in Singapore, H.E. Tormod Endresen and Norwegian Minister of Migration and Immigration, Sylvi Listhaug. There was a special reason why Det Norske had chosen to bring Nidarosdomen’s Boys’ Choir to Singapore.

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Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in Singapore ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in Singapore.

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and the rest of South East Asia.

Get your own FREE copy: scandasia.com Publisher : ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Managing Editor: Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Advertising : Frank Leong frank@scandmedia.com Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com

Swea white party in Singapore

S

ome Swedes from community in Singapore were seen dancing on the sand on Sentosa Island as SWEA Singapore arranged their spring celebration with a ‘white party’.

The event, which took place on 23 April at beach restaurant Coastes, was a success, reports Maria Sehlin Almost 100 persons came and had a lovely and very hot evening with good food, nice

friends and dancing on the beach.

It was a diver se meet-up with both newcomers and other Swedes who have been living in Singapore for more than 20 years. SWEA Singapore (Swedish Women´s Educational Association) has two parties each year when also husbands are welcome. One in the spring and one in autumn. They are always very popular.

Graphic Designer : Peerapol Meesuwan Peerapol@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.

News Brief

Art exhibition at Norwegian Swedish church

S

weden’s Ambassador to Singapore, H.E. Håkan Jevrell inaugurated the an ar t exhibition arranged in collaboration between Norwegian Sjömannskir ken and Sweden’s Svenska kyrkan in Singapore and SWEA Singapore.

The pictures show the vernissage for the art exhibition at Sjömannskirken och Svenska kyrkan i Singapore, which ended on 3 May. All paintings were done by Norwegian and swedes currently living in Singapore.

These artists are: Annelie Nikou, Swe Ann-Birgitt Haugan, No Susanne Wallin, Swe Kari Misund. No Eva Tägt, Swe Ika Forsell, Swe Fozia Rafiq, No

Lady record: SWA’s greatest Ladies Night

by Maria Andreasdottir

H

ow to make a Thursday more chic?

Scandinavian Women’s Association knows the secret... They invited ladies from all ages and nationalities to Ladies Night at a French venue.

Ooh la la and big SWA merci ”It was truly a wonderful evening,” says Mette Trock-Jansen from Krag Nordic. Almost fifty other women agree with her. ”We can’t believe we had the biggest turnout ever on a Ladies Night,” says SWA President Maria Therese Hedenborg.

In total 49 women gathered at the chic

4 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2016

O’Batignolles Wine Bar & French Bistrot to SWA’s Ladies Night, and 18 new women signed up for SWA membership on the evening. This makes the biggest turnout to the SWA ever. New President Maria Therese Hedenborg is proud of how the event turned out. ”This Ladies Night has so far been the biggest in SWA’s history. Never have we managed to gather so many women to a networking event. It was amazing to meet both new and familiar faces, and especially for me it was fantastic to greet new members welcome onboard,” said Maria Therese.

The Ladies Night was the first of its kind since

she took over the President post in March 2016.

The French wine bar O’Batignolles served delicious food and yummy nibbles all night, and the French-inspired interior created a cozy-chic atmosphere, perfect for cheering in wine with your girlfriends.

To make the night even more joyful, SWA had created a charity lottery lucky draw, sponsored

by Danish Business Association Singapore. The ladies had the chance to win amazing prizes, but in reality, the biggest prize guaranteed this night was knowing the money for attending the lottery all went to support SWA’s local charity partners. ”The suppor t from our members and sponsors means the world. It makes it possible for us to keep giving back to the community through our local charity partners.”

SWA supports Breadline Group Singapore and Boys’ Town, among others.

SWA aims to create values for both members and the surrounding community. Being a nonprofit charity organisation, SWA members pays a small fee to participate in events to cover food and beverages, but it is not required to be a member to support or to participate in SWA’s events. ”The meaning with SWA’s Ladies Nights are to create a non-formal and fun networking event for our members, but ever yone is welcome.

Scandinavian or not, we are more than happy when our members bring a friend or two along,” said Maria Therese.

Follow SWA on Facebook and www. swasingapore.com.sg for news about all upcoming events and updates on SWA’s charity work.

June 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 5

News Brief

GWS gets closer to Asia Pacific market via Singapore

G

WS Production AB (Sweden), provider of personal security service Safeture, is establishing a subsidiary in Singapore in 2016, which will enable getting closer to the market and the Asian customers. The company has since 2015 been represented by a regional sales office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but decided, based on the customer needs, to establish local presence also in Singapore with GWS Production (Singapore) Private Limited.

GWS has developed the service concept Safeture, a personal security ser vice when traveling, which provides critical information about disasters and other threats, directly in the traveller’s smartphone through an app that is easily downloaded. As part of the Safeture global sales strategy, GWS has identified local presence as an important step in growing in the dynamic Asia Pacific region.

Andreas Rodman, CEO at GWS, commented that their decision to establish a subsidiary was based on conclusions from direct dialogues with customers located in Singapore. ”Our customers want local sales presence with support in their time zone and language, and with today’s announcement we can serve them even more efficiently. Moreover, they prefer to

Asean Finns meet in Singapore

D

uring the last week of April 28-29 April a unique meeting took place where all Finnish Business Councils’ Directors and representatives in the Asean region met with FinPro and Finland’s Ambassadors to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand met to brainstorm and plan opportunities and collaboration.

Coinciding with this unique summit, the Finnish Business Council Singapore was privileged to be able to invite its members to a Team Finland ASEAN networking night on April 28th, at the new AaltoEE premises, to hear first hand about the business opportunities in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar

6 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2016

directly from the respective Ambassadors and Charge d’Affairs, as well as to understand Finpro’s role and charter in advancing business between Finland and South East Asia.

The event contained: Ambassadors’ panel discussion moderated by Riku Mäkelä, Trade and Innovation Affairs Counsellor at Embassy of Finland in Singapore; Finpro in ASEAN presentation by Juha Miikkulainen, Vice President, Head of Region India & APAC at Finpro; Q&A: and Networking dinner.

The event was organized in collaboration with the Embassy of Finland and generously sponsored

by Aalto Executive Education Academy.

sign contracts with a locally established company, which has to obey the local legislation. Singapore is a strategic hub in the Asian region and industry, and we want to take advantage of the dynamic environment there. But this office will of course be working tightly with the parent company in Sweden. One of our employees in Sweden will move down to Singapore in the end of the summer, and be responsible for driving local sales and business development.”

The subsidiary will be operating as of mid April, focusing mainly on signing contracts and establishing cooperation with global, Asia-based customers within the security, insurance and telecom industry.

GWS, Global Warning System, was founded in 2009, triggered by the experience with a global SARS epidemic, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the Mumbai terror attacks.The mobile device based aims to protect the traveller by realtime tracking and providing valuable real-time information about disasters and other threats that could have impact on her/him. The system consists of a range of services that are delivered via the trave;ler’s mobile phone and is provided to both businesses – Safeture Pro, and to private individuals – Safeture.

German European School Singapore

entrenches roots and reaffirms commitment to Singapore as they announce a new GESS Campus

T

he Ger man European School Singapore (GESS) has recently announced the development of their new campus, opening an exciting chapter in the institution’s story as they merge two existing campuses into one purpose-built school with state-of-the-art facilities.

With the potential to grow the school community to 2,000 students, the new grounds will have important school facilities and spaces – specially designed to accommodate the evolving mindsets of future generations. Feedback and contributions by teachers and the community on the school’s layout and design were strongly taken into account, as the aim was to custom-build a campus that meets the comprehensive needs of students, teachers and the community.

Facilities at the new campus will include a competition-sized spor ts field and a spor ts hall, an Olympic-size swimming pool, music and drama facilities, a European Culture Centre, cooking lab, state-of-the-art design technology studio, age and subject specific classrooms, a canteen, specialist rooms, a library and an auditorium.

A groundbreaking ceremony took place at the 3.05 hectare site of the planned school on May 9th, 2016, located at Dair y Farm Road in Singapore. The campus will be ready to move in to during the 2018 June/July school holidays in order to operate by August.

GESS plays a vital role integrating the European community into Singapore by providing students with a holistic learning platform which emphasises the value and virtues of global diversity. The school provides education in German, following the German Curriculum, and an English-speaking education, following the IB Curriculum.

GESS also provides a Danish Mother Tongue Programme to suppor t the maintenance and development of the Danish language for native speakers. The programme is available to students from 3 up to 18 years of age and is an integral part of the timetable with no additional fees.

The school cur rently educates 1,500 students of more than 50 nationalities from 18 months to 18 years and is open to take new admissions.

For more infor mation please visit www.gess.sg.

From left to right: Dr Bettina Fischer, Dr Michael Witter, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Dr Michael Pulch, Dr Thomas Hufnagel, Mr Hermann Battenberg

June 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7

News Brief

Singapore’s Fastacash appoints Swede as chief innovator

S

ingapore-based social media and messenger-based online payment enabler fastacash on 19 April appointed former Jawbone executive Jörgen Nordin as its new chief innovation officer. Hiring the experienced Swede aims to cement fastacash’s market leadership in enabling social payments for businesses, where it works with banks, remittance agencies and money transfer companies, as well as mobile wallet providers.

Prior to joining fastacash Jorgen headed international product management at US-based wearables company Jawbone. He has previously served stints at Ericsson, Omnisky Corp,Tactel AB and Mobile 365 (marketing, product management, business development and sales roles).

His role in fastacash will include establishing the innovation agenda of the payments technology provider and leading the development of seamless consumer-focused social payments solutions. The firm seeks to expand its product offerings and market presence across Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

“In the last four years, the concept behind fastacash has moved away from being simply an idea – starting with just a three slide presentation — to becoming a global innovator in the lucrative social payments space,” said Vince Tallent, chairman and CEO of fastacash.

“Large multinationals, including banks with hundreds of millions of consumers, are looking to fastacash to connect and engage with their consumers through our innovative technology solutions. Appointing a Chief Innovation Officer with the energy, vision and background as rich as Jorgen’s, positions us very well to redefine the way people transact over social networks.” fastacash brings innovative financial technology solution to the partners, enabling them to tap into the shift in consumer preferences towards mobile money payments through social media channels. fastacash also brings its user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design capabilities.

Jörgen Nordin is a customer-focused professional with extensive domestic and international experience who can work within all

levels of an organisation on operational, tactical, and strategic tasks as well as provide strong leadership and inspiration to his team. Jörgen has a strong interest for all things technical and more than 30 years of technology experience, says his Linkedin page.

Being a part of executive management active in customer facing sales activities as well as worked on strategic value enhancing M&A transactions including object identification, technical DD as well as Board and Investor presentations.

The “self-professed gadget enthusiast” is passionate about driving growth by taking innovative technologies and products to market.

Jörgen has always been at the forefront of new technology, leading product teams and launching world firsts such as the first Bluetooth product in 1999, the world’s first MMS-based marketing campaign in 2003 and the launch of one-click mobile content purchase as a managed service in 2008.

In February 2016 fastacash and Budapestbased mobile wallet provider Cellum announced a new strategic cooperation to accelerate their global growth. Under the new partnership, the two companies are set to combine both their service capabilities and global reach.

With clients in banks, telecommunication operators and card scheme networks, Cellum is able to open new markets for fastacash in Japan and Thailand, as well as Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary. It also will offer fastacash its PCI DSS certified white label mobile wallet to its banking and non-financial partners.

Swedish Lesjöfors acquires Singaporean company

L

esjöfors of Sweden, a leading spring suppliers with internationally well-known customers, has acquired the Singapore-based John While Group Inc. Also a spring company, with subsidiaries in China, Thailand and Singapore, the acquisition strengthens the position in Asia and expands its customer base in several emerging markets.

John While Group specializes in the manufacturing of customized springs. The Group’s customers include companies in home electronics/white goods as well as the engineering and automotive industries. Its largest markets are China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, which account for approximately 80 per cent of sales.

Its customers include companies from the US and Europe with operations in Asia. John While Group conducts manufacturing operations in Singapore, China and Thailand, with a product range including some 7,000 items. The company has 115 employees and reported revenues for 2015 corresponds to approximately MSEK 70.

“The combination of the operations that Lesjöfors have today in China, focusing mainly on pressings, and the JWG operation, focusing on wire springs, will form a strong platform for servicing existing and new customers to the

8 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2016

Lesjöfors and John While group. The acquisition broadens the total capabilities of the group in Asia and we can now support most of the needs of spring’s locally which is a big strength for the future says,” Kjell-Arne Lindbäck President of the Lesjöfors group.

For JWG this acquisition strengthen the operation via becoming par t of a group of companies being specialist in the field of springs and pressings. This will enable access to technical support and benchmarking possibilities that will be of high value for the further development of the JWG companies.

Over the years, Lesjöfors has conducted a number of acquisitions and established strong platforms in the Nordic region, other areas of Europe and North America. The acquisition of John While Group strengthens the company’s position in Asia, a region with high market growth and competitive manufacturing costs.

Following the acquisition, Lesjöfors has 24 production units in 12 countries. Together with JWG its new owner will strengthen the service and technical sales capabilities in Asia and offer its existing and new customers the opportunity to have most of their need of springs and pressings locally supplied.

Oasia Hotel Downtown - A New Respite

O

asia Hotel Downtown is the latest hotel under the Oasia Brand

by Far East Hospitality to open in Singapore. In 2011, Far East Hospitality debuted the Oasia brand with the opening of Oasia Hotel Novena. Oasia redefines and sets new standards to hospitality for astute business and leisure travellers who seek wellness within the comfort and familiarity of a city. With Tanjong Pagar MRT station right at the hotel’s doorstep, guests can conveniently travel to everywhere else in the city.

An amalgamation of modern, urban design and eco-friendly elements, Oasia Hotel Downtown offers a restorative respite in the city centre. Set against an urban landscape of concrete, steel, glass, the building stands out with a unique silhouette covered by a lush green façade that is a massive vertical garden. The greenery is further enhanced by an alternating 30-metre tall sky gardens and sleek architectural details. The interior is organic-themed and designed by renowned Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola.

Hotel guests can enjoy all-day dining at The Marmalade Pantry, located at lobby level 1, a well-known restaurant chain specialising in modern comfort food whilst retaining the freshness and clarity of the ingredients. Founded in 1999, The Marmalade Pantry has created a name for itself with its signature contemporary bistro experience of serving good food in unique locales. The hotel In-room Dining menu is also provided by The Marmalade Pantry and offers healthier options round-the-clock.

Far East Hospitality is a regional hospitality owner and operator with a diverse portfolio of nine unique and complementary brands of hotels, serviced residences and apartment hotels, including Adina Apartment Hotels, Medina Serviced Apartments, The Marque Hotels, Oasia Hotels, The Quincy Hotel, Rendezvous Hotels, Travelodge Hotels, Vibe Hotels and Village Hotels & Residences.

Address :100 Peck Seah Street, Singapore 079333. Phone: 6881 8888

Bangkok, Thailand

June 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 9

Conscious Fika Café

expanding in Singapore

By Maria Andreasdottir

N

othing beats a home-cooked meal, but at Fika Swedish Café and Bistro they have added a little cherry on top of their Swedish food experience: you will play a part in their mission to make a difference.

Can you imagine a better feeling than being full and helpful at the same time?

“We will strive our best to give back to society,” says owner Tasneem Noor-Smidhagen.

She and Joakim Smidhagen opened Fika Café in August 2009, with the concept of making Swedish food available for everyone. When Tasneem backpacked in Sweden, she fell in love with the country, she was also desperate to try out the Swedish cuisine, but since many of the dishes were made using nonhalal ingredients she was limited to the choices she had. Joakim on the other hand missed his Swedish food when he moved to Singapore– and voila because of these simple reasons, Fika Café was born: a café with a cosy homely feel ser ving authentic Swedish dishes and the first halal Swedish Café in the world.

“It is our priority that we keep our dishes Authentic and following traditional recipes. Most of the recipes are from my mother, and we have not changed the recipes nor added any twists on them. It is

10 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2016

important that the Swedes who visit us get a meal as they would if it was cooked by their mamma’s at home, and that the non-Swedes get a true taste of a Swedish meal,” says Joakim.

The couple wants to serve their guests a truly Swedish experience, and this does not stop with food.

According to the couple, it’s typical Scandinavian to give, and that is exactly what they want to do, too.

The pursuit of Swedish food in Singapore “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” says Tasneem.

These words are from her favorite quote by Sir Richard Branson.

“And that’s how we did it!” she adds to the quote.

Tasneem and Joakim fell in love at the airport in Malmö. She was on her way back home, but the couple were so fond of each other, that one year after, Joakim moved to Singapore because of love. Neither of them had ever worked in F&B, save for a summer job or two as servers during their teenage years.

But when the two former designers had the chance to set shop together, they took it: a row of shophouses was up for bid, and Tasneem’s father recommended his daughter and son in law to go for it.

“My father has always encouraged his children to be entrepreneurs. Now I, together with Joakim, had the opportunity, and we had our minds open for new ideas.

We were not afraid to try ourselves out on a completely different field,” Tasneem said.

It can be discussed how far away the idea of starting a Swedish café and bistro was from Tasneem and Joakim; Tasneem being a passionate chef all her life and Joakim being Swedish. The idea of Fika Café came after Joakim and Tasneem got married in Singapore in 2007.

The newlywed couple missed the Swedish food; Joakim, because it reminded him of home, and Tasneem, because she never had the chance to get the full Swedish cuisine experience.

“It was very hard to get Swedish food, when I moved here almost nine years ago. The only way was to cook it at home, and thankfully I had my wonderful wife to do it with me,” says Joakim.

“For me, I really wanted to introduce the Swedish cuisine to my friends and family, they were missing out on a whole array of amazing dishes! It was my responsibility to allow them the opportunity,” said Tasneem.

“So why not make the food ourselves? Why not make a place, where people can have a decent

and budget-friendly Swedish meal, cooked using Swedish recipes, and made halal, so everyone can have a chance to taste it?” they both asked themselves.

The concept of a Swedish halal restaurant was born.

They opened their first café in Arab Street, and the new bistro’s concept was warmly welcomed and much appreciated by the locals and tourists alike.

“Just like me, many of these people had never tried many Swedish dishes before, because of the ingredients not being halal, and of course, many had never even tried Swedish food at all, so it has been a new world to discover for a lot of our guests,” says Tasneem.

Obviously, Fika Café was and is also highly popular among Swedes.

“It is one of our biggest praises, when Swedish travelers have their meal here and says: “It’s exactly like Mamma would have made it,” says Joakim.

And the lovely comments to the food could not been more true: most of the recipes come from Joakim’s Swedish mother.

Fika Café brought an authentic and “new” cuisine to Singapore, and Tasneem and Joakim had no idea their company would become so popular - suddenly, it was time to expand, and it meant a lot of work - maybe working together with the

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June 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 11

one you love is maybe the secret to growth?

Regardless, they now have three café outlets, two children, a marriage, and they’re about to open a new bakery. Is it possible to have more things to care about?

They now have three café outlets, two children, a marriage, and they’re about to open a new bakery. Is it possible to have more things to care about?

#fikacares “It is important to us that we do our par t to give back to society.

We are privileged in both Sweden and in Singapore, and we believe in helping each other. We care. And we will strive to make our community a better place.”

It has always been common to both Joakim and Tasneem to suppor t an organization. But this year, Fika Café began a movement

12 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2016

called #fikacares, where supporting others is the alpha and omega focus.

Fika Café is now collaborating w i t h fi ve d i f fe r e n t s u p p o r t organizations; Hope Villages Fund, Singapore Children’s Society, Breastfeeding friends Singapore, Spirit of Enterprise Awards, and Muslim Kidney Action Association. Since Fika Café is a family restaurant owned by a family, children hold a ver y special place in their hear ts, why most of their support organizations regard children and families their priority. But it’s not all about giving out financial support.

“We want to be a part of the different organizations. We want to know them,” says Joakim and Tasneem.

And how to show you care?

Tasneem finds this question very easy to answer.

“We show love by food,” she says. Tasneem and Joakim love feeding people, and when they began collaborating with Singapore Children’s Society, Fika hosted a big birthday party for the children. Here they children could join cooking classes, decorate cupcakes, sing birthday songs to each other, and of course, be spoiled with delicious food and birthday cake.

To Fika, it is important to see, meet, and get to know the real people behind the foundation, which is the reason why they invite real people to dinner, events, and workshops.

Since 2009, Fika has been supporting the Hope Villages Fund, and provided clean water to the

people of the villages in Cambodia.

We also make it a point to visit the villages yearly so as we are physically part of the lives of the villagers as well.

Fika Café is also proud to be the part of the 1000 Enterprises for children in need by the Singapore Children’s Association.

It warms their hearts to make others happy, and even if their lives are busy, Joakim and Tasneem will always find time to help others.

Nothing is more impor tant than caring about each other – and to show it!

“All these efforts stem from the belief that if we focus our hearts on genuinely helping those around us, we will find that the profits that we make become more easily attainable and ultimately much more rewarding,” they say.

“We are really excited about #fikacares, and we hope our small efforts can be a change for somebody, or inspire others to do the same.”

F i k a C a f é ’s g u e s t s w i l l automatically be a par t of giving to others. Either by dining at Fika, since Fika donates money from the café, or by applying to become volunteers for the different events and seminars too. Fika Café hopes you will join them on their mission to make a difference, and as we mentioned in the beginning, is there a better feeling than knowing you are doing an effort and at the same time having a wonderful meal as a Swedish mother would have made it?

Scandinavian women discovers their own brand in Singapore

By Maria Andreasdottir

W

h a t i s yo u r personal brand? Or in other words: What do you want to be known for?

This was one of the many questions Roger Grant asked members of Scandinavian Women’s Association (SWA) and friends at the ”Work made personal”workshop on Thursday 19 May 2016. Roger and his wife Sophia Chin own PERSONNA, where they make a living on helping people find their inner talent and professional success, and that was exactly what the Scandinavians were interested to hear more about. How do you know, if you are using your personal brand to its full potential? And, how do you use your full potential?

Many of these questions along with others are usually not answered fast, but Rober t Grant encouraged the ladies and the one male attending, that they were better not to over think each question.

Sometimes the true answers appear automatically, which also makes the person more authentic and honest.

And even hard questions can quickly

be answered, or at least create an idea to an answer, when you’re working within a time limit. Roger handed out a “destination postcard”, a blank card which par ticipants should craft with a drawing and a letter from their future self on where they want to see themselves.

He star ted a timer, and within 5 minutes the ladies and the man had to answer 5 questions regarding their dreams and goals.

Colorful pens, post-it notes and wine-filled glasses flourished on the table, when the workshop guests wrote their postcards. Intensity and creativity were blooming, and by sparring with each other the par ticipants were inspired to see new ways on how to strengthen their persona, and what person they want to become in the future.

One of the attendees was Norwegian Silje Kalsaas, a new member of Scandinavian Women’s Association. Being new to Singapore, she believed the workshop was inspiring.

“The wor kshop was ver y motivating. It was a great confirmation on the belief of making a great career,” says Silje Kalsaas.

The workshop consisted of both networking with wine and cheese, practical assignments, and group discussion. For Betina FalsterHansen, owner at DANSK SG, the evening passed by all too soon.

“I really enjoyed the workshop, but I think this subject on personal branding deserves more time than one evening,” she said.

Roger had similar feedback: “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. PERSONNAs workshops are based over several days, and it is up to the individual to decide on how many workshops he or she wants to join. The personal brand is a constant developing feature, why it is always good to ask yourself questions on where you want to go in life, and if you have to change direction to meet your own wishes.

It’s easier to brand yourself, when you know what you want. “Be consistent,” says Roger. Although, in a world with never ending options, it can be difficult to find that one thing.

One of the Danish participants, entrepreneur Marija Avdic, founder of Creative2, believes this can be solved with action.

“Maybe you don’t know it’s the

right thing now, but give it a chance to see how much you like it. Find something you think is interesting, and make it a project. You don’t have to know all about it, but aim to make it your key project. Make it that something, that wakes you up happy in the morning, determined to do it.You never know if you don’t try. Take action,” she says.

Taking action was also one of the points in the workshop, which the drawings, the letter writing, and the discussions showed.

The event was hosted by Scandinavians Women’s Association (SWA) with the aim of giving the oppor tunity to discover and unlock one’s personal brand, and as a change, it was not only women who attended the workshop. The President of SWA was so impressed with the workshop, and wants to repeat the success.

“We will absolutely host another Personal Branding workshop again.

We hope to repeat this event again in fall, so newcomers to Singapore will have a wonderful seminar and also give them the chance to create a network in the very beginning,” says Maria Therese Hedenborg.

June 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 13

Airline seat comfort finally gets attention via

Nordic-Singaporean start-up

by Joakim Persson

T

he words are an insider, a previous airline executive’s take: “I am ashamed to say that airlines haven’t really done anything in the economy class passenger comfor t for the past decades, so I would say that our goal is really to change that.”

He is Jere Tala, CCO at AirGo Design Pte Ltd, known to many from his previous roles working for Finnair, as well as Qatar Airways in Asia.

“Airlines don’t really care about your comfort, but about the weight of the seat and how many seats they can fit inside one aircraft and so on,” Jere explains further in connection to his new adventure within Singapore’s emerging start-up scene.

AirGo Design, with a very strong Nordic connection in its team, is working on innovating next-generation air line seats and with a fantastically interesting product for the majority of us, to be launched come Q3 2016. All we have to hope for is that the airlines can be convinced this time.

The enthusiastic entrepreneurs behind the AirGo Design team also includes the other Finns Henri Holm (previously with Nokia and Rovio Entertainment in Asia) and CEO and CoFounder Mikko Alanko (based in Asia since 2002) as well as Swedish citizens CLO & Co-Founder Maziar Jahanshahi (founder of Scalado) and Ali Jahanshahi.

It was co-founding designer & inventor (also a renowned materials scientist) Alireza Yaghoubi who came with the innovation forming the basis for this business idea that has such huge market potential.

After travelling in Iran (where all aircraft are very old due to the previous embargos) and swopping to a brand new plane with one of the world’s top airlines in the Middle East, he had asked himself: “How is it possible that when I was sitting in the 40 years old aircraft it was actually more comfortable than in the seat I am now sitting in?”

The idea was born there and then, based on his aggravations and others’ complaints about neck pain, poor blood circulation and backache caused by the primitive ergonomics in economy class.

“There is a potential to do something big 14 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2016

and really change the industry,” he had concluded.

“94 per cent still travel in economy class; people just don’t have the possibility of paying the difference, upgrading to business class. The bigger price difference is huge,” Jere points out.

Business class has been in more less totally in focus for all innovations when it comes to the seats. In Economy, meanwhile, seats on planes are really not different from those used back in the 1980’s.

With a sketch of an ideal seat Alireza won a design competition and that set things in motion for the start-up.

The principle behind the AirGo Design is that each seat occupies an independent space that doesn’t impinge on the others and offers unparalleled seat comfort. This can make flying in economy class better for all of us, while the gamechanger for airlines are the huge savings they will be able to obtain.

The impossible becomes possible The airline industry is really conservative, so even when Jere himself first met the team and they showed him the drawings that they had made, his first statement had been: ‘No way – it’s not possible’.

“Because in the aviation industry they are all a very inward-looking, conservative bunch of people,” he recalls. “Nobody wants to try something completely different and new.”

“So it’s been a really great experience for me as well to really open my eyes and look at what can be done and not.”

There are two additional key reasons for the standstill up to now within this conservative industry; lack of technology being one.

“Technical advances with composite materials have taken huge leaps forward only in recent years.

Second, the seat market being practically run by only three big companies producing aircraft seats.

Their order books are completely full for the next 3 – 5 years. Airlines come to their doors knocking so they don’t have to innovate.”

Reduced body pressure Enter the upcoming revolutionising sitting concept AirGo seat (patent-pending), which will be a new economy class air passenger seat design; branded as more ergonomic, less intrusive on

other passengers and more economically viable than current designs.

“The floor space is exactly as today’s seats; it’s just a numbers game. If you give more leg space it means you’ll have less seats and no airline would buy a seat that takes more floor space. We have redesigned our seats so that within the same floor space of current seats take we are able to give passengers up to 4 inches more leg space, just be re-designing the seat and how you actually sit on it,” explains Jere.

For improved comfort 3D body scanning has also been used, which makes it different from the existing seat producers.

“The seat is not flat but curved, following your body contour. And the use of so-called memory foam paddings with different density – some softer, some harder – makes the long-haul sitting effect less painful than today where the seat is made from the same material everywhere and thus the pressure to your body the same everywhere. So it’s based on your sitting posture, since certain parts of your body touch the seat heavier than other parts when sitting for a longer time.”

“We want to bring improved comfort also into the economy cabin – while at the same time keeping in mind that it’s the airline who runs the business. They have to be able to make a profit – and that is why our seats use this new technology that makes the seat up to 50 per cent lighter than today! That will be a huge benefit for the airline,” states the CCO..

“Obviously we want to change the whole world. We believe that once an airline starts using our seats and people really experience it, this will change the way how we all travel,” states Jere.

At an aircraft interior expo in Singapore, come October, the AirGo seat will have its global launch. The strategy is to aim for long haul routes as a premium product.

“That narrows it down to the leading airlines.

The other thing is that the client has to be innovative and ahead of the curve; doing things that the others have not been doing.”

“Singapore is definitely an aviation hub in Asia, where we have one of the strongest airlines in the world, and there’s a lot of manufacturing and all kinds of aviation-related industries here. This was a natural place for us to start in.”

They are, in parallel, currently in the lengthy prototyping and certification processes.

“We’ve been working on this for about two years and it’s not only the aviation industry – we are now being contacted by companies within railways, ferries, long haul bus travel, even from electric bus companies that think our seat is so cool, asking us for custom designs.The potential is huge. Our core is however aviation because that is where we started out and what we are focusing on first. But we see that this really can expand into many other industries as well.”

AirGo Design was self-financed until late 2015, when they received a grant from the Singapore scheme called, Spring (agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry responsible for helping Singapore enterprises grow and building trust in Singapore products and services).

Then, in April this year they got the first external financing round from Dubai, DP World, a company operating ports via its partner TURN8.

This accelerator invests in technology start-ups and support them with mentoring, training and their product launch in exchange for an equity position in the company.

Better than the corporate world Jere was asked by the founders two years ago to join this very exciting start-up. His long experience from the airline industry benefits his role and the company.

“My aviation knowhow and network is a very important part of this but our team, which is very unique, makes it possible to bring completely new ideas to the table and we have so different backgrounds that it’s really great,” he responds.

And he would not want to return to the corporate world again.

“Once you are inside the star t-up world it’s so different, it’s so exciting. But the perks in the corporate business is that every month you get the same amount of salary to your bank account, which is fantastic, whereas in the start-up world you don’t get that; you only see your bank account savings reducing month after the month.”

“Sometimes you would like to proceed much faster than you can but that’s how it goes. There are lots of disappointments but also fantastic moments and those, at the end of it, surpass the disappointing moments.”

June 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 15

Singapore Zoo a zoo-per activity for the whole family

By Maria Andreasdottir Photos: Wildlife Reservations Singapore

Singapore Zoo. It’s one of the first thing you hear, when you ask for a “must see” in Singapore. Not only is it the perfect escape from the concrete jungle to the tropical rainforest, it’s also considered to be one of best zoo’s in the world. With its focus on education and its “open-concept”, visitors are getting the ultimate wild life experience. ScandAsia has visited the zoo to understand what makes Singapore Zoo one of the greatest.

16 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2016

T

he expectations are sky high before our visit to Singapore Zoo. Everyone recommends it. Everyone.

“It doesn’t matter if they have even been in Singapore or not. It was something everybody said I had to do during my visit in Singapore,” says Kirstine Brøgger Jensen, architect at Ramsbøll, Denmark.

She visited the zoo with her children in May 2016, which makes her one of the annual 1,7 million visitors to the zoo. She has already been visiting a lot of zoos around the world, and award-winning zoos are also to be found in Scandinavia. We are about to find out what makes one of the world’s best zoos.

For a star ter, we are already impressed by the size of Singapore Zoo, which covers 26 hectares divided into three parks: Singapore Zoo, River Safari, and Night Safari. Yasmin explains, that all of them have an “open concept”-design in common, which allows visitors to get really close to the animals in their natural surroundings. In total, the park is home to over 2,800 animals representing over 300 species, which are displayed in large, naturalistic habitats separated from visitors by hidden barriers that include vegetation, streams, moats and rocks.

“The open concept is great, because you are not only getting to see the animals, you are also gaining an insight of natural habitat. It made the visit even more entertaining, and especially the option to participate in the feeding of the

animals was an amazing opportunity to get close to the animals,” says Kirstine Brøgger.

Special activities are organised to enhance visitor s’ experiences; for example musical performances and magic shows on public holidays.

During the month-long school holiday periods in June and December, there are themed campaigns with value-added activities catered to children, such as craft stations and educational booths.

Additionally, not only are the exhibits continually improved to ensure that guests always have something new to look forward to with each visit to the park, the facilities are also regularly maintained and upgraded to ensure that guests can have a memorable and meaningful experience.

Close to the animals night and day As mentioned, visitors are impressed by the open concept at Singapore Zoo. It is wellknown for its walk-through immersive exhibits where animals and visitors share a space for incredibly intimate encounters, allowing for a memorable experience. We walk along with orangutans in the free-ranging orangutan habitat, which Singapore Zoo can boast of being the first in world to have. Here is it possible to dine together with the orangutans, as Singapore Zoo is the only place in the world where you can have breakfast with not one but an entire family of orangutans. The breakfast

programme is extremely popular for families worldwide.

At Fragile Forest, visitors can enter a massive bio-dome to journey through the different levels of a rainforest. There, we stand right next to a Malayan flying fox as it eats a papaya, while a ringtailed lemur passes us, and over our heads are colorful birds flying. The animals are not scared of us. Since we are so close to them, we feel great for not disturbing them by our presence, and we are happy to see, that they are living their life peacefully.

Another unique way to meet the animals and to get the absolute wild life experience is the outstanding Night Safari. It’s the world’s first safari park for nocturnal animals, where visitors get the amazing opportunity of seeing over 2,500 animals in their naturalistic nighttime habitats. According to Kirstine Brøgger, the Night Safari tour was the definite highlight of the zoo.

“It’s an exceptional experience to go around in the dark and watch animals, who usually sleep during the day. You are literary walking inside some of the paddocks of herbivorous animals.

It’s amazing!” she says.

The best way to begin the exploration of Singapore’s famous nightspot is on a guided tram tour of 40-minute, which takes you into the domain of the world’s most fascinating nocturnal animals. The tram guide will fill you in on the special residents as you journey through 7 geographical zones of the world. There are small pit stops during the tram ride, where

guests can have a break or continue the journey on their own feet on the walking trails. There are signs displayed everywhere, so we are not afraid to get lost in the dark, and neither are we missing any information about the different animals. Even if we felt really close to the animals during daytime, it feels even more authentic to be surrounded with them in the moonlight.

Singapore Zoo is also a Learning Zoo, where the guest experience involves understanding the animals at a deeper level through well-designed and interactive educational displays.

A park for everyone The zoo experience is for all ages - whether you are looking for activities, education, or simply just a walk in the enormous beautiful garden of Singapore Zoo. “I like how Singapore Zoo is for everyone.

The children-fr iendly activities are not separating anything for other visitors, and the parks and the experiences are easily accessible and enter taining for all ages. And if you are visiting with kids, there are small trams to help you get around when the little feet are getting tired,” says Kirstine Brøgger.

Education, exper iences, and endless of impression! We look forward to visit the wonderful animals, the helpful staff, and the park again, when we need a break from the urban environment.

June 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 17

Norwegian Boys’ Choir attracts 850 guests to church concert

By Maria Andreasdottir

‘‘I

f it doesn’t give you goose bumps, you need help. Seriously,” said Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA (The Norwegian Company), before 60 Norwegian boys began their performance of their first public concert in Asia.

Looking around the fully seated church guests, it was indeed difficult not to spot a person not being moved by the concert. ”It was simply outstanding,” said Ingvil TybringGjedde, Norwegian Vice Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

She was one of the 850 guests to listen to the magical sounds of Nidarosdomens Boys’ Choir, when they performed in the St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Singapore on Friday 20 May 2016. Øystein Tønnessen, Head of Communication and Music from the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in Singapore couldn’t agreed more.

“Think about how huge this is. More than 800 people are gathered here in the church on a Friday evening to listen to classical music. That is unusual, but it also shows how appreciated the Nidarosdomens Boys’ Choir is,” he said.

The attention for the concer t proved the universal love for music. The boys sang in Norwegian, German, English, and even Latin, but both familiar and unknown words from the songs were all equally appreciated by the audience.

St. Andrew’s Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Singapore, and its huge volume space made

18 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2016

the voices sound clear and strong. People had even gathered outside the church to listen to the concert.

“It’s unbelievable. The tickets were sold out in the very beginning, and we have even made more seats available. I am so happy about how the Singaporean community are welcoming Norwegian culture,” said Rolf Jarle Brøske, Director of Communication, The Norwegian Oil Company.

With the youngest member of the choir only being 10 years old, you wonder how many nerves are build up before the performance. The choir’s conductor, Bjørn Moe, said the boys were very excited, but having nerves? No. “Backstage they have been relaxed, but eager to sing,” he said.

And as they say, practice makes perfect.

“All of these boys have been training incredibly hard to become the Nidarosdomens Boys’ Choir.

They have trained to succeed,” said Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of The Norwegian Oil Company.

According to the boys themselves, nerves were not an issue.

Members of Boys’ Choir Peter Irgens and Save Brautaset, both 12 years old, agreed the concert had been a fantastic experience, and they were not nervous at all.

“The only thing I was worried about was the heat, because usually we have to wear long pants underneath our cape uniforms, but luckily, we were allowed to wear shorts,” said Peter Irgens, member of Nidarosdomen’s Boys’ Choir.

All the boys were handed beautifully handmade gifts from Singaporean C .I.T.Y. organization, as a thank you of bringing Norwegian culture into Singapore and pleasing all guests with their voices. Norwegian Ambassador in Singapore, H.E. Mr. Tormod C. Endresen, expressed his gratefulness in words of having the boys’ choir in Singapore.

The 60 boys from the choir were brought from Trondheim to Singapore by Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA (The Norwegian Oil Company) as a part of the celebration of finishing the Ivar Aasen-project, and this concert in St Andrew’s Cathedral was the only public concert. The Boys’ Choir also performed on 21 May 2016 for the official Sail Away celebration of Ivar Aasen, and during the formal dinner even. The Norwegian Oil Company wanted to host this public concert as a way of giving back to the community they have been working in for the last three years.

Together with the musical gift, The Norwegian Oil Company donated SGD 2000 to C.I.T.Y, (Character in the Young), a community service of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, which aims to build good character in school children.

Photos courtesy of The Norwegian Oil Company.

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