ScandAsia Thailand - December 2017

DEC 2017

Kati Häkkinen Finnish Women Abroad network in Bangkok BUSINESS Clean Up the World initiative engage the Nordics

EDUCATION Håkan Alm spearheads economic-IT university learning

TRADE

CULTURE

Sweden held Smart Cities Bangkok seminar

Finnish embassy promoted food and drinks

December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 3

December 2017

ScandAsia Stories

6 Development Minister Ulla Tornaes

6 Sweden provides additional Rohingya refugees aid support 7 Kristian Schmidt – EU’s new Ambassador to Myanmar 13 Swedish exchange students from Borås University

Visited Danish-supported humanitarian projects

10 Kati Häkkinen – Finnish Women Abroad in Bangkok

ScandAsia Business 8 Finnish Embassy Bangkok showcased food and drinks

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6

Mr. Pekka Soini

Director General Business Finland in 2018

9 ABB inaugurates Robotic Plant in Thailand 9 Smart Cities Swedish event in Thailand

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14 Cleaning up the Oceans

Clean Up the World initiative engage the Nordics

12 Mr. Håkan Alm

Spearheads economic-IT combo university education

4 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2017

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December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 5

News Brief

Danish Development Minister visited Rohingyas in Coxs Bazar

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he Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Ulla Tornaes, has been in Cox’s Bazar during 29 – 30 October.

She visited the Danish-supported humanitarian projects that helps with immediate protection, food aid and shelter for hundreds of thousands Rohingyas. The Minister met with government representatives and several organisations during the visit to Cox’s Bazar.

During the visit the Danish Minister expressed the need for international support: “Bangladesh has performed a great task by receiving this huge number of refugees, but it is very impor tant that the international community now steps up to support Bangladesh and the effected local communities around Cox’s Bazar. Bangladesh cannot solve this crisis alone. Denmark reacted swiftly with substantial humanitarian aid when the

crisis began in August. So far, we have allocated and committed over DKK 120 million (USD 18.7 million) for civilians in Rakhine as well as for the hundreds of thousands Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar. I am especially concerned about the many women and children who have been exposed to brutal attacks and sexual violence.

They are par ticularly vulnerable. Denmark also suppor ts One-Stop-Crisis Centres near the refugee camps. The centres take care of traumatised women and children in a safe environment.”

According to the United Nations, more than 600.000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar since the 25th of August. Denmark’s most recent humanitarian commitment came at the UN’s donor’s conference in Geneva where Ulla Tornaes pledged to commit an additional DKK 32 million (USD 5 million) to UNHCR for the most affected refugees and for the people affected in the communities in Cox’s Bazar.

Denmark has also contributed with DKK 40 million to Red Cross International and UN’s World Food Programme as well as previous donations to UNHCR and Danish NGO’s working in the area.

Sweden provides new Rohingya refugees support of SEK 100 million

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he Rohingya crisis continues to grow as more and more people fly from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Sida (Swedish International Development Agency) has in November therefore decided to distribute a new humanitarian support of 100 million kronor to organizations that assist refugees both in Bangladesh and Myanmar where the needs are enormous.

“When so many people live closely in poorly equipped refugee camps, there are great risks that diseases such as cholera spread rapidly.

It is therefore important to immediately scale up effor ts for health, water and sanitation, “says Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen, head of Sida’s humanitarian aid.

The rapidly escalating crisis is one of the fastest growing we have seen in modern times with around 600,000 people escaping from Myanmar to Bangladesh in just 12 weeks, since August 25.

Many Rohingya have been forced to leave their homes since the military in Burma initiated what the UN calls “a schoolbook example on ethnic cleansing”. The refugees arrive to Bangladesh completely exhausted and many have also been exposed to various types of violence.The majority are women and children, writes Sida.

“The Rohingya crisis, however, is not a new crisis. Rohingya is a group of people who have been marginalized and oppressed in Myanmar for decades. Sida has supported humanitarian efforts 6 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2017

for a long time both in Myanmar and Bangladesh, but what can solve the crisis in a sustainable way is in fact a political solution,” says Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen.

The Swedish government has now decided on a new $ 100 million support for humanitarian needs in the world, and Sida has decided that the entire sum will go to the Rohingya crisis due to the rapidly worsening needs of an extremely large number of people.The support now needed is to provide roofs over their heads, access to food and clean water and the possibility of sanitation.

“It is important that Sida closely follows how the response is scaled up, so Sida’s humanitarian staff went to Bangladesh and Myanmar already last month to follow up together with embassy staff and humanitarian organizations,” says Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen.

The new support will be distributed among UN organizations such as Unicef, UNHCR and OCHA, as well as to ACF, Action Against Hunger. The support is mostly for operations in Bangladesh, but also to Myanmar and the Rakhine state where many Rohingyas remain, and there is a great need for support.

Unicef focuses its suppor t on children’s needs and currently also on water, sanitation and nutrition since many children have not had enough to eat and are undernourished. UNHCR is helping refugees who crossed the border

with Bangladesh and need help with registration, which enables them to provide different types of support, as well as shelter and protection.

According to the UN, $ 434 million is needed, just over SEK 3.5 billion, to help refugees in six months. At the donor conference held on October 23, donors promised to assist with $ 350 million, equivalent to SEK 2.9 billion.

Already earlier this year, Sida expanded its humanitarian support to the refugee crisis in the area through organizations such as the Swedish Red Cross, UNICEF, and the International Migration Organization (IOM). The total Swedish humanitarian suppor t for the refugee crisis this year, including this decision, amounts to approximately SEK 180 million.

Sweden to review engagement with Cambodia

Dane Kristian Schmidt EU’s new Ambassador to Myanmar

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he Swedish government takes today’s decision by the Supreme Court in Cambodia to dissolve the leading opposition party, Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) very seriously. CNRP received 43.8% of the votes in the 2017 local elections. Recent repressive action against the opposition, media and civil society organizations is a serious backlash for democratic development and human rights in Cambodia, said a statement on 17 November from Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström.

Sweden and the EU have previously remarked on the political development that we consider to be severely restricting the democratic space before Cambodia goes to parliamentary elections in the summer of 2018. Free and fair elections are one of the cornerstones of democracy. An election where the main opposition party is not allowed to participate will not be considered legitimate.

The government calls on Cambodia to allow the political opposition, media and civil society actors to work freely.

In light of the negative political developments, the government will review the forms for our commitment to Cambodia, ended the statement.

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n 17 October, the new Ambassador of the European Union to Myanmar, Mr Kristian Schmidt (Denmark), handed over his credentials to the President of the Union of Myanmar, U Htin Kyaw, at the presidential palace in Nay Pyi Taw. Ambassador Schmidt, who arrived to Myanmar in September 2017, will represent the European Union and serve as Head of the EU

International School of Bergen

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News Brief

Delegation in Yangon during the next four years.

‘I applied to serve the European Union in Myanmar, because I sincerely believe Myanmar can achieve something extraordinary: the people of Myanmar made a democratic decision to escape decades of isolation and re-join the community of nations with dignity and self-confidence. Hard work is needed to overcome the challenges in becoming a modern, peaceful and prosperous democracy, and no one else can do it for you. But I look forward to walking with you for the coming four years,” said Ambassador Schmidt after the hand-over ceremony.

Ambassador Schmidt has previously served as the Head of the European Union Delegation to Uganda and held several senior positions in the European Union’s headquarters in Brussels.

Ambassador Schmidt is a Danish national with extensive experience in development cooperation, security and peacekeeping matters. He speaks Danish, English, French, Italian and German.

Kristian Schmidt studied economics in Copenhagen, Denmark, Bologna, Italy and - as one of the first ERASMUS students - in Aix en Provence, France. He also holds a degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge, UK.

nternational School of Bergen (ISB) is situated on the west coast of Norway and offers an English language learning environment to students between the ages of 3 and 16.

Our mission is to provide an internationally accredited education ser ving the business and Bergen communities.

The educational programme of ISB has been developed to help prepare its students for a successful future. The school is accredited by the Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges in addition to being authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization to offer their Primary Years and Middle Years programmes.

Our students and staff

ENGELSKSPRÅKLIG PRIVATSKOLE FOR BARN OG UNGDOM MELLOM 3 OG 16 ÅR • • • • • •

Få elever i hver klasse Trygt læringsmiljø med god individuell oppfølging God kontakt med foreldre Internasjonalt godkjente og utfordrende læreplaner Utmerkede resultater i internasjonale og norske nasjonalprøver Sentral beliggenhet med bybanestopp rett utenfor døren For mer informasjon: www.isob.no eller post@isob.no

All teacher s hold univer sity degrees and appropriate teaching qualifications. Classes are small.With students and staff representing more than thir ty different nationalities, we pride ourselves in having a welcoming and including community.

ISB was founded in 1975, giving us 40 years of experience as an educational institution.

International School of Bergen Vilhelm Bjerknesvei 15, 5081 Bergen, Norway Phone: +4755306330 Website: www.isob.no E-mail: post@isob.no December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 7 April 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 23

News Brief

Business Finland to start in 2018 with Pekka Soini as Director General

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n 1 January 2018 Business Finland will commence its operations, intended to improve service to businesses.

The Finnish Government has submitted a bill for an Act on Business Finland. Business Finland will bring under the same roof all the present services of the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (Tekes) and Finpro related to innovation funding and internationalisation as well as to the promotion of expor ts, foreign investment in Finland and tourism.

The purpose of the Act will be to create a national body that will clarify and simplify the public internationalisation services offered to businesses, and support international cooperation in research, development and innovation as well as regional growth services.The new body would have around 600 employees and nearly 40 service locations abroad as well as, in the future, service locations in 18 counties throughout Finland.

Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä is delighted that the legislative proposal will now proceed to Parliament for consideration.

“A single body will take the entire lifecycle of business renewal, growth and internationalisation better into account. The unified service path will extend from the development of products, ser vices and business models all the way to market launch and the chain will not be broken at any stage. Removing overlaps will release necessary pairs of hands into the field both in Finland and abroad,” says Minister Lintilä.

Pekka Soini, Director General of Tekes, will continue as Director General of the new Business Finland body after the law is adopted. Soini will

work closely with Per tti Korhonen, Chair of Business Finland’s Change Management Board.

“The Business Finland reform has been prepared as a close collaborative effort with the Change Management Board, which consists of representatives of Finpro and Tekes management, customers and stakeholders. The goal is to serve customers better than before when the new Business Finland is launched,” says Pertti Korhonen.

The Government bill proposes the passing of an Act on Business Finland – the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation and the establishment of wholly state-owned limited company named Business Finland. The funding agency will be responsible for strategic leadership and official tasks, for example funding decisions.The company will focus on customer service.

The Act is intended to enter into force on 1 January 2018. The Government announced the establishment of the new body in March 2017.

Source: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

Finnish Embassy dinner showcased Finnish food and drinks

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n the for Finland pivotal 2017 which is a time for celebration of 100 years as an independent nation, it has been all about promoting Finnish culture, education, know-how, ‘Finnish cool’, Stopover Finland and its business solutions.

As the most recent activity in Thailand Ambassador Satu Suikkari-Kleven on 15 November hosted a Finnish Dinner at the residence to promote Finnish food and drinks to F&B distributors, importers and association.

Finnish food and drinks were prepared with freshly imported ingredients from Finland by the culinary students from Raseko Vocational Institute in Finland and their teacher, a top chef in Finland.

Those who would like to know more information about Finnish food and drinks can contact the Finnish mission.

Source: Embassy of Finland, Bangkok

8 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2017

News Brief

ABB inaugurates robotics plant in Thailand

(from Left) Mr. Lumboon Simakajornboon, Local Business Unit Manager, ABB Robotics, Mr. Sirichote Singsa, Vice President of ABB Robotics and Motion, Mrs. Karin Herrström, The wife of Swedish Ambassador in Thailand, H.E. Staffan Herrström, Swedish Ambassdor in Thailand, Mr. Ari Christian Kesti, Regional Sales Manager - Machine Tending Solutions, Mrs. Jennie Kesti, and Miss Charlisa Homsanit, Operation Manager ABB Robotics Machine Tending Limited takes a group photo together after openning ceremony. Photo: ABB

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he Swedish-Swiss technology corporation ABB on 3 November opened a new Facility in Thailand, ABB Robotics Machine-Tending Limited (RMT). The new facility to produce machine-tending robotics, in Rayong Province, Thailand was inaugurated in the presence of H.E Sweden’s Ambassador Staffan Herrström and Sirichote Singsa, who oversees ABB’s Robotics and Motion division in Thailand.

Under the Thailand 4.0 initiative, the robotics industry is a key element in raising productivity in other industries. Machine tending will play a

key role in supporting robotics in a variety of industries, including the mold and die casting, machinery and automotive industries. Industry 4.0 encourages business owners to adapt and adjust to new technologies and innovations over the next five years.

RMT will provide suppor t for production processes that call for automated machine tending, such as using robots to feed components to lathes and mills. ABB combines its portfolio of more than 800 machine-tending cell systems with dedicated machine-tending software, which can

reduce the engineering costs that are the most significant expense associated with installing a new machine.

“We stay close to our customers and understand their challenges and applications. We are working to further standardize our products, with the goal of greater flexibility. Our challenge is to guide a robot with even more precision. We put a lot of energy into making our robot cells reliable for our customers,” said Ari Kesti, Regional Sales Manager, Machine Tending Solutions.

“ABB is proud of this new facility,” said Mr. Sirichote. “It encourages not only fur ther export expansion under the Thailand Board of Investment’s privileges, but also expands our local presence in the country, which will allow us to serve local customers, improve service capabilities and expand our activities.”

ABB’s pioneering technology works closely with utility, industry, transport and infrastructure customers in roughly 100 countries. With more than four decades at the forefront of digital technologies, ABB is a leader in digitally connected and enabled industrial equipment and systems with an installed base of more than 70,000 control systems connecting 70 million devices.

Continuing more than a 125-year histor y of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions.

ABB is the product of many acquisitions and mergers, but primarily the 1988 coming together of ASEA of Sweden and Switzerland’s BBC, formerly known as Brown Boveri, two of the proudest and best known names in European electrical engineering history.

‘Smart Cities’ event arranged in Thailand by Sweden

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usiness Sweden and the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok arranged a high level event on the topic Smart Cities in Thailand (held on 14-15 November). Workshops and roundtable discussions were organised in both Bangkok and Khon Kaen, resulting in fruitful discussions on the development of smart and sustainable cities in Thailand.

H.E. Dr. Arkom Termpittayapaisith, Minister

of Transpor t of Thailand, inaugurated the event in Bangkok together with Ambassador Staffan Herrström. H.E. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, former Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), held honorary remarks. Public and private stakeholders from both countries participated.

Source: Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok

December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 9

Community

Kati Häkkinen Finnish Women Abroad network in Bangkok

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By Joakim Persson

aving just moved to Bangkok with her two kids, after nine years spent (on a beach) in south Thailand, Kati Häkkinen felt quite star ved for all things Finnish. Quickly finding out that there were in fact quite a few Finnish women living in the capital, but with no organised network, she set out to establish Finwa, Finnish Women Abroad, Bangkok.

Finwa Chairwoman Kati is a co-owner and co-founder of Aava Resort & Spa in Khanom, just south of Surat Thani, which she runs with her business partner and former husband Atte.

“I hadn’t talked much Finnish with anyone 10 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2017

except with the kids and coming to Bangkok we did not know that many people here. Then I realised there was no Finnish women’s club, and got the idea. There were some Finnish women around, also the newly arrived Finnish ambassador Satu Suikkari-Kleven encourage me to start Finwa.”

Close to 30 women have since then joined and around 15 attend the monthly meetings.

“Now, our rules say we do take all nationalities who somehow are in touch with Finland; has studied or lived in Finland or married with Finnish person. But, so far, we have only Finnish women who joined. We converse in Finnish!”

Most Finnish women in Bangkok are working here, so we cannot meet during the day on weekdays.

“For example, they are teacher in the KIS, doctor in Mahidol University, embassy employees and entrepreneurs. Also, some are housewives, so I think it’s really a nice combination.”

Quite soon the association has turned to running activities, including one that bring a strong element of Finland to Thailand: The Baby box, which is a Finnish maternity package.

“When we got together it was quite obvious that everybody wanted to do something good.

We all, living abroad and especially in Southeast Asia, know that we are very privileged to be born in a country like Finland. We wanted to do something good with the knowledge that we have and the things that we’ve got. We concentrate on charity and to give something back to women and girls here in Thailand and hopefully in the future in nearby countries as well.The FinnBox for Babies is Finwa’s first project.

“Finland is known for this Baby box which has been given to all expectant mothers since back in the 1930s, no matter what the family’s income is and it’s full of amenities and necessities for babies and the mother and family.This includes baby clothes, winter clothes, feeding things, thermometer… all kinds of things. The value of that box nowadays is something like 700 euros, so very valuable.”

“And we want to give this box here in Thailand to unprivileged mothers, in areas where people are not recognised by anyone, including very young mothers and those with HIV. We have concentrated the work on collecting things or partnering with the companies, getting funding and donations and things that are needed for the box. The value of this box is around 3300 baht, which has high value for someone who is poor.

We believe that in the future some other projects bigger than us or even some community, city or hospital would like to take on the project as a concept. We’d like to see this continuing.”

“Now we started to collect items from Finland to be sent here. We are running campaigns on Facebook and whoever comes here from Finland takes as much clothes as possible with them.”

The first Baby boxes Finwa handed out was a simple version, a trial if you like, at Home of Grace, which is supported by Lutheran Church of Thailand and that Scandinavian churches works with.

“It’s a temporary home for pregnant mothers who are in really tough situations and funded by Finnish and Norwegian churches. We handed out first 6-7 boxes there, to see what the feedback was. And it was fantastic to see the response from the mothers, how happy they were that somebody wanted to do something good for them and that somebody was thinking of them,” thinks Kati.

In Thailand, some girls become mothers at very young age and then have to leave school so their self-development stops there.

“I hope that our group’s activities, and even the maternity box, can somehow by small steps show them that they could actually survive as single mothers. Maybe we could start to change this society! But the first thing is to teach the kids to understand safe sex and things like that. The

maternity box has condoms and there will be information including leaflets.”

For Kati, personally, the move to Bangkok with small children has not been without challenges – of the kind expatriates face in Thailand’s infamous micro-society. The main purpose of moving was to get the children into better education and a chance to study also the Finnish language.

“In the beginning, it was difficult. I had once moved from Finland to Spain, and from Finland to Thailand so for me I already knew what to expect. But for our kids and our nanny moving from the countryside to the big city has been more difficult.”

The older of the siblings, Nino, was bound for international school, but his Thai school year had ended in the spring. However, KIS International School took him in without having to wait for next term to begin (which happens much later than Thai school).

“He already reads and writes Thai, but his sister Aida, who is only six, does not yet read and write Thai, so we wanted her to be in very good Thai school until she learns to read and write. We chose Amnuay Silpa School for her.”

“Aida’s school was challenging because we first tried to get also Nino in there so they would be in the same school. But there was no place available for his class. And they only took Aida there. So, this year we ended up with two schools and with different school semesters and the two schools are located on opposite sides of the city.

So, it’s been an interesting year!” smiles Kati.

Especially as some more serious trouble with Thai authorities had suddenly emerged in the process: “We got big problems when we signed up Aida to this private Thai school, which, without international school status is not allowed to take foreign students. Aida is born in Thailand and has Thai birth certificate and has never had an address in Finland. But the Thai education ministry still considered her to be an international student so it was really difficult to get her Education visa for that school.”

Family of Johanna Juhannusvuori helped to collect baby clothes in Turku area in Finland and then their their family brought 2x23 kg’s of donated clothes here to Thailand

Finland is known for this Baby box which has been given to all expectant mothers since back in the 1930s, no matter what the family’s income is and it’s full of amenities and necessities for babies and the mother and family. This includes baby clothes, winter clothes, feeding things, thermometer… all kinds of things. The value of that box nowadays is something like 700 euros, so very valuable.

To add insult to injury Nakorn Si Thammarat immigration, where the parents’ business visas are from, refused to extend the children’s O-visas because they now studied in Bangkok. “It is solved now, after some cursing and crying and screaming at the immigration. Sometimes there is no way; if you need the visa you just need to do it. You just need to find a way how to get it.”

“We had never before had any problems with visas or work permits or anything and now when I put my daughter in a really expensive Thai school where every Thai parents would like their kids to study I am having problems to get visa for my daughter who is born in Thailand! That was just beyond my comprehension.”

“The positive thing is that while I was in the middle of the battle with immigration I sought help from the correct authorities, I’ve been now informed that Aida’s case is used as an example case when new immigration regulations are being set how foreign kids who are born in this country should be seen.”

The other benefit for the children in Bangkok is to be able to attend the Finnish school. “I’m so happy that we’ve got Bansku – Finnish School here in Bangkok! After having lived only among Thai kids Aida and Nino can now start to relate and see that they’re not that different to others.

Also, they’ve started to become more interested in their roots by asking about things.”

Overall, to cope with the “arrangements”, as Kati also have her work duties concerning the resort, the family has had two nannies in Bangkok.

A Finnish Au-Pair helps the kids 3-4 months of the year with Finnish language.

“I‘m a very strong-minded person and have decided that the kids should become tri-lingual.

They spoke Thai and Finnish since they were born and have started learning English later. Now English and Thai are their school languages which they’ve learned to also write and read.They didn’t have that skill yet in Finnish so I hired a Finnish Aupair who studies to become a language teacher for those who Finnish is a second language. And it has helped so much! I found her through Facebook post that started to spread online. I will do that again next year as I believe learning one’s mother language and communicating with it is one of the most important things we can give to our kids.”

Kati’s, and other Finnish women’s experiences and know-how about Thailand is now a resource that can help other women from Finland who arrive here.

“Yes of course, we want to be help to newcomers. There is a lot of info and knowledge among us. I am the latest one moving here and going through the task of finding schools. And the process of applying to schools, immigration and visa issues, all those things…of course we are happy to help women and mothers.”

December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 11

Business

Håkan Alm

spearheads the economic-IT academic combo

By Joakim Persson

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wedish expat in Thailand, Mr Håkan Alm has refocused and returned to the academic wor ld. From IT service provider for the international businesses community and beyond, primarily in Bangkok, for many years including the role as Scandinavian Airlines Systems’ go-to guy in Asia when it came to any IT needs and troubleshooting, he suddenly decided on a gamechanger in his career, which today seems to have been forward-thinking.

Because disruption and digitalisation are now changing all sectors significantly, turning old businesses upside down and prompting a strong need to cater for both IT skills and business knowledge.

IT was in 2007 that Håkan took the decision to, albeit late, return to the academic world to further his studies, with the aim of eventually becoming a professor.

“I first registered at Linköping University and then defended my thesis at AIT, Asian Institute of Technology, in Bangkok. Around 2008 I started working part-time as teacher. And since 2013 I’m full time lecturer at University of Borås in

12 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2017

Sweden and also responsible for a programme called Business Informatics,” tells Håkan and adds: “Sometimes I name it as Business and IT programme, where they study 50/50 IT and economics courses the first two years and then choose for the third what they want to focus more on, leading to either a Bachelor in Computer Science or a Bachelor in Business.

“I’m pretty senior in the IT business and consultancy world, and relatively junior in the academic world, as I got my Doctor’s Degree as late as in 2014.”

Aside from teaching and some smaller administrative assignments Doctor Alm is today par t of a research group called SIIR, Swedish Institute for Innovative Retailing. “We are among other things looking at consumer behaviour, and various forms of technology use to come up with more interesting offline and online shopping experiences. We don’t believe that bricks and mor tar shopping will disappear, but that they must develop and become more interesting to survive as that segment evolve. When taking a purchase decision today one does not just enter a shop and buy something. One probably has done

some online research first, maybe used a price comparison tool, maybe even taken a photo of the item and published it on social media too see what the friends think. And then, if the feedback is good, one might buy it.”

“Another part is the mobile payment systems and using big data; all companies have enormous amounts of data, but most businesses, including even the largest ones that should be clever, do not really know what to do with all the data. And what we do is to build ways and algorithms to manage data in an effective way.”

Håkan is now able to combine his experience from running a business with academic research – and coming up with commercially viable solutions. And for him this is only natural: “I have a background working as an IT and business consultant for many years and for me when I entered the academic world, I was an industrial doctor candidate, meaning that much of my financing came from my business. And, also now my research is very close to the business world.

But one part is of course to publish at scientific conferences and in journals etc.That is needed to, step by step, become a full professor.

While Håkan is now employed by a university in Sweden it does not mean he has left Asia behind.

During the autumn 2017 semester the ver y first batch of exchange students from his programme has studied in Bangkok and a collaboration with universities in Indonesia kicks off next January.

“We have six students studying for one term– most of it business, and mixed with IT–at PIM, Panyapiwat Institute of Management.”

PIM is Thailand’s number one corporate university, eunder the flagship of CP ALL PCL, with the objective of transferring the knowledge of the business community to students, Interestingly, given what Håkan is spearheading within Sweden’s university world, PIM aims to fill the divide between conventional education and the demands of corporations. PIM sees that in to produce job-ready graduates for today’s disruptive world the main approach must be work-based learning.

“PIM are very close to the industry so they are very good for internships.” comments the Swede.

Meanwhile in Indonesia Borås University has had par tnerships, within psychology, with Gunadarma University as well as Gadjah Mada University in Yogjakar ta. Now, Håkan and a colleague has revamped this, initially with suppor t from Linneaus Palme scholarships to seek connections and fur ther collaboration opportunities.

“We applied for a larger financing which would mean sending a number of teachers and students to Indonesia and they would do the opposite. And now it focuses on IT even though psychology is still part of it. This means that this financing is for a three-year-period where I’m one of the teachers going to Indonesia to lecture with Indonesian students. And I have a counterpart that will come to Borås and lecture there. And then we’ll have a number of students going in both directions, for exchange studies. So, this will be the first students go there in January.”

“We are also looking at possibly doing

research in Indonesia and at PIM Bangkok.”

Commenting further about mobile payment systems and more Hakan says: “We’ve been walking around with plastic cards for forty years and the idea is that one must not do that in the future.

“What I am looking at is going further than mobile payment and digital wallets, in a nutshell.”

“What Sweden is doing now is for example is launching its own electronic currency. Sweden’s national bank was the first in the world to start using bills as currency and might now become the first state to have an electronic currency. Sweden is also expected to be the first cashless country in the world, as early as 2023.”

“And exactly what will happen, with virtual currencies , etc. I am also not a fortune teller! But this is exceptionally interesting, and when things can settle down a bit more and get going and the worst Klondike has passed over and you end up with the serious players left - like what happened in the IT crash at the end of 1990s; there was nothing wrong with the Internet, but quite a lot was wrong with those copying and pasting back then. And one believed back then that sound ways of doing business no longer applied. But it turned out that yes it did; it just it took a bit longer.”

“Something else I am looking at with fascination is leapfrogging. Take a country like Thailand where most people–young, old, rich and poor, highly educated or lacking skills –they all have smart phones. Most of them have never used a PC, but started their internet experience with smart phones, as their first mobiles,” he adds.

“And that kind of leapfrogging becomes extremely interesting and relevant, with people from the countryside in for instance Indonesia suddenly doing pretty cool things that those of us with a quite long IT experience could not ourselves do only one or two years back.”

Håkan takes a strong interest in comparative studies, looking at how things work in different parts of world, such as concerning his “baby” payment solutions “There are no good such solutions today that works well across borders, not even within the EU. Also. besides, plastic cards, few solutions work both online and offline.”

There are fresh players on the market now that offer innovative financial solutions – which also brings us back to the topic of education: “When Collector Bank employs people today they hire more within IT skills than business. They like my students who graduates with a solid IT and Business background. Also at traditional large bank corporations look for that today in people’s profile, so it’s no longer obvious, that if coming from the Business School that you are employable at a bank.”

University of Borås used to have an institution for trade and IT. “But after re-structuring to a model with faculties IT and economics ended up at different faculties. However, in the university programme I am running you have one foot on each side of the fence in these two faculties.

Personally I think this new separation was unfortunate. Economy and IT will always go hand in hand for me so it was no coincidence I was appointed as responsible for the IT and Business programme. We have an ongoing dialogue with

the business world and they are exceptionally enthusiastic for this kind of education,” says Håkan.

“And what is also incredibly surprising is how few universities in Sweden actually have this type of programme. Business Engineering is pretty common, while the IT and Business combination isn’t. Traditionally in the academic world we work in silos. This topics and discipline thinking is still there, the traditionalism and protectionism. We must change that. I cannot speak IT without talking Business at the same time with what I am doing. I will still get objections, but today’s world works like this: A bank cannot employ Business people who lack IT knowledge!”

“It is interesting that society places so much importance on education while the academic world still has evolved very little. There are two things I am fighting for: 1) internationalisation. As we live in a global world the universities cannot operate only locally 2) industrial connection versus the disciplinal protectionism that is limiting the quality of education.”

The Swedish exchange students from Borås University

Fr. left: Oscar Ågren, Lisa Myrnäs, Max Kellert

L

isa Myrnäs Max Kellert Oscar Ågren are in the final year of their Borås University studies and among those who has come to Bangkok’s Panyapiwat Institute of Management, PIM, as exchange students during the 2017 autumn term.

All three are satisfied as they are approaching the end of the term, with no regrets.

“It feels like a rewarding experience, both regarding the global perspective, that one is studying in another way with more focus here, and to get to meet a lot people from other countries and get new perspectives feels useful,” says Oscar.

“It feels like one will be more patient upon returning home after this!” says Lisa and adds: “I

absolutely think it is rewarding to study together with other international students; it feels like one learns a lot aside the actual education – to learn to interact with people from other cultures.”

“Everyone is not like us, which one gets to learn here and one must to accept that, and solve it in the best manner. Oftentimes one can get better solutions from people from other countries too. It’s easy to think that one knows best at solving problems. But to be patient and listen there is always a solution,” thinks Max. A stamp of approval for PIM may come from a Swedish lecturer, Roy Andersson: “He compared this with other schools and said that one has to perform things one actually learns here, compared to many other Thai schools he has been to,” says Lisa.

They have learned more practical things says Oscar.

“Back home it is more one’s own responsibility.

Here you get assignments every week, which we don’t have in Sweden.There you may make exam tests and submit some work in the end while here you have that every week in every subject, to do some smaller tasks. That’s the largest difference,” adds Lisa.

“Company visits are connected to ever y course so we get to see and learn the topics from the perspective or the corporate world as

well,” says Max. Compared to back home they agreed that it is very different in Thailand: “Just the thing that in Bachelor courses it’s a requirement to attend so you stamp in and out when attending a classroom ever y time, with extremely high pressure to attending classes, says Oscar.

“And during the lectures it is not just about listening. It is more hands-on here, with tasks to solve in groups,” adds Max. Commenting on their education that mixes IT and economy they are all very positive. Currently, it feels very relevant to mix IT and economy, thinks Max and Oscar.

“We are learning more the backbone of programming; the conceptual part,” says Oscar.

“I’m very satisfied to have the opportunity of getting such an education where it is combined. It feels like that will pay off a lot,” thinks Lisa.

“Nowadays, IT and economy comes together within most parts in society and if you have gained an understanding of both it makes things much easier for us. You don’t need to be a specialist on everything but to have a basic knowledge of IT,” adds Max. In a future management role, he believes he will most likely get to work with team members involved in IT in various ways and will be able to understand and communicate with them.

December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 13

Business

Cleaning up the Oceans – Once a year the ‘Clean Up the World Weekend’ takes place, including in Bangkok. The 2017 edition, enjoying strong Nordic participation and engagement, gathered many representatives from businesses, foreign missions, students and volunteers for a clean-up effort on and along Chao Phraya River on 16 September. Also concerning the global dimension of this crisis with alarmingly increasing plastic pollution of the oceans the Nordic involvement is strong. And the plastic problem connects strongly to Thailand, as one of the top contributors to the waste in the oceans.

By Joakim Persson

14 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2017

W

hen one takes a closer look, and asks why plastic is possibly a “problem”–as most people in countries like Indonesia and Thailand might do–one finds that all number s are staggering, and the magnitude of the marine pollution problem as such shocking.

Recent scientific reports have revealed the amount of 6-12 million tons of plastics escaped into the world’s oceans annually.

What is at the core of this issue is that society’s increasing desire for plastic products has resulted in plastic becoming ubiquitous in the marine environment, where it persists for decades, even hundreds of years. That has severe impact on the ecosystems.

Case in point: Henderson Island is a remote, uninhabited island in the southern Pacific Ocean more than 5,000 kilometres from the closest major population centre. And yet scientists, when documenting the amount of debris and rate of accumulation there, found that the density of debris was the highest reported anywhere in the world (published in April 2017 in the prestigious ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America’ journal). An estimated 37.7 million debris items weighing a total of 17.6 tons are currently present on Henderson, with up to 26.8 new items/m accumulating daily!

Closer to home: visit any Thai beach in monsoon season and a huge amount of garbage usually “decorates” the shoreline.

Nicklas Moberg, General Manager at Hotel Royal Bangkok

Deputy Head of Mission, Anders Lønstrup Graugaard, Embassy of Denmark Bangkok

Norwegian photographer Ben Zander presented his Death By Plastic campaign

Mahidol University student

– the Thailand case Standing at any of the piers along Chao Phraya River in Bangkok and looking down at the brown water a steady stream of floating objects, mainly energy drinks bottles, polystyrene and various other plastics are floating by on its way towards the Gulf of Siam.

How much garbage would be caught in say 24 hours if one were to stretch a net in the water across this river? No one has done that but the catch from the Clean Up Bangkok River At Chao Phraya River action in September gives an idea: 2000+ plastic bags, 700+ plastic bottles, 600+ plastic cups/cartons, 900+ glass bottles, 1300+ styrofoam, 150+ clothing-related, 1500+ small plastic pieces–in total 132 kg of solid waste–were collected from the river and nearby streets in just one hour by around 400 participants (conducted along a 6km stretch of the river).

The annual clean-up is and effort by private and government organisations connected to Clean Up the World – one of the world’s largest community-based environmental campaign (mobilises an estimated 35 million volunteers from 130 countries annually) that inspires and empowers communities from every corner of the globe to clean up, fix up and conserve their environment.

Bangkok River Partners joined the campaign in Bangkok with their par tner hotels and venues working with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Eco-Capital Forum (comprised of foreign embassies in Bangkok), local businesses, community groups, and their neighbours to remove rubbish.

And this year, in collaboration with Mahidol University and ‘The Sustainable Self ’, categorized and counted items in the waste found was recorded to establish a baseline to which data from subsequent years can be compared with.

Such hard data will be insightful and lead to future high impact solutions and measureable goals.

This would also assist discussions with partner hotels to improve waste management, stated the organiser.

Swedish hotelier’s engagement

The representatives from the Danish, Finnish and Swedish embassies back in September gathered along with students and other volunteers at Hotel Royal Bangkok, hosted by its Swedish General Manager Nicklas Moberg.

Nicklas told ScandAsia about his hotel’s involvement: “We thought this was worthwhile partake in to be able to show our engagement to the local stores and restaurants here that one can take strong steps to address the issue around waste management. So we offered to be a meeting point for those wanting to partake and perform the clean-up from this part of the river.”

The GM also told about the hotel’s effort to put its own house in order. “During one year we have been trying to address how we handle our garbage at our hotel. What I find difficult to understand is where the garbage actually goes.

We are told to separate recyclable garbage but it is all then collected by the same garbage collector.”

“We have been pushing this a bit and

have now been given brand new garbage bins, containers and more information. And we have more from info BMA that they are starting to control this better and to be more visible and supportive, which has become an advantage for us as we are trying to be supportive in this. Wee weigh and document our garbage so we can see how much we generate and where we may have surplus and where we could limit it further – so that we start at the right end. Because it is somehow there it all starts.”

Hotel Royal Bangkok is trying to minimise overall consumption and choose not to use plastic bags and plastic bottles and plastic plates and polystyrene food boxes.

“We serve drinking water in glass bottles now. We have eliminated plastic bottles and are trying to show more clearly for the guests in the rooms that especially there it should be glass bottles, because the guest otherwise takes the plastic bottles with them and go out and then, with our logo on them, these would end up on the streets and in the river, which is certainly not something we’d want to see.”

Concerning the marine pollution Nicklas has seen it first-hand when he previously used to work at a hotel on Jomtien beach.

“Every morning, one had to clean up the beach. And it did not strike me then where the garbage was coming from. But I noticed that it was not so much from the fishing boats, as there were diapers etc. ending up on the beach. And when we identified that the plastic bottles had Thai text one started to see that the problem was coming December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 15

Business

from Thailand itself polluting the sea and having it floating up on the beaches somewhere.”

Nicklas prompted the authorities to act pointing to the pollution as negative for Thailand’s tourism image. Not much changed, however.

For the next clean-up event in 2018 Nicklas said he is aiming at gathering more strength in terms of participants, including companies such as Tetra Pak who also do not wish their packaging to end up in the sea and on the beaches.

Death By Plastic

Based on the same experience Bangkok-based Norwegian photographer Ben Zander, best known locally for his work within fashion, has decided to do his bit to increase consumer awareness in Thailand.

“The plastic waste is clearly visible. Plastic waste floating around the shorelines has meant that the country’s beautiful beaches have sadly become harder to enjoy. Thailand’s plastic waste also poses a serious threat to global marine life and public health,” states Ben. His clever ‘Death By Plastic’ campaign to promote change by using famous friends to influence the individual consumer in Thailand was presented at Hotel Royal Bangkok. In this social media campaign he is using popular figures in Thailand to pose in front of garbage sites.

One million seabirds and 100.000 mammals die a slow death every year from oceanic plastic waste that they have mistaken for food and eaten.

It is called “Death by Plastic”. Today, the majority of the world’s oceanic plastic waste comes from just five countries, and Thailand is one of them, he explained.

Ben uses his popular celebrity friends that people do listen to in order to give the problem a voice.

He showed the three mini documentaries 16 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2017

and photo shoots done up to now. Everyone in this campaign works for free but Ben is seeking further donations with the goal to produce ten mini movies in total.

One photograph one from each trip/location will be used for an exhibition and sold for the project’s benefits to tour with the exhibition and build further awareness.

It is mostly about a lack of awareness that causes Thailand’s wasteful and destructive consumer culture, I also believe there is potential for making a real change by raising awareness,” he stated.

“The idea of photographing high profile individuals in relevant locations, with plastic bags taped over their heads fits perfectly not only visually but also symbolically. Our current relationship with plastic is self-destructive.”

Denmark’s engagement

Speaking on behalf of the Embassy of Denmark to those who had gathered in Chinatown was also Deputy Head of Mission, Anders Lønstrup Graugaard.

“In general, we prioritise to involve ourselves in topics concerning the environment as well as sustainable energy etc. As one among 21 diplomatic missions,the Danish Embassy partnered with Hotel Royal Bangkok and coordinated the Scandinavian group of volunteers,” Anders explained to ScandAsia. “We will also participate in tree planting in the near future. “It’s also about marking that we believe this is important work – we use our resources to bring awareness on this issue,” he added.

To those gathered Anders presented some facts, such as that 150 million tons of waste has already been dumped into our oceans, with this figure growing fast.

“We now produce 20 times more plastic

than we did in 1964, a vast rubbish-scape of bottles and wrapping and hard plastic lids that are expected to double in size in the next 20 years – and almost quadruple in size by 2050.”

These findings are from of the highly relevant 2016 report by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation: ‘The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics’, which has analysed the flow of materials around the world. The prediction is that, given the projected growth in production, by 2050 oceans could contain more plastics than fish.

“In Asia this is a big problem. On a global scale, Asia is a dull leader. 80 per cent of the plastic waste in the oceans originates from land and only four countries account for more than half of the source of pollution. China is the leader but the world’s fourth most populous nation, Indonesia, occupies second place, sharply followed by the Philippines and Vietnam. In fact, five member countries of the Southeast Asian cooperation organization ASEAN are found among the eight worst plastic detectors. Thailand is unfortunately among those.”

Anders also presented the Danish Embassy’s view on what can be done. “We can do more, we have alternatives.We come from a country where 95% of waste is either recycled or incinerated.”

The Danish Embassy sees waste-to-energy as a necessity to “stop the bleeding” and to solve the problem of both the cities’ mountains of waste as well as the waste scattered everywhere else.

“There is broad understanding in Denmark of global environment protection as an international issue and it is an area where civil society is very actively putting pressure on politicians.”

The key takeaway, Anders said, is that this is a global problem that needs a global solution.

In Thailand Denmar k no longer r uns development aid. Previously though, Denmark

Hotel Royal Bangkok received from BMA the waste bins: green for food, yellow for recyclable, red for hazardous and blue for general waste, which are now in use for the hotel’s waste.

However, outside at Yaowaraj road BMA uses garbage bins in transparent plastic bags, because then, they claim, the public can see in which plastic bag to throw what kind of waste… took a lead role in establishing Phuket Marine Biological Center, a centre that today success contributes with knowledge on these matters.

“But we are in dialogue with Thai authorities on these challenges. Also, we tr y to bring awareness to relevant Danish companies who have skills and techniques that can be used to mitigate some of the challenges.”

“Thailand is aware of the challenge, and clearly a lot of work needs to be done,” he continued and brought to the attention Thailand’s recent effor ts in making an effor t to protect marine environment from marine debris and land-based pollution.

Thailand’s Plans of action

Its Department of Marine and Coastal Resources presented these at the Ocean Conference, held in June and arranged by Sweden (!) and Fiji islands.

“The general situation regarding marine debris holds true for most coastal states, including Thailand. Total amount of garbage, uncollected and/or disposed improper ly, from coastal provinces of Thailand was estimated at 2.83 million tons in the year 2016, of which 12% was plastic,” writes the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Thailand has emphasized the need to address marine plastic debris by declaring comprehensive and integrated actions both in terms of policy and practice, with full participatory of all concerned stakeholders.

And the country expresses its full intention to actively par ticipate and cooperate with countries in the region including international and intergovernmental organizations to reduce plastic debris in the ocean.

For proper protection of marine environment Thailand has established several plans and has implemented immediate actions in coastal areas.

Among those the Plastic Debris Management Plan comprises several approaches, such as developing a fiscal and financial tool for plastic debris management; promoting and encouraging eco-packaging design and eco-friendly substitute for plastic materials; developing a material flow of plastic containers and packaging inventory; implementing 3Rs (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) strategy for plastic debris management; and promoting education for relevant stakeholders in field of plastic material and its substitute.

ScandAsia has tried to gauge the scope these plans in Thailand in terms of action plans. A spokesperson for the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, said that all the plans are being implemented and has campaigned to eliminate the use of plastic capsules.

In par ticular there are many activities in connection to World Oceans Day (8 June) and beach cleaning takes place in all Thailand’s coastal areas twice a year.

In Thailand total amount of garbage , uncollected and/or disposed improperly, from coastal provinces of was estimated at 2.83 million tons in the year 2016, of which 12% was plastic.

New Plastics Economy

What can trigger some hope to counteract a glooming scenario for the future is the aforementioned repor t ‘The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics’. It shows that, in the current plastics economy, after a short first-use cycle, 95% of plastic packaging material value, or $80–120 billion annually, is lost to the economy. Shifting to a circular model could generate a $706 billion economic opportunity, of which a significant proportion is attributable to packaging – so there we have a strong financial incentive.

The New Plastics Economy has identified a

practical approach to enabling this shift, with the ambition to deliver better system-wide economic and environmental outcomes by creating an effective after-use plastics economy, drastically reducing the leakage of plastics into natural systems. Increase the economic attractiveness of keeping materials in the system. This is the cornerstone of the report’s proposal and this new economy’s first priority.

The investigation into plastic packaging showed a particular theme with plastics “leaking” (escaping) from after-use collection systems and the resulting degradation of natural systems, particularly the ocean.

A Global Plastics Protocol should be developed to set direction on the re-design and convergence of materials, formats, and afteruse systems to substantially improve collection, sor ting and reprocessing yields, quality and economics, while allowing for regional differences and continued innovation.

As an immediate action after-use collection, storage and reprocessing infrastructure in highleakage countries must improved.

But existing improvement initiatives would need to be complemented and guided by a concer ted, global, systemic and collaborative initiative for the transition to the New Plastics Economy to become reality.

Meanwhile, here on planet earth the pollution continues, where mankind has already caused “the presence of hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastics in the ocean, whether as microscopic particles or surviving in a recognizable form for hundreds of years, which will have profoundly negative effects on marine ecosystems and the economic activities that depend on them”.

December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 17

มุมภาษาไทย l mum pha:să: thai l Thai Language Corner

Into the Wild

By Klavs Johansen (thai@snakthai.dk)

A

s announced last month, this will be the last gathering at the Thai Language Corner, at least for any foreseeable future.

The column has r un each month for four consecutive years, or forty eight issues. Always intended as a casual treatment of various aspects of the Thai language from the Scandinavian learner’s point of view – with plenty of material for the beginner, some for the intermediate learner, and perhaps even a little now and then for the advanced student – the Thai Language Corner has introduced the sounds of standard Thai, along with one structured way to write them, covered counting and telling time, food, colors, fruits, royal vocabulary, Indian loanwords, spor ts, education and many, many more subjects during its lifespan. As of time of writing, it is likely that some of the columns will be compiled into a booklet, titled Thai Language Corner just as the column. So do keep an eye out for it at scandshop.in.th.

Looking back at the past four years, there are plenty of subjects which we haven’t covered.

Among these, we shall this month pick one at random, namely animals of Thailand and present what can only be a small appetizer for you. We shall stick to the wild ones: เสือ / sŭea / ~ tiger, but also used as a family designation for larger Felidae, such as in เสือดำ� / sŭea dam / ~ panther, ดำ� / dam / of course meaning black, and เสือดาว / sŭea da:o / ~ leopard, where ดาว / da:o / ~ star.

18 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2017

This way of using a family designation in the naming of animals is common in Thai and more examples are งู / ngu: / ~ snake, งูเห่า / ngu: hào / ~ cobra, where เห่า / hào / ~ to bark, to hiss, งูจงอาง / ngu: jong a:ng / ~ king cobra, งูเหลือม / ngu: lŭeam / ~ python, and ปลา / pla: / ~ fish, but also used for a larger group of sea animals, ปลาช่อน / pla: chôrn / ~ snakehead fish, ปลาไหล / pla: lăi / ~ eel, ปลาหมึก / pla: mùek / ~ squid, where หมึก / mùe:k / ~ ink, ปลาดาว / pla: da:o / ~ starfish, remember ดาว / da:o /, ปลาวาฬ / pla: wa:n / ~ whale, ปลาโลมา / pla: lo:ma: / ~ dolphin, and นก / nók / ~ bird, นกยูง / nók yu:ng / ~ peacock, นกกระสา / nók kràsă: / ~ heron, นกกระจาบ / nók kràjà:p / ~ weaverbird, นกฮูก / nók hû:k / ~ owl, you can hear the sound, นกกระจอก / nók kràjòr:k / ~ sparrow, and, finally, แมลง / málae:ng / ~ insect, แมลงวัน / málae:ng wan / ~ fly, แมลงหวี่ / málae:ng wì: / ~ fruit fly, แมลงปอ / málae:ng por: / ~ dragonfly, แมลงสาบ / málae:ng sà:p / ~ cockroach, and แมลงเต่าทอง / málae:ng tào thor:ng / ~ lady bug.

Other common animals in Thailand are:

ลิง / ling / ~ monkey, ยุง / yung / ~ mosquito, จิ้งจก / jîngjòk / ~ lizard, ตุ๊กแก / tùk kae: / ~ gecko, แมงกะพรุน / maeng kàphrun / ~ jellyfish, กวาง / kwa:ng / ~ deer, พังพอน / phang phor:n / ~ mongoose, and ช้าง / chá:ng / ~ elephant.

As some of you will recall, all animals are counted using the classifier ตัว / tua /, actually meaning body, as in จิ้งจกสี่ตัว / jîngjòk sì: tua / ~ four geckos, งูเห่าสองตัว / ngu: hào sŏr:ng tua / ~ two cobras, ปลาวาฬตัวหนึ่ง / pla: wa:n tua nùeng / ~ a whale.

The only exception is ช้าง / chá:ng / ~ elephant, a special animal to Thailand, the national animal in fact, which, when domesticated, is counted using the word เชือก / chûeak /, actually meaning robe, as in ช้ า งห้ า เชื อ ก / chá:ng hâ: chûeak / ~ five elephants.

Want to practice the names of some of all these animals? Buy a game of picture lottery and I am sure Thai kids would love to play it with you.

Those were the last words. Thank you to all readers. It has been a pleasure writing this column about a field so dear to me. I wish each one of you will enjoy your journey with the Thai language as much as I enjoy mine. Have a good one, and ลาก่อนนะครับ / la: kòr:n ná’ khráp / ~ Goodbye for now!

December 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 19