ScandAsia Indochina

OCT 2012

Vietnam Cambodia Laos

A-Band in Asia:

Danish Rock Concert in Vietnam and Cambodia

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e h T T IB IB World School in Singapore! in Singapore!

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Opinion

My coach and I

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

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and Singapore.

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukit 29 Prasert Manukit Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: news@scandasia.com Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Assistant Editor: Wachiraporn Janrut wachiraporn@scandmedia.com Advertising : Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Supphathada Numamnuay supphathada@scandmedia.com

have a guru, a mentor. The Americans call it “coach”, a coach in fiction writing. It took me years, not to find her, but to actually contact her. Sometimes, we’re good at putting obstacles in our way.

Imagine an experienced novelist and artist taking you by the hand, guiding you through the mysteries of writing a novel. That’s what Caroline Allen is doing with budding fiction writers all around the world.

I’m interviewing her in this issue. She is a magical person with wide-reaching powers, a sage, an artistic and spiritual leader whose work is yet to be known on a global scale. And when it finally will break through, it will be with the force of a creative tsunami.

I’ve had other teachers in the past. “You should write a novel,” one of them said at the writing course I attended at Folkuniversitetet in Stockholm. I was playing with a number of short stories, sketches and portraits inspired by my experiences in Eastern Europe. “I really don’t have this kind of fascinating material that you have,” he said. “You should turn these stories into a novel.”

I always wanted to write a novel but had no idea how to actually do it, how to structure all this material, which kept haunting me, into a narrative that could work.

I wasn’t even sure which language to write in. I’m multilingual and with my inherent respect for language, I knew I “should” be writing in Swedish, the language I was educated in. The problem was that my novel is not a Swedish story, and that’s why writing it in English seemed the only thing that would make sense. The story needed to be told in English. Yet, I worried.

I looked for advice. There are classes, courses, none of which worked for me. Writers have always learnt by reading and writing, by trial and error and by never-ending rewriting. But we also need help and we do need people. For feedback we can trust, we need mentors who are writers and artists themselves.

I was recommended to contact Caroline Allen by my American artist friend Leah Kohlenberg years ago. Finally, after much hesitation, I did contact her and the journey under her guidance has been mind-blowing.

I began with Caroline by simply talking to her about my story idea. She made suggestions for how to begin the novel, how to write a rough draft of chapter 1. I wrote it, emailed the document to her, and we Skyped about how to evolve it further. This has been our process week after week as the novel has progressed.

I realised that this is exactly what I’ve been looking for and there had been nothing like it on offer in Sweden. She has literally put me on track with my writing and showed me how to shape my seemingly disconnected fragments of text into a story.

Also, the synchronicity in our lives has been amazing.

Plenty of spinoff ideas for further cooperation has resulted out of this creative process. I could also see that I too know how to support other writers, that in fact, I have been doing this with friends in the past: collaboratively talking through, sometimes even co-writing their stories or plays without ever having put a “coaching” label on it.

Americans are so much more entrepreneurial (creative) about the arts and writing than we are in Europe. In Europe, we are surrounded by our rich artistic heritage, a source of never-ending inspiration, but we’re not at all entrepreneurial about creative endeavours for the average person.

Yet, anything seems possible via Skype these days, even art classes – my friend Leah teaches people all over the world how to paint via her computer. Busy executives can squeeze in one hour of painting in their packed schedule but not three, the time it takes to get to and from the class.

Doing it via Skype might be the only chance for some people to pursue something they always dreamed of doing, at the convenience of doing it from their homes.

The lesson is that it really doesn’t matter where in the world you are anymore - your coach and mentor in whatever passion you wish to pursue could be just a Skype-call away.

There is a whole world of opportunity to tap into for anyone who wants to join this creative global revolution.

Printing : CONG TY TNHH TM - DV PHAM TRAN Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

Andrea Hessmo is a Swedish freelance journalist and writer, currently based in Singapore. She has been a regular journalist for ScandAsia Singapore since September 2011. She holds a Master’s degree in English.

News Brief Vice-President of the National Assembly Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan centered with the members of the Danish delegation of MP’s led by Mr. Eyvind Vesselbo. To the far left, Ambassador John Nielsen.

Roundtable discussions

Danish MPs met with Vietnamese counterparts

A

Danish Member of Parliament (MP) delegation visited Vietnam in September as part of the bilateral relations between the parliaments of the two countries.

The Danish MPs met with The Vice-President of the National Assembly Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who highly valued the delegation’s working visit as a contribution to strengthening exchanges and cooperation between the two countries and the two legislative bodies.

The Danish delegation was headed by Eyvind Vesselbo, who highlighted Vietnam’s achievements in the cause of national construction and development, particularly in poverty reduction, adding that the two sides need to boost cooperation in trade, investment, education and training.

The Danish delegation also met with the Law Committee of the NA and with Vice-ministers of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and of Construction.

The Danish MPs had two days of intense and fruitful roundtable discussions with members of the National Assembly, on subjects as the constitutional amendment process in Vietnam, parliamentary oversight, committee hearings and green growth.

As part of the discussions on green growth the two MP delegations met with the Vice-Chairman of Quang Nam’s People’s Committee to learn about the climate and environmental challenges facing that particular province. They also visited Cu Lao Cham Islands to learn how targeted programmes can improve the livelihood of individual households while at the same time increasing fish stocks.

The MPs discussed the Danish experience of achieving economic growth without increasing energy consumption – and the role that MPs play in promoting green growth strategies, policies and legislation. At the closing of the roundtable discussions both delegations expressed their desire to see more “green” issues on the agenda of future exchanges between the two countries’ legislative bodies.

Vietnam-Finland Innovation Partnership Programme

M

anagers and experts both at home and abroad on 12 September 2012 gathered at a seminar in Hanoi to discuss the implementation of the Vietnam-Finland Innovation Partnership Programme (IPP).

The programme was launched in 2009 in eight cities and provinces of Hanoi, Haiphong, Danang, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Lam Dong and An Giang. The first phase of the project costs a total of nearly EUR7 million with 89 percent of the budget coming from the Finnish Government. After three years of implementation, 56 sub-projects out of 61 ratified ones are getting underway.

At the seminar, Finnish Ambassador Kimmo Lahdevirta said the project has significantly contributed to encouraging innovation initiatives, raising effectiveness of cooperation between scientists and businesses, and boosting the scientific and tech6 ScandAsia.Indo China • October 2012

nological partnership between the two countries.

Taking businesses as the centre, IPP has paid special attention to enterprises run by female leaders and those focusing on rural areas, the ambassador said. He underlined the need for Vietnam to upgrade its information system to deal

with issues regarding State management during the implementation of the project.

It is also necessary for the two sides to expand the project’s scale to maximise the effectiveness of innovation in Vietnam, the diplomat said. The two sides agreed to continue their cooperation during the second phase of the project which will last from February to August next year.

The project aims to help Vietnam become an industrialised nation with the middle-income status, a knowledge-based economy and a national innovative system actively serving socio-economic development.

News Brief

Danish Ambassador Fit for running

J

ohn Nielsen, Danish ambassador to Vietnam likes running to keep himself fit for fight. Last month, he joined the Sa Pa Half Marathon which was held for the first time in the mountains around Sa Pa in the middle of September. The peoble behind the Marathon was Red River Runners from Hanoi and supported by the Danish owned Topaz Ecolodge. The Topaz Eco lodge hotel was one of the first projects in SA Pa to develop tourism and it was supported by the Danish government sector program.

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8/29/11 1:57 PM

October 2012 • ScandAsia.Indo China

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Danish rock in two generation:

Four concerts in Vietnam and Cambodia for charity The Danish A-BAND will visit Vietnam in the period of 28th of October and will finish in HCMC in the 2nd of November. From there they will go to Cambodia from the 7th to the 10th of November.

By Indius Pedersen

A-BAND is a Danish two generations

Rock ‘n’ Roll band consisting of both professional and semiprofessional musicians. First and foremost they play for fun and because they like playing together. They love Soul and Rock ‘n’ Roll and have done concert in 12 countries.

Latest in Cuba.

Now the time has come to visit Vietnam and Cambodia as a part of their World Tour.

They will play at venues in Hanoi, Hoi An and HCMC in Vietnam and a concert in X Bar in Siem Riep, Cambodia.

Four concerts “We play four concerts. Three in Vietnam and one in Siem Riep, Cambodia. The venues suggest that they get an agreement with a beer producer, and the beer they sell goes to charity, in every city”, says Mr. Jon Falkenberg Jonsén, spokesman of A-BAND, Denmark.

A-BAND has through a period of 15 years given rock classics as Tutti Frutti, C.C. Rider, Jail House Rock, and soul songs like Midnight Hour, Sweet nothing, Leave Your Hat On a touch of themselves as goes for arrangement and sound.

One of the remarkable things about the band is the Rock ‘n Roll voice of the lead-singer with its tight swinging band, including a great choir.

A-BAND has - in addition to playing on port feasts and festivals to great success as well as to plenty of private events - in Denmark, played 8 ScandAsia.Indo China • October 2012

concerts for the opening of the «International Sailing Week» and «International Beer festival» in the Olympic city Qingdao in China 2009.

Other venues have included concerts in Malaga, Spain, and Gambia, Africa.

In addition, the band combined a sail-and concert tour in the Caribbean in 2008, where they played in Grenada, the Netherlands Antilles, as well as Bonaire.

In the summer of 2010 they went on a trip to the Greek archipelago, where A-BAND created great joy with concerts on Kea, Mykonos, Syros and Naxos.

In the spring of 2011 they were on a trip to Cuba, where A-BAND created great joy with 2 concerts in Habana and also had concerts in Trinidad and Cienfuegos.

“A-BAND see themselves as music ambassadors to pass on the legacy of musicians, that have inspired them and we love to interact with people through music in different countries” says leadsinger Lasse Hadberg.

A-BAND visit Vietnam in the period of 27th of October and finish in HCMC on the 2nd of November.

They play in Siem Riep, Cambodia, the 10th of November Everyone is welcome to rock the house.

“Let the good times rock ‘n roll……”

A-BAND Tour program: • Hanoi the 27th of October in Hanoi Rock City • Hoi An, Dive Bar the 1st of November • HCMC, Hard Rock Café the 2nd of November • Siem Riep, Cambodia the 10th of November

October 2012 • ScandAsia.Indo China

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Searching for the winners

To find the best fund managers to invest your money with is a core investment decision for all of us.You need a sophisticated and tested method to scrutinize the investment funds available.

Nordea’s International Private Banking unit, which is also represented in Singapore, has devised such a method.

T

o invest in today’s markets takes a considerable amount of time and effort. To leave the investment decisions to the professionals allows your wealth to grow without having to make every decision yourself. In 2008, Nordea developed the Multi-Manager portfolio management investment solution as a way to offer investors convenient access to the best investment funds in the world. To learn more about this investment solution, we talked to Jørgen Jakobsen, Head of the Investment Department at Nordea in Luxembourg.

What do you look for when selecting a fund manager?

Finding the best fund managers in the world is easier said than done.

How do you pick the winners?

Generally, around 20 funds. This allows an appropriate diversification in terms of managers.

It may happen that a manager underperforms the benchmark for a period of time, but this would normally be compensated by the outperformance of another manager in the same asset class.

We select the best fund managers from a universe of more than 60,000 investment funds. We do not focus on, or limit ourselves to one country or legal framework, but are internationally oriented. We look for managers who can beat the benchmarks in the respective asset classes consistently over time.

The fund manager selection is based on both quantitative analysis and qualitative evaluation.

Our quantitative analysis is based on a rating system graded by historical performance. But, as past performance does not guarantee future results, the final selection of managers is also subject to a qualitative evaluation of the investment philosophy, process and management team for each prospective fund.

How many funds are you normally invested in?

How can you be sure that yesterday’s winners will also be tomorrow’s best-performing investments?

Jørgen Jakobsen, Head of the Investment Department at Nordea in Luxembourg We look to see whether the investment team has a competitive advantage that will increase the probability of their fund being best-in-class in the future. Before we determine whether or not to invest in a particular fund, we talk in detail to the managers to make sure that we understand their strategy and investment process, and that they understand our mandate. The investment process must be maintainable and the skills that have created outperformance in the past must remain in the team. That is why we constantly monitor the funds in the portfolio to insure that the right elements are still in place.

How often do you change funds in your portfolio?

Some changes are due to an asset allocation decision, whereby we might change the weight of the asset classes represented in the portfolio, or its geographical allocation and currency exposure. Other changes occur when we decide that a manager might no longer be able to deliver consistent outperformance, or if we identify a manager who we deem able to deliver superior results

What are the typical reasons for pulling out of a fund?

If a fund manager is not true to the strategy that has been communicated or starts to change the strategy, then we pull out. Also, if key members of the team leave, and it is not clear that continuity with the results obtained previously can be assured, we would sell the fund concerned.

Do you offer different risk classes?

There are three risk categories available: conservative, balanced and aggressive, each of which contains an appropriate mix of funds that invest in a variety of securities and markets.

How do you control the risk in the portfolio?

Risk is defined by the category in question. For each category, this corresponds to a variable, asset-class target allocation of the portfolio between relatively “safe” investments (typically bonds) and relatively “risky” investments (typically stocks). We can deviate from these targets, in order to add value with active management, but not in a way that significantly alters the specific risk profile.

10 ScandAsia.Indo China • October 2012

Norcham HCMC Member Newsletter

The Nordic Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City N ordcham is a non-governmental, non-political, nonprofit business organization formed in 1998, committed to providing support to Nordic companies and individuals operating in Vietnam.

Our ambition is to provide a forum, business and social network, where members will have the opportunity to meet, discuss, interact, and to share expertise and experience.

Our aim is to enable our members to increase their knowledge and understanding about the business environment in Vietnam. Nordcham also aims to coordinate activities that will help to raise awareness of Vietnam in 'Norden' and 'Norden' in Vietnam.

Nordcham is an Associate Consortium member of VBF and contributing to Vietnam Business Forum semiannually. Moreover, Nordcham cooperates with Nordic Embassies & Consulates in Hanoi and HCMC and has working Relationships with other Nordic Chambers of Commerce in Asia.

The Nordcham business activities include: Breakfast Meetings, Business Lunches, and Seminars In addition, Nordcham hosts four

the purpose of helping Nordic companies finding and recruiting trainees and potential new employees.

The top-performing students are given scholarships and the opportunity to do internships for 2–3 months in their last year of studies.

If things work out fine, the company may employ them when their education is completed.

Become a Nordcham Member Today

Sigmund Stromme, Chairman - Norwegian, Thoresen-Vinama Co special events annually; the Viking Fest in March, Hansetag with the German Chamber in May, the Cray Fish Party in September, and the Christmas Party in December.

Nordcham Charity Nordcham is coordinating joint efforts in raising money to support the education of children and talented

young students in Vietnam. The children are the future, and by providing financial support, internships and job opportunities in Nordic Companies in Vietnam, Nordcham hopes to serve as a bridge between the academic world and the business community.

Cooperation with local vocational schools and universities with

Nordcham has moved to a new location Please visit us at: Nordcham - Nordic Chamber of Commerce in Ho Chi Minh City 17th Floor, Petroland Tower, 12 Tan Trao, Tan Phu Ward. D. 7 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Tel: +84 (0)8 5416 0922, Fax: +84 (0)8 5416 0919 Email: contact@nordcham.com Website: www.nordcham.com

Become a member of Nordcham today and get the opportunity to meet, discuss, interact, and to share expertise and experience with other Nordic companies doing business in Vietnam.

As a Nordcham member you will be able to participate in Nordcham events, and also get access to other business events in Vietnam through Nordcham.

Finally, as a Nordcham member, you can enjoy some great rebates to a variety of things and places in Vietnam.

Nordcham Calendar 2012 October 14-15 • World Masters Chamber Challenge Golf Tournament (Phan Thiet) - Play for Your Country October 27 • Nordcham Golf Tournament November 25 • Nordcham Golf Tournament December 7th • Nordcham Christmas Party

October 2012 • ScandAsia.Indo China

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Norcham HCMC Member Newsletter

Meet the board Gravningen is General Director of PHARMAQ Vietnam Ltd, in Ho Chi Minh City, developing and licensing fish vaccines and implementing vaccination for pangasius in Vietnam.

She has been heading up activities in Vietnam for PHARMAQ AS since 2006. From the Vietnamese base she has a regional responsibility to develop PHARMAQ in Asia.

Sigmund Stromme

Chairman - Norwegian Thoresen-Vinama Co

Residing in Vietnam for 19 years, and a shipping executive with more than 30 years working shipping industry.

Worked for T.Klaveness Group, Oslo, Norway from 1980 to 1993, and arrived in Vietnam in 1993 and established Thoresen-Vinama Co - Joint Venture and currently holds the following positions: Managing Director, Thoresen - Vinama Co Joint Venture Company, largest none container ship agent in HCMC - Baria Vung Tau Area, active in Maritime Logistic for Offshore sector, forwarding/logistic/warehousing as well as chartering/operation of Vietnamese vessels. Chairman of the board of Thoresen-Vinama Logistic, 32.000m2 bonded warehouse complex in Phu My industrial zone. Chairman of the Board of Baconco Co. fertilizer company, 100% foreign invested company acquired by Thoresen in July 2009, 410 employees, producing 200.000 mts per year.Board Member of Baria Serece Phu My Port J/S Co, where Thoresen acquired 20 % of the shares in 2010.

recognized brands and companies in the world including Abbott, Ariel, D&G, Electrolux, Emirates, Etihad, Ford, Fuji Xerox, Grohe, Herbalife, International SOS, Lenovo, Mattel, Mont Blanc, O2, Oriflame, Pedigree, Philips, Procter & Gamble, TNT, Unilever and United Airlines. He has worked in Sweden, Australia, UK, Thailand and currently Vietnam, across a wide variety of industries for both consumer and B2B clients.

Nick is also a public speaker and professional networker and an entrepreneur who co-founded European Young Professionals (EYP), a networking organization in London and Bangkok. Nick is currently ViceChairman of Nordcham Vietnam.

General Director with Sophie Paris Vietnam leverages 10 years of international experience in sales, direct sales (MLM) and marketing communications. Nick has been trusted to represent a number of the most

Nordcham Board Member Swedish Swedish Trade Council Graduated from Linköping Institude of Technology with a Masters degree in Industrial Engineering and Management in 1992. After 1 year of Vietnamese language studies at Hanoi University, he joined Electrolux Vietnam Co. Ltd. where he stayed for 12 years as Marketing Manager and Managing Director. After leaving Electrolux, Håkan has been heading the Vietnam Office of the Swedish Trade Council since 2006.

John Rockhold

Nordcham Secretary American Antaco Watertech

Nick Jonsson

Vice Chairman Swedish Sophie Paris Vietnam

Håkan Ottosson

Kjersti Gravningen

Nordcham Board Member Norwegian PHARMAQ Vietnam Ltd Microbiologist, graduated from Oslo University in 1985. She has been dedicated to aquaculture fish health and disease prevention since 1988.

partner to Nordic investors and taking their initial ideas to a finish sustainable project in Vietnam based on an intimate understanding and extensive knowledge of the Vietnamese working practices, investment and land rights, the governments’ approval procedures and laws for domestic and foreign investments. He has completed over 50 investment projects in Vietnam for Nordic investors and over 30 due-diligent, CSR, and OHS audits for Nordic firms wanting to do business in Vietnam.

Licensed PE with 33 years of professional experience working for Danish based agencies and companies mainly on Nordic direct investment projects, which since 1996 has been exclusively on extraordinary successful private and public foreign direct investment projects in Vietnam as Client's Program Director. He has particular experience as a professional sparring

Jasper Waale

Nordcham Board Member Danish Mat Rong Vang IT professional and Entrepreneur. He has 20 years of wide ranging experience in technology in Asia, including 10 years as regional Manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers working on projects in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the US. Jasper’s current role at CTO at Mat Rong Vang

(Golden Drogon EYE) is to focus on providing Real Time management tools, directed toward supply chain, production industry and retail with the leading partners Lloyd's, Synapse and Ctrack GPS (Digicore). He specialises in providing consultancy and actively manages vendors and suppliers of technology, evaluate and perform IT sourcing, procurement and licensing, and systems maintenance, as well as planning and introducing best practice to meet certifications requirements.

Pietro Karjalainen

Nordcham Treasurer Finnish Finpro Vietnam Pietro comes from Finland where he started his career in electronics components distribution early 1983 at ITT Corporation. In his position he served in sales, product management and as product marketing manager.

In 1992 he moved with his family to France, serving in different worldwide tasks at Distribution Headquarters until 1997 when he started his career as entrepreneur in electronics. Joining Finpro France in 2007 he moved then in the beginning of 2009 to Vietnam to take the country manager role for the 2 Finpro offices, Hanoi and HCMC. Pietro speaks native Finnish and French, and is fluent in English and Swedish.

Carsten Conradt-Eberlin Nordcham Board Member Danish

“What has surprised me is that it is actually possible to get almost everything in Vietnam - you can even get Danish Flæskesteg and snaps although being so far away from Denmark!”

Vietnam is fantastic

- says Nanna Kristine Kanstrup, the new Executive Officer at Nordcham HCMC

N

anna Kristine Kanstrup, 28, Dane, is the new Executive Officer at Nordcham, HCMC, and from the first day she loves her job within communication, marketing, and event planning. Her first big challenge was to plan the “Crayfish Party” by the end of September.

“I am in the right position here at Nordcham, a lot of things have to be planned and organized, and I it is important to me to have a good relationship with the Nordcham members and do the best possible for them.” Nanna holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English & Communication and a Master Degree in Corporate Communication from Aarhus School of Business.

“It is my first time in Asia, and I love it, Vietnam and HCMC are fantastic. The speed and way of thinking and living are very different from Denmark.

I am impressed with the work attitude, and how a lot of Vietnamese work very hard to build a life

for themselves, and how the families work together to build a small business, so they have a way to survive. The Vietnamese are a strong, positive and hard working people”.

“What has surprised me is that it is actually possible to get almost everything in Vietnam - you can even get Danish Flæskesteg and snaps although being so far away from Denmark! As much as I enjoy Vietnamese and Asian food, it is nice with a Danish dish every now and then. Traditional Nordic dishes will also be served at the Nordcham Christmas lunch the 7th of December 2012, which I look very much forward too”.

Nanna started working for Nordcham 1st of August and looks forward to some great challenges and building a good working relationship with the Nordcham members. Nanna has moved to Vietnam with her husband, Jesper, who is Marketing Manager at Maersk Line.

Norcham HCMC Member Newsletter

Crayfish Party, Good Food, Snaps & Dancing

N

ordcham Crayfish Party was a great success with 150 guests.

The Crayfish Party was held at Au Lac do Brazil Restaurant in Phu My Hung, and Scandinavians, Vietnamese and other nationalities enjoyed a great night together with delicious crayfish, Carlsberg beer and Norwegian snaps.

Sophie Paris sponsored great prices from their accessory line and Hotel Mermaid Bangkok sponsored vouchers to their hotel for the lucky draw. Moreover, belly dancers entertained the guests and a live band played great dancing music.

Golf Nordcham

T

he Nordcham Golf Group started 3 years ago and has since its first tournament with only 4 participants grown to the largest regular expat golfing group in Ho Chi Minh City. The recent game was attended by 28 golfers and there are more joining every month. A total of 12 games are arranged per year and the level of golfers range from low handicappers to the worst of the hackers.

At the recent game the worst scorer Mr. Philip Linde shot an 14 ScandAsia.Indo China • October 2012

incredible 138, which is so far the highest score ever achieved. He even managed to lose one golf ball plugged high up in a palm tree. He tried to get his ball back by asking his caddy to climb up but after several attempts the caddy failed.

Mr. Linde - not the caddy - was later awarded with a ladies handbag for his poor efforts.

If you like to inquire about the next game then send an email to nick.jonsson@gmail.com

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October 2012 • ScandAsia.Indo China

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Eco-bungalow pr

16 ScandAsia.Indo China • October 2012

roject in Laos This autumn, a new exciting project for social development will take place in rural Laos, initiated by two young Swedish entrepreneurs with the drive and motivation to create lasting socio-economic impact for the vulnerable people of the Lao PDR.The ecobungalow project will create an opportunity for a remote village to earn an income for the first time, giving the villagers a chance to have an impact on their own development.

J

esper Lejfjord and David Jonsson are two young entrepreneurs and the founders of the Swedish organisation World Volunteer.

Based on their experience with volunteering and managing education projects in the Lao PDR, they have formed a net of invaluable contacts, on which the foundation of World Volunteer is built. The organisation is based in Stockholm, but with staff in five different countries.

World Volunteer tailors suitable volunteering experiences for people of all ages within a wide range of projects, e.g. teaching, child care and sports coaching. If you want to volunteer at a project it can be adapted to suit your requests, no matter if you are a family looking for an adventure, or a business leader in need of a new challenge. This way, World Volunteer and its partners are able to provide a once in a life time experience for any type of volunteer as well as creating a lasting impact on the community.

Now the organisation is initiating its second social development project in Laos after last year’s success in building a school in the village of Ban Na Luang, giving 100 children the opportunity for education/to attend school.

“The school building project is like nothing I have done before. It is hard work, but worth every second when you see the smiles on the children’s faces.”, says Elizabeth Doern-

hoefer, SSHL Student and participant in the School Building Project 2011.

Eco-bungalow The eco-bungalow project is an initiative made possible through collaborations with Tiger Trail Adventures, pioneers within the eco-tourism sector, and the Ministry of Tourism in Laos.

World Volunteer will, together with groups of volunteers, start the building of the bungalow in November 2012 in the village of Ban Long Lao Mai, situated one hour outside of the picturesque World Heritage city of Luang Prabang. Ban Long Lao Mai is a Hmong village with just over 700 inhabitants, where approximately 70% have food to last them all year around. The village lies next to a trekking track leading to one of Laos’ most beautiful waterfalls, which is very popular among tourists.

Local materials The volunteers will participate in the building, using earthen materials found locally, together with the villagers and experienced guides. The project also gives the volunteers the chance to learn about the rich cultural heritage that Laos has to offer through various activities in the village such as harvesting, bamboo weaving or cooking.

The bungalow will work as an exclusive hotel, which will be owned and run as a business by the village

and marketed as part of Tiger Trail’s adventurous trekking tours. In this way, the project creates an opportunity for the villagers to generate an income and also labour opportunities for generations to come through services like cleaning, cooking and guided tours.

“When a CEO gets involved in activities and creates opportunities for people in need, it is hard not to get inspired by the commitment. It´s a lot of fun as well!”, says Charlie Hansson, CEO Chas Management Consulting and participant in the Laos program 2011.

Make a difference The organisation is always looking for new motivated individuals to take part in the projects, the most important prerequisite being the ambition to help others. There are a number of ways where volunteers can make a difference together with World Volunteer, from own participation, to spreading the word to friends or improving a company’s CSR by funding parts of the project.

“Of course, the most rewarding way, both for the participants and the communities we work in, is to come and work with us in the field during the project”, says David Jonsson, Co-founder World Volunteer.

If you are interested in more information, please contact malin@ world-volunteer.com or go to www. world-volunteer.com

By Malin Törnvall

The school building project is like nothing I have done before.

It is hard work, but worth every second when you see the smiles on the children’s faces.

October 2012 • ScandAsia.Indo China

17

Novelist Caroline Allen

Coaching writers in memoir and novel wri She has helped people from all backgrounds all over the world, including Singapore and Asia, to unlock their creative potential.

Thanks to Skype, it’s possible to coach business executives, farmers, and housewives, actors, a former prostitute wherever they may be - all with one thing in common: a burning desire to write their story.

Meet Caroline, who is also a visual artist, for a conversation on creativity, her unique coaching of writers, and even her thoughts on Stieg Larsson’s character Lisbet Salander of the Millennium series.

By Andrea Hessmo Photo by Adrien Bisson

I want to build an empire, a huge network of creative coaches and writers and help people unlock their true selves.

18 ScandAsia.Indo China • October 2012

A

fter an international journalism career at The Financial Times and The Independent in London, as well as for newspapers in Asia, former American expat Caroline Allen decided to devote herself to fiction writing, painting, coaching and spiritual practice.

Why do expats want to write?

We leave our security for new customs and we’re embedded in another culture. When I lived in Japan, not a single custom resonated, not even the lettering. This pushes us deep into ourselves where even survival taps our deepest creativity.

It’s difficult to live in another culture, it’s life changing and sometimes you can’t go back. You don’t fit in anywhere any longer and you may have to accept that. But not fitting in is the mark of writers of all time, so it’s as if being an expat is training for being a writer.

Who are your clients and how do they find you?

It happens quite magically. They come in serendipitous ways by word of mouth, some google me cold or they read my blog. Right now I have clients such as a Microsoft employee, a farmer, a financial advisor, a metaphysical healer. I have to figure out how to help people who cannot afford it. I try to give a scholarship a year.

You are committed to help women finding their voice. In what ways do women need help with that compared to men?

Throughout history women have been told to shut up and play a secondary role. A lot of the time, women don’t even feel they have a right to express what they’re feeling and sometimes they don’t even know what to say. Men seem to be given that freedom from a young age.

When you start working with a client, do you start from scratch or do they already have an idea for a novel or memoir?

All of the above. Sometimes people come to me with an idea for a

character like Tess Hardwick whose novel Riversong got published and has done very well. Or someone will have written 40 000 words and know something is missing.

How does the coaching process work and what are the benefits of it?

I talk the story through with the client one-on-one via Skype. It shaves off about half the time it takes to write a novel, it’s more focused.

Writers also don’t feel so alone when they have someone who intimately knows their story. The main benefit is keeping the person accountable to produce words and that makes them go faster.

Why don’t more professionals in the industry do this kind of coaching?

It’s very challenging work and I resisted it in the beginning. Right now, I’ve got 15 people’s stories in my psyche, it’s like creatively dating 15 people. You need to have the artistic side to be able to do it but also the counselling and guidance part.

You have recently hired Jon Sternfeld, a former literary agent from New York. How will you be working together?

I bring the soulful metaphysical storytelling aspect and he brings the extensive experience of bringing a book all the way to publication. He knows exactly how to do that which is so exciting. He’ll also be coaching and his expertise is content editing.

When a book needs to be popped up to high professional standard, he goes through it and looks at language, structure and plot.

You are both an artistic, psychic and a spiritual guide Yes and that’s part of who I am. I’m fascinated with psychology and the way people are and think, especially around creativity. What are the creative blocks for an American? For a Scandinavian? It’s different with different cultures. It’s an intimate collaborative creative process. If you are a novelist and you align with it, every door will open for you to be able to do your novel.

iting What are the reasons for people not going ahead with writing that book?

When you write or do any art, you’re expressing what you really feel. A lot of people have issues that come up and if you haven’t dealt with it, it sits like a weight on top of that creativity. Usually it’s a hurt from childhood or a strenuous focus on perfectionism. I think when you’re new at any art you’re really bad at it. That’s just true. I look at my old paintings and they suck and that can really shut down a person creatively. Julia Cameron writes about this in “The Artist’s Way.” The book is a little New Age, but many people have this issue. It’s so much easier for all of us to be a critic.

In Scandinavia we’re currently being very entrepreneurial about exporting our crime novels. What do you think of Stieg Larsson’ trilogy?

I was really addicted to the Dragon Tattoo books. I haven’t seen female character as abused and raw and full of spit and intelligence as Lisbet Salander. That’s what did it for me.

And I didn’t even know about the success of the crime literature genre in Scandinavia.

Many Scandinavian expats do think of writing in English after spending time abroad but they worry about not being an English native speaker/ writer. What are your experiences?

I have clients who worry about it. A powerful story can carry you far. You can hire a content editor to clean up the language. The English of a non-native speaker can be more lyrical, more quirky and that’s a publishing advantage right there. I love it and find it so profoundly interesting to read.

Do you coach writers who write in another language than English?

That’s my goal for my coaching company Art of Storytelling, to have coaches across Europe and Asia who can coach in several languages.

AofS is expanding every day so the answer is yes.

What about talent?

Of course, there are people with

logical planetary crisis is speeding up individual spiritual evolution, and I believe writing is part of some people’s evolutionary process.

What authors are your greatest influences?

I come from a rural upbringing in Missouri. We hunted and butchered animals and grew our own food.

When I was a little girl, there were no books in the house but the King James bible. I took it inside the bathroom every night for weeks, locked the door and read it from start to finish. So the biggest influence was that bible as well as spiritual and philosophical thinkers.

more talent than others. My novel Earth was sent out to top publishers who gave great feedback but it has yet to be picked up. The message I’m getting is that all my four novels will be finished before they get published, similar to Stieg Larsson’s Dragon Tattoo books.

I’m saying this because sometimes people think that talent means you get published. Some people just need to write because it’s their soul’s path. And yes, some people have talent that the publishing industry cannot even see. I’m all for my clients getting published! That’s why I hired Jon. Tell us about your novels Earth, Air, Fire and Water I woke up in the middle of the night seven years ago and the four novels Earth, Air, Fire and Water went through me like a wordless epiphany. The novels are mystical and represent a person’s evolution towards what Carl Jung calls individuation, a person’s spiritual evolution from be-

ing just a drone of society to understanding who they are.

Earth is about a person who has never left home and they only know the customs and ways of their family. Air is about leaving that to be an expat, it’s about floating above the culture and in that separation from the culture you knew, you start to get stripped down to your essence.

You get to see who you are behind all the things you thought you were and you took for granted. Fire is when you crash and burn because you really don’t know who you are anymore. All the structures and foundations that held you up had to be completely torn down so you can start from scratch. Water is about the healing process.

Your novels are also about the ecological breakdown of the planet Yes, I’m fascinated with how tsunamis, earthquakes, global warming affect our psyche as humans. How do we remain stable when the very earth is unstable? I believe the eco-

You were raised Catholic Yes but I’m not Catholic now. I went to a Catholic school for 15 years and was taught by nuns and brothers, it was very intense. Most of the nuns didn’t advocate open creativity; they slapped you down with rulers. Still, I had insatiable curiosity, I was the top student with straight As and I had a scholarship for university with everything paid for, so some aspects worked for me. The contemplative side of a religious education influenced me.

The brothers chose a sacred inner lifestyle instead of say, a life of going to the mall. I admired that.

What are your ultimate goals with Art of Storytelling?

I want to build an empire, a network of creative coaches and writers and help people unlock their true selves.

I’m seeing screen-writers coming to me now, song writers, writers who are also visual artists. Still, I need to do my own art too so I can’t do it on my own. I’m looking for clients who are committed to their creativity, and coaches all over the world who want to be part of this immense global creative output.

More information on Caroline Allen and her coaching of writers: http://www.carolineallen.com/ http://www.artofstorytellingonline.com/

October 2012 • ScandAsia.Indo China

19

Growth Action Plan for Vietnam:

New business opportunities for Danish companies

I

n the future, Danish companies looking to investigate in the Vietnamese market may be able to get first hand practical advice from the Danish Embassy’s new Advisory Board. The Board is composed of selected business representatives of Danish companies in Vietnam who are willing to share their experiences of managing a company set-up in Vietnam and function as a sparring partner for the Danish companies new to Vietnam and thus supplement the existing advisory services of the Danish Embassy.

If successful, the Advisory Board

could be one of the initiatives to be included in the Danish Government’s Growth Action Plan for Vietnam, which is currently being drafted. The purpose of the Growth Action Plan is to stimulate exports from Denmark to Vietnam through concrete initiatives promoting Danish strongholds and building institutional relations between Danish and Vietnamese stakeholders.

Some of the future potential growth sectors in Vietnam could be within the green growth area, agricultural sector, fisheries, food industry and health.

The Danish Embassy in Vietnam is at the moment in the process of consulting the Danish business community in Vietnam on this Action Plan, receiving input and advice on future initiatives to strengthen the market opportunities for Danish companies in Vietnam.

Opportunities do obviously exist judging by the more than 50% increase in exports from Denmark to Vietnam in 2011.

Swedish snuff from Laos

A

ddiction to snuff tobacco made Petter Svensson into an entrepreneur in snuffproduction in Laos. The snuffproduction isn’t his main business, he is Industry Division Manager at Burapha Agroforestry Co, Ltd, but to satisfy his addiction he had to set up his own production.

It took two years of experiments and failure before he felt the product was right.

Next, he started wondering if there was a commercial marked for the product so he set up a company and registered the brand “Pioneer Snuff”.

“It has become a very good product. But being a small newcomer, we can’t compete with big brands in Sweden and USA,” Petter Svensson says.

Pioner Snuff has two full-time employees. The best outlet for Pioneer Snuff is the Swedish bakery in Vientiane.

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Nu kan du som tittare smidigt ta emot kanalen SVT World oavsett i vilket land du bor, även utan parabol. Som IPTV-tittare får du tillgång till flera tilläggstjänster som t ex Sveriges Radios alla kanaler, väder och nyhetspuffar - direkt i din tv. För mottagning av IPTV rekommenderar vi en uppkoppling på minst 2 Mbit/s. Mer info finner du på: svt.se/svtworld För abonnemang kontakta SVT World:s kundtjänst: ConNova: +46 (0)141 - 20 39 10, svtworld@connova.se, www.connova.se

20 ScandAsia.Indo China • October 2012

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His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, Minister of Economy and Finance, and Her Excellency Anne Höglund, Ambassador of Sweden to Cambodia at the signing of the Agreement.

Sweden’s aid to Cambodia

O

n 5 September 2012, an Agreement on Development Cooperation between Sweden and Cambodia was signed in Phnom Penh by His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, Minister of Economy and Finance, and Her Excellency Anne Höglund, Ambassador of Sweden to Cambodia.

Sweden has been supporting Cambodia since the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. According to the Swedish embassy’s homep-

age, the amount of SEK 200 million per year is a just a prolongation of the aid given in the last three years.

Furthermore, the prolonging was decided by the Swedish Government on 8 March 2012.

The Agreement covers the period of 2012-2013. The amount of Swedish support for the two-year period is SEK 400 million (approximately EURO 40 million or USD 57 million). The support is provided as a grant.

The purpose of the agreement

is to strengthen opportunities for sustainable and democratic development and to increase respect for human rights in Cambodia. The areas of Swedish support include: 1) education, 2) democratic development and respect for human rights, and 3) climate.

In 2009 Sweden granted SEK 190 million in aid to Cambodia.

In 2010 Sweden granted SEK 177 million in aid to Cambodia.

In 2011 Sweden granted SEK 200 million in aid to Cambodia

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Decentralization export from Sweden to Cambodia

G

unilla Carlsson, the Swedish Minister for Development Cooperation, met in Sweden with Cambodian Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on 12 September.

Sar Kheng visited Sweden to learn from Sweden’s experience with decentralization and local governance.

The Swedish government decided on 8 March 2012 a new two-year plan for development cooperation with Cambodia worth SEK 400 million (US$ 60 million). The ministry for foreign affairs wrote in an evaluation

of the previous three-year period that: “The process of democratization and the development of a constitutional state that respects, protects and addresses the human rights has in many respects been moving in a negative direction during the past strategy period. The development is in many ways negative in the areas of civil and political rights, in particular freedom of expression and freedom of association. Some progress is being made in terms of economic, social and cultural rights.”

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21

Medium

Danish Meatballs in Curry

T

his great tasting traditional Danish recipe is very popular amongst Danes of all ages. It has undoubtedly been introduced in Denmark by seamen returning from the Far East, but there is very little of its original hot spicy taste left. This is a very mildly spiced dish, and many Danish children happily call this their favorite food.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4) Meatballs: • 1 pound ground pork • 3 garlic gloves • 1 cup breadcrumbs or 2 tablespoon flour • 2 finely chopped onions • 1 egg • Salt • Pepper

Evil

Curry Sauce: • 2 tablespoons Danish butter • 2 heaping tablespoons yellow curry • 1 large chopped onion • 1 large chopped leek • 5 tablespoons flour • 3,5 ounces cream 35% • 4 cups Beef stock • chopped fresh parsley (just enough for a light sprinkling just prior to serving)

Are you done?

W

hen you have completed the above puzzles, please send your solution by fax to +66 2 943 7169 or scan and email to puzzles@ scandasia.com. We will make a lucky draw among the correct answers. Five lucky winners will receive a ScandAsia polo shirt.

Name:

___________________________________________________

Age: ________________________

Mobile:

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Address:

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Deadline for submitting your solution is 15 November 2012 22 ScandAsia.Indo China • October 2012

PREPERATION Meatballs: Mix Breadcrumbs or flour, egg, onions, garlic salt and pepper go into a big bowl. Add ground pork and mix it well again. Leave the mixture in the fridge for 1 hour.

Scoop up the meatballs with a tablespoon, and place in boiling water with the beef stock.

Boil for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the meatballs. Take meatballs out of the water, but keep the water (you will need it for the Curry Sauce).

Curry Sauce: Melt butter in a pot.

Add curry and brown it for a couple of minutes.

Add onions and leek and brown it for a couple of minutes. Add flour and mix well. Add water from meatballs a little bit at the time, until the sauce thickens. Add cream and meatballs.

Let it simmer for 12 mins. Serve with boiled rice, and sprinkle with parsley on top. Enjoy!

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