Category Archives: Thailand

6th EBAC Meeting and 10th annual APBF 2013 in Bangkok

UNESCAP EBAC APBF

The 6th and my first EBAC meeting took place on Monday followed by the one and half day 10th annual Asia Pacific Business Forum. The great event got kickstarted on Sunday at the British Club in Bangkok, where we gathered together with the Connectivity Task Force lead by Barbara Meynert. It was also the first time for the whole team to meet together in person. We had had fractal meetings with parts of the team in Bangkok and Hong Kong, but this was the first time the full team was present. It’s just amazing how important meeting in person is, and how much more effective it is compared to exchanging emails and speaking over phone/Skype. The working team consists of 10 people with all very unique skills, and is set to deliver an online SME platform to connect and support the SMEs in the Asian region.

First of all, it’s a fun project to work with, but it is also a very important for the regions growth, which has been now stressed in many occasions. Over the EBAC welcome dinner, hosted generously by Barbara, the UN ESCAP Executive Secretary Ms. Noeleen Heyzer accented the importance of SMEs and the sustainable connectivity between them.

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One week as a tour guide in Bangkok

Bangkok Skyline from Blocs77

I like having guests. Living in Bangkok doesn’t unfortunately allow that too often, because of the holidays in the west, so everyone tend to time their Thailand holidays towards the dark and cold autumn/winter period. The past week has been quite hectic on the guest storefront. First, my younger sister and her husband came for their honeymoon (Congratulations!) after cleverly avoiding the wedding ceremony and reception back home. Smart move, I have to admit. They stayed for a day and headed down South to Koh Lipe before returning via Bangkok back to Finland. Then an old childhood friend of mine and his girlfriend arrived in Bangkok to start a 3-months Asia tour, which to be quite frank I am jealous of. And finally, my parents landed on Thursday to add to the soup. So, I transformed myself into a Bangkok tour guide for the past week.

This is what we went through:

Monday

I introduced my friends to MBK – one of the busiest shopping centers in Bangkok, since their hotel was nearby and it was their first visit to Bangkok – to start with something easy ;). The usual Phad Thai noodle joint in the food court had sadly pumped up the price, again.

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What’s Wrong with Our Current Education System?

I am a big fan of Sir Ken Robinson, not just what he represents, but the way he expresses himself. He has been appearing in TED Talks, and one of his speeches, perhaps the most famous one, is the all time most watched TED Talk. [The ones, who are not familiar with Sir Robinson, he is actively pushing an education system reform.]

What makes his case so special? Why is his TED talk the most watched? Is he bringing something new to the table that we didn’t know before? Perhaps, but lets have a look what he is all about:

The very clever video infographic that was made from one of Sir Robinson’s speeches, illustrates the problems in the education system he has been pointing out for a while: Since we are all different, why are we being educated in the same way. Arranged to classrooms based on the year we are born. Tested in the same way and measured against one criteria. etc.

So what’s wrong with that? Nothing, if the purpose of the education is to create soldiers and factory workers (which was the case of our 19th century built, still-in-use, education system). But what about today’s world?

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