The two-day event is aimed at raising the awareness of corruption risks and consequences, as well as building the capacity of partners to better handle the risks of corruption in their work. There are over 130 participants from more than 30 organisations, including staff from the embassy and Development Cooperation Section (Sida).

Activities at the event include seminars, discussions and presentations from the Norwegian anti-corruption organisation, Humanitarian organisation from the Philippines, the United Nations, NGO from Cambodia, and anti-corruption experts from Thailand.

Dr. Somrudee Nicrowattanayingyong states that we have to fight corruption as it leads to poor economics and political situations. Also it weakens the laws and risks undermining democracy, thus affecting foreign investments in countries with the problem. She says that Sweden has less corruption than most countries because of its good politics and strong legal system. On top of that, the people in Sweden also don’t accept and don’t ignore the problem.

At the event, participants discussed how corruption is an obstacle to development. And the idea “Corruption will be less if people in the country don’t accept it” was also discussed as all need to take part in solving the problem.

Source

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Following her residency on Svalbard, half way between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole, artist Wyn-Lyn Tan conveys the visually astounding and serene beauty of the High North through her exhibition at FOST gallery.

The FOST Gallery presents the solo exhibition “Silence On A Milk Mountain” by Singaporean artist Wyn-Lyn Tan. Being widely exhibited in a multitude of exhibitions across the globe, she became the 2nd Singaporean ever to take up residency in The Arctic Circle.

This project is an artist and scientist led annual expedition. Distinguished guests are invited to explore remote and fascinating destinations aboard a historic and specially outfitted sailing vessel. Attracting international artists of all disciplines, scientists, architects and educators, the project provides inspiration and interdisciplinary collaboration. The main focus of the Arctic Circle is thus to “support creation and exhibition of new and pioneering work, and aims to empower the creative individual while fostering the collaborative”.

From FOST gallery on the exhibition:

“Taking inspiration from this glacial journey, this body of work evokes a hopeful sense of place, expectation, longing and solitude. The fleeting nature of memories is explored in relation to atmosphere and time – the rhythm of the seas, transient light from dawn to dusk, the melting of snow and ice.”

“The austere Arctic landscape conveys an overwhelming sense of absence, which led to paintings that invoke an unsettling stillness. While they are barren, ethereal, and haunting, the paintings impart an abstracted narrative that remains vast, forceful, and elemental. Tan has captured the gentle luminosity seen in the northern latitudes with a deliberate building of colour and layers akin to the passing of time.”

The exhibition comprises paintings and video installations.

Where: FOST Gallery, 1 Lock Road #01-02, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108932

When: Currently open – 2 June

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am-7pm, Sunday 11am-6pm

Free admission

Source

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As part of this expansion, Thome is opening a new ship management office in Copenhagen, Denmark.

With the establishment of Thome Ship Management Denmark in Copenhagen, Thome reaffirms its long-term commitment to actively support the Danish Maritime Cluster growth strategy as a future European maritime hub, says a press release.

The new Copenhagen office will formally start operations next month (June 2013) and is expected to give Thome an opportunity to provide ship management services under the DIS flag. This is in addition to the 20 other flags which the Thome Group of companies presently manages its vessels under.

The Danish office will report to the Singapore main office as well as take its back office support from Thome’s strong and well established Asian operations, allowing a lean setup and competitive service provision.

Spearheading the Thome Denmark Copenhagen operations will be Stig Holm, who joins from a well-established leading Danish shipowner with whom he served as a Director, Fleet Management.

Thome Group Chairman Mr Olav Eek Thorstensen said:

“With the opening of our brand new European office, we position ourselves optimally and in close proximity to many of our existing Scandinavian customers. I am confident that with the skill sets and well-developed networks available within the Danish Maritime cluster; we will be able to further elevate an already well recognized service offering for our existing and potential partners.”

 Source

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Top actor Ryan Gosling plays the main character Julian in Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn’s new film, which was filmed in Bangkok. The film was booed after screening and reportedly a number of people walked out before the movie was even done playing.

Refn and Gosling were succesful two years ago in Cannes with their collaboration ”Drive”, which won the Golden Palm in 2011, but “Only God Forgives” is given little chance at the festival.

The movie was shot in Thailand and centers around Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok’s criminal underworld, who sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother’s recent death.

The movie divided audiences as it was booed at after the screening and most reviews are harsh.

“Movies really don’t get much worse than Nicholas Winding Refn‘s ‘Only God Forgives’,” wrote Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells.

Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw was one of the critics in the other end of the scale and wrote:

“Only God Forgives” will, understandably, have people running for the exits, and running for the hills. It is very violent, but Winding Refn’s bizarre infernal creation, an entire created world of fear, really is gripping. Every scene, every frame, is executed with pure formal brilliance. I’m afraid it’s going to be even nastier the next time I watch it.”

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Frida Andersson is a 25-year-old singer/songwriter from Finland living in Stockholm. She grew up in the south of Finland in a small city called Ekenäs. When Frida was three years old she performed for the first time with her older sister Emma and her father Bosse Andersson (Finnish troubadour) . A few years later her little sister Elin also joined the family band. As a four year old kid Frida declared to her parents that she was going to become a singer.

After graduation from Senior High (2006) Frida decided to move to Stockholm. She studied singer/songwriting at Kulturama for a year and when she returned to Finland (2007) she began her studies in Media Culture at Arcada – University of Applied Sciences, to be specialized in Sound Engineering.

In the Autumn (2007) Frida was elected “Finland´s Lucia 2007″. She toured Finland and had about 80 performances during one month. Same Autumn Frida got a record deal with Cosmos Music Group (Bonnier Amigo) and started to work on her debut album together with producer, Hannu Korkeamäki (member of Finland´s Idols jury 2004). In October 2009 Fridas first album, “Busy Missing You” was released in Finland. In 2010 the album was also released in Sweden, Canada and Poland.

Frida moved back to Stockholm 2011. She released her latest album “Sister” on her own label, Casual Friday Music, in 2012 in Finland and Sweden. Her song “Elvi´s Song” got listed 8th on Radio Suomi when it was released. Frida recently signed a sub publishing deal for Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

Frida´s latest album “Sister” was released 18th January 2012 in Sweden and Finland. This time Frida recorded and produced her own album and released it on her own label, Casual Friday Music.

Date：2013/6/11 19:30

Venue：Daning theatre (Pingxingguan Road 1222)

For more information on tickets and schedules, please click here

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More and more Indonesians are eating Norwegian salmon in restaurants and surprisingly, more Indonesian tourists are visiting Norway.

“Last year, Indonesia imported 4,000 tons of Norwegian salmon. Now we would like not to just focus on restaurants but also on families,” Norwegian Ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik told The Jakarta Post in connection with Norway’s Constitutional Day, which was celebrated on May 17 in Norway.

The sudden jump in Indonesians applying for Norway’s Schengen visa is also surprising.

“We were forced to expand our visa section by adding more space and staff to cater to the needs of Indonesian tourists. As we speak now, more than 300 people are awaiting visas,” he said.

From Norway, more than a thousand students visit Bali every year to undertake a 14-week course on Balinese culture.

According to Traavik, relations between the two countries are strengthening, marked by the visit of Crown Prince Haakon to Indonesia last year to boost ties.

“Just recently, both countries agreed to establish a comprehensive Joint Commission Meeting. It’s an important milestone in our relations,” Traavik said.

So far Norway has invested just $650 million in Indonesia.

Norway’s oil fund has made some changes in its investment policies that may benefit Indonesia in the near future.

“There is a new rule. Our oil fund will now invest in countries according to their GDP size. Since Indonesia is a big Asian country and a member of the G20, more and more Norwegian investment will come to Indonesia. The oil fund is carefully looking at Indonesia for opportunities,” Traavik said.

Last year, according to the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency, bilateral trade was at $321.88 million, a slight increase from $309.52 million in 2011.

Source: thejakartapost.com

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The Indonesian Swedish Alumni Forum is now officially established, as per May 4th, 2013.

Alumni Swedia as a group was established as early as 2007.

When it was first established as a group, Alumni Swedia was merely in a form of mailing list. In 2008, the Indonesian students in Sweden then re-established Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia Swedia (PPI Swedia) or Indonesian Student Association in Sweden. PPI Indonesia Swedia got in touch with Alumni Swedia, and since then, close cooperation between the two groups was created.

Together with the Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia, Eva Polano, and the Swedish Business Community

At the same time, the number of Indonesian students in Sweden increases, and so does the number of Sweden Indonesian alumni. Forum Alumni Swedia also stays in close contact with the Swedish Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the alumni have been invited in many events organized by the Swedish Embassy.

This year the Forum Alumni Swedia was established as a formal organization, and elected its first Chairman and his cabinet. The programs that are planned to be organized this year include organizing a Swedish Culture Show, Swedish Education Exhibition, and organizing seminars in cooperation with external organization and/or companies in Indonesia.

To celebrate this occasion, Ms. Eva Polano, the Swedish Ambassador in Jakarta, invited both the members of Forum Alumni Swedia and the members of Swedish Business Community to a link-and-match dinner last week. The dinner was the first step towards a solid and fruitful cooperation between the Forum Alumni Swedia and the Swedish Business Community.

Source

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On 20-21 May 2013 the 2nd conference on Media Development in Myanmar was held in Yangon. The theme of this year’s conference was “The Role of Media in Democratic Transition: Successes, Challenges and the Way Forward”.

The conference was an opportunity for Myanmar government, media companies, journalists, civil society organizations, and international organizations to report on concrete progress achieved in pursuing media development and reforms in the country. Denmark supported the conference and Danish Ambassador to Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia,  Mikael H. Winther and Chargé d’Affaires a. i. Mr Ulrich Sørensen both attended.

As Denmark was one of the key donors of the conference, Danish Ambassador Mikael H. Winther was invited to speak at the opening session. In his speech, the Ambassador stressed that the conference is an important platform for public debate on the development of the media sector in Myanmar. He furthermore emphasized that freedom of speech is a basic human right and that an independent and professional media plays a key role in a country’s transition to democracy.

Source

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Telenor, the major shareholder in Thailand’s Total Access Communication (DTAC), plans to ramp up its presence in Asia with heavy investment in Myanmar, which it terms “the last opportunity in the world” for the Norwegian firm, Bangkok Post reports.

Sigve Brekke, the head of Telenor Asia, said his company plans to flood Myanmar with strategic telecommunications infrastructure if it wins one of the mobile licenses.

Telenor has drawn up a master plan to roll out cellular network coverage to “at least 75%” of the country within five years, he said, declining to give an exact figure.

Under a plan by the Myanmar government, voice network coverage will be required for 75% of the country and data network coverage at 50%.

Myanmar’s telecom regulator has proposed a minimum reserve price of US$350 million for a 15-year mobile licence.

On June 27, Myanmar will announce the winners of two 15-year licences from among 12 pre-qualified applicants selected to bid including India’s Bharti Airtel, Japan’s KDDI Corporation, Vodafone, Singapore Telecommunications, Malaysia’s Axiata Group and China Mobile as well as Telenor.

A total of 91 international companies and consortia expressed interest in tendering for the two mobile licences.

“We believe we have the best business plan coupled with strong experience in small mobile markets, the success of DTAC’s Happy brand as well as our experience in efficient and low-cost markets such as India,” said Brekke.

Telenor pledged to have the network ready within one year, after which affordable both voice and data services would be offered.

Myanmar has much room for growth, said Mr Brekke, adding that a SIM card in that country today costs US$200.

The Myanmar government pegs mobile penetration at 9% or 5.44 million users, although the Swedish telecom giant Ericsson last year put the figure at less than 4%.

Brekke pointed out that while Myanmar has set a goal of 80% mobile penetration by 2015, only 26% of the country has electricity.

Telenor has boosted its revenue by catching up with emerging markets in Asia, the group’s largest revenue source, he said.

“Asia is our major growth driver and development,” said Mr Brekke, adding that 45% of group revenue now comes from its five Asian operations in Asia, up from 33% in 2008.

Source: bangkokpost.com

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