More Bang for the Buck!

I am so excited to be going back to Scandinavia and i am sure the students are looking forward to it too! Just thought i would share some of my experiences from Summer 2008 and how i stretched my experience for the buck while in Europe.

I did a couple of things (aside from the study mission) while i was there;

1. Stayed with my cousin in Hamburg and took the opportunity to visit Berlin
   
2. After the mission, i stayed with a friend in Copenhagen and explored Denmark further ;)
3. Attended the 16th International Youth Leadership Conference (IYLC) in Prague!
   

The IYLC program was really awesome and truly a life changing experience. These are some of the highlights of the conference;

• Simulation of the United Nations Security Council Emergency Meeting
• International Criminal Court Mock Pre-Trial
• Model European Parliament Proceedings
• Visits to foreign embassies, Senate of the Czech Republic, European Commission, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Group debates and panel discussions on international security, environmental sustainability, rule of law, responsible leadership and mass media
• Meetings and banquet dinners with leading experts, diplomats, politicians and businessmen

Currently, the 18th IYLC will be running from July 19th to the 24th 2009. I believe there are rolling deadlines and the next one is on 30th March - quick check it out! Last time round i was surprised to see so many Singaporean students with the majority coming from SMU. Hopefully this time we will continue to have a good representation because i believe in the importance of having a cross-cultural exchange of ideas and the impact it has on molding the youth - the leaders of tomorrow!

Just some pictures to show what an awesome time every youth should experience - lots of learning & fun!

Dialogue with Slovenia's Ambassador to Czech Republic (at his residence!)



Simulation of European Parliament Proceedings (actual EU Parliament venue!)

Socialising on top of the PricewaterhouseCoopers building (beautiful view of Prague!)



Of course good fun at the pub after a hard day of work!

~ Carpe Diem :) ~

The Sustainability of Socialism

A couple of days ago i read an article in the Today paper about how the Danish government is compensating breast cancer victims who worked the graveyard shift. Apparently the International Agency for Research on Cancer placed shift work as a "possible human carcinogen" in 2007. Shockingly the article goes on to state that most studies have consistently found that shift-workers have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than woman who work regular daytime hours - on average, around 48% higher risk!

The research is so compelling that the Danish government has compensated women who have developed breast cancer after years of working night shifts. So far about 40 women have received payouts.

The welfare state is certainly a new concept for Singaporeans, who have to work hard on their own for forced savings to be directed into their individual CPF accounts. Simply put, you have to take care of your oneself - no government or upcoming younger generation is going to be taxed for your medical coverage and etc.

From the BSM in 2008, i thought what a wonderful system where everyone is being taken care of equally and fairly, albeit high and disproportionate tax payments. Don't get me wrong, i am not some full-fledged socialist with extreme fundamentals that everyone and anyone should be taken care of. However, i was certainly surprised to hear the other day, a Swedish guest speaker to our university talking disdainfully about socialism that has "consumed" his country. He truly believes that the socialist system has promoted lazy people to take advantage of the hardworking ones and quite rightly so; i would not argue with him on such sad aspects of human nature. What was truly shocking though, was that as he was speaking about his experiences it seemed clear that he was a beneficiary of such a "wonderful" system and even worse categorised himself as not being one of the smarter / hardworking ones to have contributed to the development of his community or the larger society he lived in.

I can't help to think after my experiences in Scandinavia and after listening to many Scandinavians speak about the current political system, that the growing tide of foreigners (excluding tourists and those looking to work legally) flocking to Northern Europe to benefit from the open borders and welfare system has left the new generation jaded. Unfortunately, i cannot comment more on a mere observation but it still would be interesting on the second trip there to study the socio-political system in greater detail and to draw comparisons with that of Singapore.

The Welfare State - this will surely be one of the "culture shocks" the BSM 2009 students will be experiencing.

1. 

We have a face :)

We have finally got a letterhead up and running thanks to one of the students, Joshua Leong, who is also in charge of Relationship Management.

The combined image depicts the destinations we will be visiting during the study mission - Denmark (The Little Mermaid Statue in Copenhagen), Sweden (Turning Torso) & Norway (Fjord).

With this we will be more recognisable when communicating with external parties. Now if we can only get funding for a banner :)

Scandinavian Design

I know it has been an extremely long time since i have last blogged here - i have been experiencing a type of inertia that has only been perpetuated with lethargy and other seemingly more important things to do...

That is about to change; BSM Scandinavia 2009 is well underway and it is my mission to bring in fresh content and interesting perspectives...now the only question is whether i can maintain the same enthusiasm after pulling an all-nighter ;)

The theme for 2009 is about sustainability while that of Summer 2008 was on nation branding (2nd Project). In this post, i would like to share more about another individual project about Scandinavian Design. My groupmate (Melissa Ho) and I sought to find out more about Scandinavian design and we realised it's more than just Ikea furnishings! Characterised by its simple lines, neutral tones and emphasis on functionality are some of the many aspects that have made Scandinavian Design and international hit.

I have attempted to share the slides through this blog, so i hope it works. You will see how Scandinavian design provokes the question of how design can solve problems and increase the comfort of our lives. For me, the highlight was the ability to interview and invite Mr. Jonas Ericsson, Managing Director of Style Nordic to share with us more about the uniqueness and appeal of Scandinavian design.

I will also start another applet that will mark upcoming events that are related to the BSM. First up, an exciting exhibition on Verner Panton's collected works will be on exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore from 14th May to 11th June 2009 - just in time before we fly off for Copenhagen!

Featured below is the famous Panton Chair which i am sure many of you have seen before and sat on them - now you know they are knock-offs of the great designer whose designs go for a very hefty price. Read more about Verner Panton.