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Five awards up for grabs for equality and diversity prototypes in Malaysia’s TVET

Skills Challenge Innovation Call The ILO’s 1st Malaysia Skills Challenge Innovation Call searches for innovative ideas and solutions to enhance gender equality and social inclusion in TVET and training institutions. Press release | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 29 July 2022 The ILO’s Skills for Prosperity Programme in Malaysia, funded by the UK government, co-organizes the challenge call with the Department of Skills Development (DSD) of Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS). The call seeks to recognize Malaysian champions of integrating gender equality and social inclusion into TVET or skills training programmes. It also aims to create positive spill-over effects to other institutions. The call is looking for solutions that improve the promotion and accessibility of programmes for vulnerable groups and put in place inclusive policies to decrease the likelihood of dropouts. Solutions can also include ideas that enhance the engagement of students and trainees and strengthen career and vocational guidance and counselling services. Five winning places are up for grabs. Each winning proposal will get a seed grant of up to US$20,000 and technical support to transform their ideas into prototypes ready for implementation and then sharing with other institutions in Malaysia and beyond. The winners will also have a chance to join the ILO Skills Innovation Network to share ideas and experiences with other innovators around the world and collaborate with them to develop and scale their innovations. The deadline for applications is 17 August 2022. The winners will be announced on 9 September 2022. Many institutions interested in the contest today joined an e-townhall meeting and an online workshop that provided orientation about the challenge call and the development of their proposals. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (ILO News / PRNewsGIG) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) today kicked off the 1st Malaysia Skills Challenge Innovation Call, searching for innovative and sustainable solutions that promote gender equality and social inclusion in public and non-profit technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and skills training institutions. Panudda Boonpala, ILO Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said: “As we are finally moving to the endemic stage of COVID-19, promoting gender equality and social inclusion in TVET and skills training can help us better achieve a human-centred recovery and inclusive growth.” She added that it will contribute to the 12th Malaysia Plan’s objective of “a Prosperous, Inclusive, Sustainable Malaysia”. Ms Panudda added that the diversity of talents brought by gender equality and social inclusion will promote innovation and enhance productivity for further growth. “This will also accelerate the utilization of digital technologies and enable TVET to fulfil its role as a game-changer for improving the TVET ecosystem to produce future-ready talent”, said Ms Panudda. David Wallace, Deputy High Commissioner of the British High Commission Malaysia, said: “Investing in education for more inclusivity is not only morally important, but makes sense economically. As the working landscape continues to evolve, vocational and skills training is a key way in which we can ensure women and people with disabilities are part of this change.” Mr Wallace added that he hopes the UK-Malaysia Skills for Prosperity Partnership will help improve jobs and livelihoods for Malaysians, particularly those from economically and socially disadvantaged groups. “The UK is keen to continue this rewarding partnership to support Malaysia’s transition to become a high-income economy in a sustainably and inclusively way,” said Mr Wallace. Mohamad bin Sulaiman, Deputy Director General (Development) of the Department of Skills Development, said: “Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resources strongly supports the 1st Malaysia Skills Challenge Innovation Call, in view of its importance in promoting accessibility in technical and vocational education and training and significant contribution in improving gender equality and social inclusion in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the 12th Malaysia Plan.” Referring to the challenge call, Azmi Ahmad, Deputy Director of Skills, Youth Skills Development Division, Ministry of Youth and Sports said: “It will be a platform to search for TVET and skills training institutions which develop and implement innovative approaches and solutions that promote equality and diversity in each organization and training programmes.” Interested institutions can submit the application form along with a 90-second video, curriculum vitae of team members and a technical proposal that states objectives, outputs, key activities, an implementation structure, a list of partners, a monitoring and evaluation plan, a work plan and a detailed budget. The implementation of the winning solutions will take place from October 2022 to February 2023. ————— Ends —————- Further enquiries: Please feel free to contact: Ms. Jasmine Low, GoInternationalGroup, ILO Consultant, via e-mail: low@ilo.org and carbon copy to Ms. Shaza Onn, Senior Project Officer, SfP Malaysia, ILO, alauddinonn@ilo.org and Dr. Junichi Mori, Senior Technical Advisor, SfP Malaysia, ILO, jmori@ilo.org.

Travelling to Southeast Asia’s popular destinations? Here’s a travel advisory checklist…

As borders open up and flights resume, tourism picks up throughout the Southeast Asia region. Our team at AFT has compiled this list of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for those who are travelling to popular destinations like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam. Travel safe and always follow the SOPs. Enjoy! Malaysia MySafeTravel.gov.my Tourism Malaysia Starting 1 May 2022, fully-vaccinated inbound travellers are no longer required to undergo pre-departure and on-arrival COVID-19 tests, including children aged 12 and below as well as for those who have been infected with COVID-19 within six to 60 days before departure to Malaysia. Travel insurance will also not be a prerequisite for foreigners entering the country. Traveller’s Checklist into Malaysia: Download the MySejahtera app and create an account. Fill-up the digital pre-departure form via the ‘Traveller’ icon on MySejahtera. Verify your digital COVID-19 vaccine certificate. If you have previously verified your digital vaccination certificate on the MySejahtera application, you can skip this step. Partially vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers are required to take pre-departure and on-arrival tests. They must also quarantine for 5 days upon arrival. Book your quarantine facilities here. Indonesia New International Travel Regulations to Enter Indonesia as of 28 April 2022 – Indonesia Travel Indonesia Travel As of 28 April 2022, all International travelers, both Indonesian citizens and foreign nationals can enter Indonesia through the assigned entry points by air and sea (list displayed in the website above). Travellers must abide with the strict health protocols implemented by the Indonesian government and must download the PeduliLindungi app before departure. Travellers must show certificates (physical and digital) of having received a complete dose of COVID-19 vaccine consisting of two doses and/or a booster (third) vaccine which are administered 14 days before departure at the earliest as a requirement to enter Indonesia with conditions stated in the website above. Indonesian citizens must show proof (physical and digital) of having received a complete dose of COVID-19 vaccine consisting of two doses and/or a booster (third) vaccine as a requirement to enter Indonesia, and in the event that the Indonesian citizens have not received vaccine abroad, they will be vaccinated in the quarantine place in Indonesia after a second RT-PCR examination with negative results; The Indonesian government accepts all kinds of COVID-19 vaccine administered to international travelers. In the event of foreign nationals have not received vaccine abroad, they will be vaccinated in the quarantine place upon arrival in Indonesia after a second RT-PCR examination with negative results (refer to the website above for full description). Singapore Travel Requirements to Singapore – Visit Singapore Official Site From 1 April 2022, there will be specific entry requirements in place based on whether you are fully vaccinated or non-fully vaccinated.  We welcome all fully vaccinated visitors* to Singapore. No entry approvals, pre-departure tests, on-arrival tests and quarantine required. *Fully vaccinated visitors and non-fully vaccinated children aged 12 and below will be allowed to enter Singapore. Pre-departure checklist: Obtain proof of vaccination and upload vaccination certificate onto the Vaccination Check Portal. Secure tickets for any flight to Singapore. Download the TraceTogether app and register your profile. 3 days before departure: Submit SG Arrival Card and e-health declaration via the official and free e-service on the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) website. Thailand Thailand Travel Restrictions | ThaiEmbassy.com List of 64 countries that have visa exemption for travel to Thailand Facebook Group: How to enter Thailand Tourism Thailand Travelers may enter Thailand with or without quarantine based on their vaccination status and country of departure. New entry requirements were introduced on May 1, 2022 but always check on the websites above for updates prior to your departure. Fully Vaccinated travelers will no longer need to apply to enter Thailand under the Test & Go or Sandbox scheme. A vaccinated traveler does not need to book 1 night’s accommodation in an approved SHA+ hotel or complete an RT-PCR test on arrival. Fully vaccinated foreigners will need to provide proof of insurance and their vaccination certificate when applying for Thailand Pass. Thai Nationals only need to provide their vaccination certificate as insurance is not required.Unvaccinated children under 18 years old may travel with vaccinated parents without quarantine. Unvaccinated travelers will have 2 options for entering Thailand: Unvaccinated travelers will be able to enter Thailand under the existing 5-day Alternate Quarantine scheme; OR Unvaccinated travelers will be able to avoid the 5-day Alternate Quarantine by completing an RT-PCR test and uploading the result into their Thailand Pass application. The test cannot be older than 72 hours before their arrival date. Book your AQ Hotel Quarantine today. Vietnam Info for travellers on Covid-19 Vietnam Vietnam Travel On 15 March 2022, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Guidance on reopening the tourism activities under the new normal with the spirit “Adapting safely, flexibly and controlling the COVID-19 pandemic effectively” following the directions of the Government and the Prime Minister. All Vietnam destinations are open. No self-isolation is required. Here are key points of the new guidelines: RT-PCR test + visa + travel insurance now accepted for entry. Upon arrival, you must present: Negative Covid-19 test result per passenger: Travelers entering via air: Present a negative SARS-CoV-2 test result (except for children under 2 years old) using RT-PCR/RT-LAMP method within 72 hours before entry into Vietnam. Or have a negative rapid test result within 24 hours before departure, certified by the competent authority of the country where the test is performed.Travelers entering via land, rail and sea routes: Present negative test results as mentioned in the section above. In case not presenting proof of a negative test result for SARS-CoV-2 as specified above, entrants are required to undergo a SARS-CoV-2 test at the border gate before entry (using RT-PCR/RT-LAMP method or rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2). Upon receiving a negative SARS-CoV-2 test result, they are allowed to enter and join tour activities. If the RT – PCR test result returns positive, they must follow strictly the regulations of the health authority.Children under 2 years old are not required to be tested for SARS-CoV-2. Having not been vaccinated against COVID-19 or having never been infected with SARS-CoV-2 before, they are allowed to enter and to join outdoor activities with their parents and relatives. Proof of valid medical/travel insurance covering Covid-19 treatment. Minimum cover USD10,000 (Link to info). Downloaded PC-Covid mobile app (Apple/Google Play) which must be presented to enter all VN establishments. Liked this? Share it with someone. Republish this: AustraliaFitnessToday.com Travelling to Southeast Asia’s popular destinations? is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Source: https://www.australiafitnesstoday.com/2022/05/17/travelling-to-southeast-asia/

Hello 2022!

[ View newsletter: GIG News | December 2021 ] We’re GIG ready! We closed the chapter to 2021 and embarked on a new kind of normalcy in 2022. During the lockdowns, in our limited capacity, we got creative and have created a simple platform inviting creative freelancers to register. Innovation has always been our strength, and we have pivoted our business to be nimble and adapt to market changes. We are OPEN FOR BUSINESS and welcome requests for proposals. Speak to us today if you have a project that needs management, or if you require media, technology, marketing and communication solutions. GIG Academy / GIG Creative Community After 15 years of mentoring over 100 students from Technical and Vocational Educational & Training institutions and universities from Malaysia, Australia, France and La Reunion, we have kickstarted the year with a distance mentoring program for university students from Chosun University, South Korea. Students undergo a month-long media and communication training program with our media team at AsiaFitnessToday.com. We revealed GIG Creative Community – a register of creative freelancers. If you are someone looking to hire someone to produce creative work, visit www.GoInternationalGroup.net and register as a Freelancer or Find a Freelancer. Entrepreneurs who Pivot, Stay Alive! Our podcast producers are looking for entrepreneurs who have pivoted their business as a result of the pandemic. Do you know someone with a story to share? Tell us 2021 Highlights And so, it’s a wrap! A shout-out to the amazing people who appeared on AFT Podcasts and shared so many insights on their personal stories, crossing live between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney. It was year that combined all of the human emotions; simple joys, pains in the quiet of lockdowns and some triumphs too. In that hope of the silver lining of what’s to come, we send you our best wishes for an enriching and productive 2022! Happy listening and a happy new year!

The 2021 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

We share this announcement in honour of all economists, with utmost respect for the winners of the 2021 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. A decade ago, we had the honour of serving Sweden Embassy of Kuala Lumpur for the Sweden Malaysia Innovation Days exhibition and forum, as well as a Nobel inspired Dinner attended by over 600 dignitaries and VIP guests at the Hilton Sentral Kuala Lumpur. That experience led us to Sweden on a media trip to understand what drives Nordic innovation. After a whirlwind tour visiting Swedish companies like Volvo, Ericsson, BAE Bofors, IKEA, Uppsala University, green city Hamarby Sjostad and Nobel Museum from Stockholm to Goteburg, Karlskoga to Älmhult (Ikea’s founding city), we left truly inspired for many years to come. Jasmine Low, co-founder GIG: gointernationalgroup.com On 11 October 2021 in Oslo, Norway, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2021 with one half to David Card of University of California, Berkeley, USA “for his empirical contributions to labour economics” and the other half jointly to Joshua D. Angrist of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA and Guido W. Imbens of Stanford University, USA “for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships”. Natural experiments help answer important questions for society This year’s Laureates – David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens – have provided us with new insights about the labour market and shown what conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments. Their approach has spread to other fields and revolutionised empirical research. Many of the big questions in the social sciences deal with cause and effect. How does immigration affect pay and employment levels? How does a longer education affect someone’s future income? These questions are difficult to answer because we have nothing to use as a comparison. We do not know what would have happened if there had been less immigration or if that person had not continued studying. However, this year’s Laureates have shown that it is possible to answer these and similar questions using natural experiments. The key is to use situations in which chance events or policy changes result in groups of people being treated differently, in a way that resembles clinical trials in medicine. Using natural experiments, David Card has analysed the labour market effects of minimum wages, immigration and education. His studies from the early 1990s challenged conventional wisdom, leading to new analyses and additional insights. The results showed, among other things, that increasing the minimum wage does not necessarily lead to fewer jobs. We now know that the incomes of people who were born in a country can benefit from new immigration, while people who immigrated at an earlier time risk being negatively affected. We have also realised that resources in schools are far more important for students’ future labour market success than was previously thought. Data from a natural experiment are difficult to interpret, however. For example, extending compulsory education by a year for one group of students (but not another) will not affect everyone in that group in the same way. Some students would have kept studying anyway and, for them, the value of education is often not representative of the entire group. So, is it even possible to draw any conclusions about the effect of an extra year in school? In the mid-1990s, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens solved this methodological problem, demonstrating how precise conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments. “Card’s studies of core questions for society and Angrist and Imbens’ methodological contributions have shown that natural experiments are a rich source of knowledge. Their research has substantially improved our ability to answer key causal questions, which has been of great benefit to society,” says Peter Fredriksson, chair of the Economic Sciences Prize Committee. Illustrations ”© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences” Illustration: Association between education and income (pdf)Illustration: Years of education (pdf)Illustration: Effect of increasing the minimum wage (pdf)Illustration: Local average treatment effect (pdf) Read more about this year’s prize Popular science background: Natural experiments help answer important questions (pdf)Scientific Background: Answering causal questions using observational data (pdf) David Card, born 1956 in Guelph, Canada. Ph.D. 1983 from PrincetonUniversity, USA. Class of 1950 Professor of Economics, University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, USA. Joshua D. Angrist, born 1960 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Ph.D. 1989 fromPrinceton University, USA. Ford Professor of Economics, MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, Cambridge, USA. Guido W. Imbens, born 1963 in Netherlands. Ph.D. 1991 fromBrown University, Providence, USA. The Applied Econometrics Professorand Professor of Economics, Stanford University, USA. Prize amount: 10 million Swedish kronor, with one half to David Card and the other half jointly to Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens.Further information: www.kva.se and www.nobelprize.org The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, founded in 1739, is an independent organisation whose overall objective is to promote the sciences and strengthen their influence in society. The Academy takes special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines. Nobel Prize® is a registered trademark of the Nobel Foundation. Citation MLA style: Press release: The Prize in Economic Sciences 2021. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2021. Tue. 12 Oct 2021.

How podcasts are taking over Asia – airasia.com

Kerry-Ann Augustin, Senior Writer at airasia interviews GIG co-founders, Jasmine Low & Nikki Yeo about their podcasting experience. View the published article on airasia’s website. Kerry-Ann Augustin: You’ve been working on three different podcasts – Asia Fitness Today’s Kurang Manis, Move8 … what triggered the idea behind each of them? Jasmine Low: In February 2019, I had won a second prize from the Motion Picture Association International Script-to-Screen Workshop Malaysia for KURANG MANIS (Sugar, Less), a documentary about six Malaysians who bare all about their hopes and dreams about New Malaysia and what it means to be amongst one in two Malaysians who are obese. The prize was a trip to attend the Australian International Documentary Conference in Melbourne in March 2020. We attended this and learnt so much about factual content-making, and it also opened our minds about content distribution. Although Kurang Manis was to be a film project, MCO lockdowns in Malaysia and filming restrictions meant that co-producer Nikki and I had to improvise and to launch the documentary as a podcast first. This is an impact project inspired by our own health, spurred on by national health statistics that show Malaysia’s alarming figures of increasing non-communicable diseases and the objective of the project is to entertain while educating Malaysians about nutrition and sedentary lifestyles. So we buckled down, and self-funded and produced the first season of Help! I’m Prediabetic! The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast which rolled out on 9th February 2021. Our first season includes an impressive list of guests; 2020 Australian of the Year, Ophthalmologist and Chairman of Sight for All Foundation, Dr. James Muecke who champions diabetes awareness to prevent loss of sight and also The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time (squash) Nicol David among other stellar guests which included scientists and physicians. We’re now in the planning stages of season two.  In addition to Kurang Manis, we also produce The Move8 Fit for Good Podcast where we interview fitness professionals who use their fitness for good. Here, we speak about exercise, movement therapy and strength building from a physical and mental standpoint. Thank you, airasia and Kerry-Ann! airasia berhad is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline. Since 2018, the group’s businesses have include hotels, holidays, activities, online shopping and a robust travel, lifestyle and e-commerce platform delivered via the airasia super app. Most recently, the group has pivoted to offer integrated logistics including last mile deliveries through Teleport and digital financial service via its money app, BigPay. Listen to Talks with Tony, a new podcast by airasia Co-Founder and CEO Tony Fernandes.

“I received a baton… to pass on to the next generation” says Tokyo 2020 pictograms designer

The invention of pictograms at the Tokyo 1964 Games heralded a major change in graphic design, and the creator of Tokyo 2020’s kinetic pictograms is hoping for something similar. The links tying the historic Olympic Games Tokyo 1964 to their modern 2020 counterpart are everywhere, and none more so than through the two sets of instantly recognisable pictograms. These small, invaluable graphics made their worldwide debut 57 years ago in the Japanese capital, and it’s no surprise that the two people tasked with designing the modern versions cast their eyes back towards their forefathers. “I have worked on this project as if I had received a baton to inherit our tradition and pass on to the next generation,” said Kota Iguchi, designer of the kinetic pictograms which will add a 21st century twist to the genre. Pictograms were invented under the watch of Tokyo 1964 artistic director Katsumi Masaru, as a non-verbal means of communicating to the mass of foreigners expected to arrive in Japan for the nation’s first Olympic Games. The figures illustrating men’s and women’s toilets came first, and the simple, instantly understandable design was applied to sports, using photographs as a background. It was a masterstroke, and the concept has been used not only at all the Olympic Games since, but all over the world. Iguchi, a motion graphics specialist, has been as much in love with the designs as anyone. “Static sports pictograms were first introduced at the Tokyo 1964 Games, and are said to be created from the idea of communicating through emojis instead of an alphabet, because the alphabet wasn’t widely used in Japan back then,” Iguchi explained. “I can empathise with this type of idea as it is a typical Japanese way of thinking. “And when I applied the idea to today’s world, I thought the idea of kinetic pictograms was a natural process.” In order to get the pictograms moving, Iguchi needed a 2020 static design upon which to work. Up stepped local designer Masaaki Hiromura.  He too had no intention of straying far from the example set back in 1964. “I sensed not only simplicity, but also a glorification of each sport and the genuine enjoyment of sport in the design. I found that Japanese simplicity and minimalism had an affinity with my design, and I wanted to inherit that philosophy,” Hiromura confirmed. “Like the 1964 designs, we too ended up with the idea of creating a design to let people feel a pure joy of sport and the excitement of competition, rather than just making it look neat and tidy.” It was a masterstroke, and the concept has been used not only at all the Olympic Games since, but all over the world. Iguchi, a motion graphics specialist, has been as much in love with the designs as anyone. “Static sports pictograms were first introduced at the Tokyo 1964 Games, and are said to be created from the idea of communicating through emojis instead of an alphabet, because the alphabet wasn’t widely used in Japan back then,” Iguchi explained. “I can empathise with this type of idea as it is a typical Japanese way of thinking. “And when I applied the idea to today’s world, I thought the idea of kinetic pictograms was a natural process.” “I hope that kinetic pictograms will be created again by the local people in the next Summer Games in Paris, and the LA Games in 2028 and beyond,” Iguchi said, before adding: “The kinetic pictogram was already created by the local creator for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. “If people all over the world continue to pass the baton to others like this, this new challenge that Japan initiated in 2020 will be inherited forever. It’s fun just to imagine whether the Paris pictogram moves will emphasise the beauty of the city, as Paris always does, or whether Los Angeles will create something quite entertaining like our general image of America. I’m excited to know.” AsiaFitnessToday.com features daily updates on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Source: PRNewsGIG/AFTNN/IOC