Have you ever wondered what ‘ubuntu’ means? I first came across this word when upgrading our office PCs to the Ubuntu operating system about a decade ago! Little did I know, that the origin of the word, which inspired the name of the free OS, was a philosophical term from Africa. Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning “humanity”. It is often also translated as “humanity towards others”, but is often used in a more philosophical sense to mean “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity” – Wikipedia Like the term in Bahasa Malaysia, ‘bantu-membantu’ or ‘gotong-royong’ are terms that were derived from the community, meaning to help one another or to work together. Recently, I stumbled upon another African inspired teaching, made known to the public by two Dutchmen Thomas Roebers and Flortis Leeuwenberg who directed and produced an 11-minute documentary on ‘Foli’. “Foli” is the word used for rhythm by the Malinke tribe in West Africa. But Foli is not only found in Malinke music, but in all parts of their daily lives. Directed by Thomas Roebers, this short film portrays the people of Baro, a small town in eastern-central Guinea, and gives you a glimpse inside their culture of rhythm. As the Malinke man says, “Tous les choses, c’est du rythme.” (“Everything is rhythm.”) What makes this film even more beautiful is the fact that it was edited so as to reflect Malinke rhythms. – Everyculture.com And this, is truly the DNA of the vision of GoInternationalGroup.com. It is my goal to steer the company towards making a positive impact in our immediate community and society where we participate as citizens of the world. Ubuntu + Foli both helped form our inspiration. Our vision in 2018 is to simplify our business to deliver Creative Event Technology solutions for our clients, and produce signature festivals that embody all that we love; rhythm and movement. A company is the sum of its people, a country its citizens, as man was made to mirror God. My resolution for this New Year is to provide a working environment for my team such that we nurture greatness through freedom of creative innovation. Simply put, a corporate culture that stimulates people to Be Amazing. Email your resume to KL@gointernationalgroup.com if you’d like to join us on this journey to bring JOY to customers. Happy New Year!!! Sincerely, Jasmine Low CEO, GoInternationalGroup.com
Jasmine Low
An eSports Reportage by Jasmine Low Although news of football clubs ‘buying’ FIFA gamers isn’t something new, it sends ripples of hope, promise and excitement throughout the FIFA gamer community across the Asia Pacific region. Earlier this month, Go International Group Dotcom company representatives were invited to attend the FIFA Interactive World Cup (#FIWC) Grand Finals happening as I type this, in London (16-18 August 2017). Londoner Akira Leyow, a representative of the company will represent Malaysia at the Grand Finals, and offer fans in Asia a closer perspective to the finals match. We’ll be posting more updates this weekend. Considering the first FIWC was held in 2004 in Switzerland, the interactive cup has come a long way and has garnered champions interestingly from all corners of the world, aside from the Asia Pacific region. Played in FUT (FIFA ultimate team) format, players are shortlisted after a series of stringent matches and it takes not just practise but also strategy to stay on top. The FIWC is recognized as the largest online gaming tournament by Guinness World Records. The FIWC 2017 champion will receive $200,000 in prize money and a ticket to the Best FIFA Awards where he/she has the chance to meet the greatest of the real football world. FIWC 2015 Champion Abdulaziz Alshehri from Saudi Arabia was able to meet Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi among many others, while 2016 champion Mohammad Al-Bacha talked it up with Marcelo Vieira and Manuel Neuer. – Wikipedia on FIWC In 2015 it was estimated by SuperData Research that the global eSports industry generated revenue of around US$748.8 million that year. Asia is the leading eSports market with over $321 million in revenue, North America is around $224 million, and Europe has $172 million and the rest of the world for about $29 million.[132] Global eSports revenue is estimated to reach $1.9 billion by 2018. – Wikipedia on eSports Money, money, money is what seems to be driving eSports these days. It seems the higher the prize purse, the greater the coverage – which goes to show, there’s also a huge market in the management of sponsorships and club deals thrown the way of young video gamers. In organising eSports events in Malaysia, our vision is to help nurture and grow gamers as young adults, instill the spirit of sportsmanship and raise awareness and sponsorship funds from the corporate and govt sectors i.e. to garner non-industry related sponsorship support. We believe this horizontal sponsorship tactic will give eSports the depth and reach across industries, hence a wider audience. Football talks to everyone. And so we predict will FIFA17 on console and mobile phones! This is just the beginning and we’re really keen to roll up our sleeves and head down to the virtual green fields. Here’s an excerpt of news from down under, where a football club – Melbourne City, signs on 20-year old FIFA gamer on the eve of the FIWC. MELBOURNE City has become the second mainstream sporting club in Australia to invest in esports, signing its own FIFA player. Source: FoxSports.com.au August 15, 2017 12:09pm MAX LAUGHTON Marcus Gomes, a 20-year-old Melbournian, will represent Melbourne City in London at the FIFA Interactive World Cup Grand Final. Gomes is the only Australian player in the 32-player field. The City Football group has been an early adopter of esports, with Kieran Brown representing Manchester City and Christopher Holly representing New York City FC, also in FIFA. “It’s an honour to be the first player signed by an A-League club in Australia,” Gomes said. Marcus Gomes – Melbourne City’s newest signing.Source: Supplied “I started playing FIFA 2006 when I was nine, and I never could have imagined that the game would be where it is today, or that I would be signing a professional esports contract with a club like Melbourne City.” Read more in Fox Sports Related Link: Melbourne City signs eSports FIFA gamer Marcus Gomes days before millions watch him at FIFA interactive world cup
Our team at GoInternationalGroup.com will be embarking on a national inspirational journey, where our efforts will contribute towards helping fulfill the national Key Performance Indicators of moving Malaysia from a nett consumer to a nett producer of technology. Introducing the National Innovation Creative Economy EXPO 2017, and a signature event Inspired by Youth called NICE! GAMES Convention, endorsed by the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation and funded primarily by corporate and brand sponsors, supported by gamer community and youth! Event date: 12-16 OCTOBER 2017 Official venue: Asia Pacific University @ Technology Park Malaysia For sponsorship information, contact: jasminelow@gointernationalgroup.com.
Original brief version published in Quora by Jasmine Low We welcome at least a dozen or so interns from local universities as well as from global mobility programs from Australia and Indonesia annually. Before we accept the cohort of interns, our management team prepares a project that the students will undertake during their internship. In the project brief, there are key performance indicators (KPIs) that the students will seek to satisfy. We find it’s great to assign a co-worker to welcoming the interns, and a key management staff to manage, guide and offer the face time so students can get accustomed to the workplace and feel free to ask ANY question they may have. We take internships seriously, and we see it as a way of ‘giving back’ to the ecosystem. Personally, I enjoy spending time with students as it keeps me grounded how young minds tick. Students also offer us insights into what’s new and what’s cool. Their feedback do matter. In structuring the internship program at your company, I’d recommend listing down a job scope. Here’s one for design/multimedia/IT/business interns: Research, data mining & data entry Cold calling with telephone script Setting up of social media accounts Social media updates via all relevant channels Online community engagement Appointment setting Account Management Design, copywriting, finished artwork Business proposal or business plan writing Attending conferences / workshops / talks etc Taking notes & keeping Contact Reports And… making a good cup of coffee! We’ve often brought interns along for meetings, and we find them very appreciative of the experience being involved. It helps when you announce to your client that the intern you’ve brought along is an intern, and will be observing. Well, in a nutshell, you get out what you put in. So if managers spend valuable time with interns, you’ll also reap the benefits. We’ve heard so many stories where managers send them off making coffee and photocopying, well then.