July 6, 2020
A personal and important message from Ainsley Mann, Chairman of BritCham Indonesia.
Dear Members,
As it is now four months since BritCham hosted either a social event or a physical event that would allow Members to network and socialize, I am acutely aware that many of you miss the networking opportunities. We have made every effort to provide as much on-line content as possible via our webinars and we greatly appreciate the many contributions from our Members to these webinars. Rest assured the content will keep flowing and I hope you have enjoyed what we have produced thus far. Keep the ideas flowing!
In order to address the (on-line) networking challenge, The Board proposes to launch a number of Focus Groups that will be open to any member to participate in. The intention is that these Focus Groups are for the members and run by the members with the Board providing the necessary support as requested by the Focus Groups.
In the past, Focus Groups have tended to be very industry or sector specific. I want to deviate slightly from this traditional model and introduce Focus Groups that cut across many sectors and therefore will inevitably appeal to a wider constituency of the membership.
Climate Change Focus Group
Climate change affects us all whether in a personal capacity or in our business. In November 2021, the UN Climate Change Conference will be held in my home city of Glasgow. The significance of the fact the Conference will be held in the UK does I believe offer significant opportunities for BritCham to constructively engage with key stakeholders both in the UK and here in Indonesia. Many of our Members have already introduced climate change related initiatives into their businesses and likewise Climate Change does in itself open up a fascinating range of business opportunities. We have already secured some great contributors to our new Climate Change webinar series which will be launched on July 9th. However, we can and should do a lot more, so I am personally very excited about working with interested members in this Focus Group, share ideas, provide content and engage in advocacy. (AM)
Human Capital & Education Focus Group
For seven consecutive years of the BritCham Business Confidence Index, output has consistently informed that a major challenge to achieving potential business development and success is the acquisition, development and retention of talent. Over the last two years, BritCham has been working with partners to provide members with first sight of top talent returning from the UK. This has been very well received. In April, we took this a stage further by establishing the BritCham Education Centre. This brings together a panel of 15 British universities and programme selections based on employability, alignment with national priorities and gaps in talent supply. Furthermore, our holistic approach to recruitment of Indonesian students focused on study in the UK brings together our private sector members as mentors, internship providers and first rung career opportunities. In the same way, we are now strengthening the BritCham Education Centre proposition by working alongside executive development providers within our membership and certification and awarding bodies. All of these developments underscore our intention to play a leading role in support of members and their talent challenges. Human capital development cuts across all sectors and we are expecting a big response from members in support of this Focus Group initiative. (CW)
Smart Cities Focus Group
When it comes to the subjects of urban planning, architectural design, digital twinning, infrastructure design & provision, renewable energy, waste management, transportation planning and big data analytics to name but a few, the UK is leading in many of these sectors. Urbanisation rates in Asia and particularly here in Indonesia are amongst some of the highest in the World. As someone with a background in real estate development I am fully aware of the tremendous value to be gained by collaborating across multiple disciplines and I am also aware that the UK has so much to offer Indonesia in this regard and as such by working together I am sure we can achieve so much more. (AM)
Therefore, if either your company or yourself is interested in participating in these Focus Groups please do get in touch with either Chris or myself. Similarly, if you would like to suggest any other Focus Group formats we would very much welcome your suggestions. Rest assured I have impressed upon the BritCham Board the need to support such focus groups where necessary.
In the first instance and to express interest, mail to: chriswren@britcham.or.id – cc. septi@britcham.or.id
Kind Regards,
Ainsley Mann
