Tag: Committee

Singapore – Following the association’s expanded presence in Asia-Pacific, the Public Relations and Communications Association Asia-Pacific (PRCA APAC) has announced the formation of a new committee dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Its purpose is to increase diversity, inclusion, and equity across all levels of seniority in the Asia Pacific’s communications profession.

Furthermore, the committee will host events, drive industry initiatives, and facilitate consultations with organizations and individuals who wish to contribute to a more diverse and inclusive communications profession in Asia.

Said committee will be led by Charu Srivastava, senior director at Redhill, while Susie Bates, senior vice president at IPG DXTRA will take the committee’s vice-chair role. 

“Through this mandate, we are committed to creating a real impact on the industry and making it a better place for future generations. Discrimination and inequality in our industry goes beyond racial and gender biases – age, sexual orientation and even the university you studied at can be a cause for discrimination,” Srivastava said, regarding the new role.

She added, “It is imperative to bring these issues to the fore and address them through open and honest conversations, and I look forward to working with a very passionate committee to achieve our goals.”

Committee members include Natashia Jaya, group account director at Allison+Partners; Iknoor Kaur, senior manager for corporate brand and communications at SPAG; Sai Roshini Daswani, director for client strategy for APAC at Sinclair; Vernia Lim, head of public relations at JLL; Lee Nugent, regional director at Archetype; and Tom Evrard, senior managing director at FTI Consulting.

“The last 18 months has inspired renewed enthusiasm for meaningful change, so it’s critical we don’t lose the momentum now. As always, the challenge is to translate talk to action. Each PRCA APAC Equality, Diversity & Inclusion committee member brings a unique perspective and acumen to the table. I very much look forward to their expertise and support as we drive a more diverse and inclusive PR industry in Asia,” said Tara Munis, head of PRCA APAC.

Bangkok, Thailand – In line with the celebration of International MSME Day on 27 June, the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME), the body responsible for strengthening MSMEs’ participation in ASEAN, has recently launched ASEAN Access – a one-stop business information gateway for international-oriented businesses to expand their market outreach within the ASEAN. 

According to ASEAN Organization, intra-ASEAN trade accounts for the largest share of ASEAN’s trade, reaching 22.5% of total merchandise in 2019, indicating a high level of interdependence among the ASEAN Member States. With the ongoing pandemic, many businesses within the region were severely impacted by the drastic reduction in demands for goods and services. However, it was also an opportune moment for accelerating businesses’ digital transformation and diversification of sources. 

The ASEAN Access, with the tagline ‘Your Business Information Gateway to ASEAN and Beyond’, is a portal that aims to facilitate internationalization efforts among MSMEs by providing trade-related information and market opportunities for ASEAN businesses from both suppliers and customer sides, at no cost, for them to make informed decisions before entering a particular ASEAN market.

The platform, which is flagship initiative of the ACCMSME with the support of Thailand’s Office of SMEs Promotion (OSMEP), and the Federal Government of Germany and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), is designed to connect businesses to service providers in areas of distribution, transportation and logistics, market research, and consultancy on intellectual properties, as well as laws, and regulations, among others.

The team behind the ASEAN Access, comprising the public and private sectors, will be pooling their resources to operationalize and provide services to the portal, including business matching services, which are scheduled to be available by the end of 2021.

ASEAN Economic Community’s Deputy Secretary-General Satvinder Singh welcomed the ASEAN Access as the latest addition to ASEAN’s trade facilitation support for businesses operating in the region. Singh urged the national focal points to actively play their roles to promote, contribute content, and secure quality service providers, ensuring the portal serves its purpose for the ASEAN business community.

Meanwhile, Dato’ Suriani binti Dato’ Ahmad, the chair of ACCMSME and the secretary-general of the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives of Malaysia, noted that the launch of the portal is timely, given the prevalent use of digital platforms among businesses as one of the adaptive measures employed to survive the pandemic.

ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC)’s Chair Dr. Yanty Rahman said, “We should address the need to enhance business to business and people to people interaction through effective engagement and connectivity as our central purpose of recovery efforts must be to serve the needs of the community.”

ASEAN Access also contributes to the implementation of the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development 2016–2025, which envisions creating globally competitive MSMEs that are seamlessly integrated into the ASEAN community by focusing on initiatives to promote productivity, technology, and innovation. 

It increases access to finance, enhances market access, and internationalization, as well as enhances policy and regulatory environment, and promotes entrepreneurship and human capital development.