Nordic Alumni Day 2020 – HCMC

On the 31st of October at Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, NordCham successfully organized the first Nordic Alumni Day 2020. The event had 22 companies from the Nordic Business Community in Vietnam, more than 150 attendees, and 11 speakers from the Nordic Embassies, Nordic Companies and from the Nordic Alumni Networks.

Thue Thomasen (YouGov) was the moderator for the Nordic Alumni Day. The NordCham Vice-Chair introduced the event together with NordCham´s Chairman Soren Pedersen (Julie Sandlau).

The first section of the event consisted of presentations from the Nordic Embassies, H.E. Mrs. Ann Måwe Swedish Ambassador in Vietnam, H.E. Mr. Kari Kahiluoto Finnish Ambassador in Vietnam, Counsellor of Education and Statistics from the Danish Embassy Mr. Henrik Hjorth, Charge de affairs from the Norwegian Embassy Mr. Jan Grythe. The presentations involved alumni history, the Embassies’ current affairs, and future initiatives to strengthen the Nordic Alumni Networks. Following a presentation from one of our co-hosts, the Sweden Alumni Network in Vietnam presenting their newest campaign “The Plastic Free Challenge”. Read more, share with your network and join the campaign HERE.

For the second section of the agenda, we were lucky to have two Nordic Alumni representatives sharing their experiences of living in one of the Nordic countries and the impacts of this experience. Mr. Cuong Vu (Vietnam Positive Tours) and Ms. Lap Duong.

After a short break with refreshments and an opportunity for the participants to network with the participating companies, the third section started with presentations from four great personalities: Jon Bigseth (JOTUN), Sabina Gyllenholm (IKEA), Lars Rudkjøbing (ScanCom International), and Johan De Geer (Endurance Capital). These company presentations related to the company´s values, strategy, missions, and visions as well as the importance of the Alumni Networks for the Nordic Business Community in Vietnam.

The last section on the agenda was a panel discussion consisting of Soren Pedersen (Chairman of NordCham), Henrik Hjort (Counsellor in Education and Statistics of the Danish Embassy in Vietnam), Lars Rudkjøbing (Chief Business Development Officer ScanCom International), Lan Dang (Trade, Economics and Education Adviser of the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam), and Vu Nguyen (Coordinator of the Finnish Alumni Network in Vietnam). The panel discussion addressed the opportunities and possibilities of how all participating parties could utilize the Nordic Alumni Networks into a united platform. Together with the Nordic Embassies in Vietnam and Alumni Networks, NordCham should be the link to connect the individuals of the Nordic Alumni Network with the Nordic Companies.

After the panel discussion, the participants had another opportunity to network with the participating companies, meanwhile having a light lunch.

NordCham would like to thank all participants and companies for a successful event, and we are already planning the next Nordic Alumni Day for 2021 in Hanoi. We hope the Nordic Business Community will continue to support this important initiative.