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The 2021 Jilin Cultural Tourism Week comes to a successful end

CHANGCHUN, CHINA – Media OutReach – 7 December 2021 – Like mountains slowly being wrapped in mist, the 2021 Jilin Cultural Tourism Week, which was sponsored by the Publicity Department of Jilin Provincial Party Committee, came to a successful end on December 3. Dozens of international friends from more than ten countries happily ended their wonderful trip to experience the diverse culture and fine powder snow of Jilin in northeast China.

 

Musical performance during the opening ceremony of the 2021 Jilin Cultural Tourism Week, held in the Changying concert hall.

 

The 2021 Jilin Culture and Tourism Week was officially kicked off on November 29 at the Changying Concert Hall. During the last five days, international friends have learned about the economic characteristics of China’s Jilin Province, which has the automobile industry as its pillar, through visits to local companies such as the FAW Hongqi Exhibition Hall and Tontine Wines. They also learned about the historical and cultural characteristics of Jilin Province by visiting the Jilin Provincial Museum, the Changying Old Site Museum, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition, an ethnic Korean-style restaurant and, the Jinjiang Cabin Village. At the Changbai Mountains Ski Resort and the volcanic hot springs, they experienced the rich natural landscape of Jilin, and by participating in various activities, the international friends learned to knit ropes, make figurines, and make foodstuffs such as noodles, jianbing pancakes, bibimbap, glutinous rice cakes, kimchi, and so on. The international friends also watched a symphony concert. Finally, they experienced the powder snow of the Changbai Mountains and soaked in hot springs in the snow for a truly magical “powder snow encounter”. After participating in this event, the international friends truly fell in love with Jilin and shared the beauty of Jilin with even more friends.

 

International friends visit the First Auto Hongqi exhibition hall.

Although Ms. Kim Mi-Young from South Korea has lived in Changchun, Jilin Province for more than 7 years and visited many places, this is the first time she has visited the Changbai Mountains. She said excitedly, “The feeling of soaking in the hot spring in the snow is so amazing. I have to bring my friends here the next time.” Anna from Russia said in an interview at the ski resort that, “I’ve been skiing in Sochi before. The snow here in Jilin is amazing, the environment and service are both great.” Hansen from Bangladesh, who has previously been working in the south of China, also thought that Jilin is a sight to see: “We usually travel by ourselves and there are some places we won’t be able to go. So, it’s a rare opportunity for us to get to visit the FAW Hongqi Exhibition Hall and the Tontine winery! When I go back, I’ll write some travel notes and post them to my social platform with photos from these activities for my friends to see.”

 

International friends at a Tontine wine tasting.

Jilin Cultural Tourism Week is a key brand project to promote international cultural exchange in Jilin province. It has been successfully held in 12 countries. This year’s event integrated elements of the Winter Olympics and winter activities and combines “going out” with “inviting in”. It included field trips, interactive experiences, exchanges and sharing, exhibitions, and other online and offline activities. By comprehensively showing Jilin’s majestic natural scenery, rich history and culture, colorful customs, and its ever-changing urban and rural landscape, the event aims to make more people want to learn about Jilin, understand Jilin, love Jilin, and promote Jilin.

 

“The Winter Olympics may be in Beijing, but the winter experience is in Jilin.” Beautiful Jilin opens its arms to the world!

 

International friends take a group photo at the Wanda Changbaishan International Ski Resort.

 

Journalists: Tong Yanling, Yang Huiyan  Photographers: Zhang Qiulei, Luo Hao

The Mills from Nan Fung Group is the first historical building in Hong Kong to achieve BEAM Plus Platinum Rating (Comprehensive Scheme)

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 December 2021 – Hong Kong’s private conglomerate, Nan Fung Group, is honoured to announce that the Group’s landmark revitalisation project The Mills has been awarded a Platinum Rating in the Final Assessment of the BEAM Plus Existing Building category (Comprehensive Scheme). This makes The Mills the city’s first historical and retrofitted building recognized with the award’s highest rating.

 

The Mills, located in Hong Kong’s industrial district of Tsuen Wan, was once three separate buildings operating as textile mills, together supplying much of the region’s denim during the city’s industrial and textile heyday in the 1950s. The success of these mills was the cornerstone of Nan Fung Group’s strength that eventually enabled the Group to become one of Hong Kong’s largest private conglomerates. In 2018, to honour the textile legacy of the Group and give back to the community, the three buildings were transformed into a single coherent complex, collectively named The Mills, and became a popular local cultural destination.

 

After years of groundwork integrating sustainable, innovative designs and solutions into this massive revitalisation, The Mills has been recognised for its outstanding performance in seven key areas: management, site aspects, materials and waste aspects, water use, energy use, indoor environmental quality, innovations and additions. BEAM Plus is Hong Kong’s leading initiative for independent assessments of buildings sustainability performance, recognised and certified by the Hong Kong Green Building Council.

 

Vanessa Cheung, Founder of The Mills and Group Managing Director of Nan Fung Group, said, “We are thrilled and delighted that The Mills has received such prestigious recognition. This Platinum Rating is an affirmation of the Group’s commitment to weaving sustainability into business. More importantly, the awarded project redefines and recontextualises sustainability for a revitalised space.”

 

In 2019, The Mills was awarded the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation under New Designs in the Heritage Contexts category. Other certifications include winning the Grand Award under the Existing Building (Completed Projects – Commercial Building) category at The Green Building Award 2019 and achieving LEED Gold rating in 2018.

 

Sustainability at The Mills: from upcycled materials to the community

 

The design of The Mills strives to preserve the original architecture and its half-century history while enhancing existing facilities into a user-friendly complex that meets the highest sustainability standards. Seamlessly woven into the neighbourhood, a series of accessible new entrances, lanes, rooftops, and glass bridges are carefully thought-out additions, such that the community can enjoy open spaces at The Mills to their fullest. Efficient lighting automation, solar hot water systems, and a mobile-based BMS system are also utilised at The Mills to maximize energy savings.

 

The Mills‘ commitment in sustainability is evident in all that it does – from its extensive range of community programmes, down to oft-overlooked details in daily operations – sustainability is in its DNA. For instance, The Mills launched a paper recycling initiative in partnership with Mil Mill, Hong Kong’s first carton recycling mill, to advocate for a self-sustaining circular economy; a blend of legacy and innovation – a demonstration of textile recycling and upcycling using the iconic Garment-to-Garment Recycling System (G2G); The Mills also houses eco-conscious tenants, such as Green Ladies & Green Little, who sells pre-loved clothing to raise awareness towards sustainable living habits. Last but not least, extensive textile-related exhibitions, tours, and workshops are regularly curated on-site to educate students and the community on fusing sustainability into daily routines.

 

The innovation arm of The Mills, The Mills Fabrica is a solution platform dedicated to supporting techstyle and agtech companies and helping society transition into a more sustainable future.

 

Nan Fung Group: An ambitious vision for sustainability

 

The Group believes that sustainable development requires a visionary plan and a nuanced, thorough understanding of the community. The Group’s flagship commercial-retail complex, AIRSIDE, in the Kai Tak area encapsulates and channels this belief. AIRSIDE is the first building in Hong Kong to achieve five of the highest green-building certifications. These include platinum pre-certification of US LEED®, provisional platinum certification of Hong Kong BEAM Plus New Building, platinum pre-certification of WELL Building Standard™, final platinum certification of BEAM Plus Neighbourhood, and final certification of the China Green Building Label 3-Star. AIRSIDE is set to open in Q4 2022 and will surely bring an innovative, new model of sustainability that encompasses a holistic balance of community interaction with city development.

 

About Nan Fung Group

Nan Fung Group is one of the largest privately held conglomerates in Hong Kong with global interests in real estate development and investment and holds a well-diversified, substantial financial investment portfolio. The Group was founded in 1954 and has a track record spanning over 50 years with over 165 projects including residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The Group also strategically focuses on first-tier cities in Mainland China and recognises attractive opportunities for development and investment overseas, including New York and London.

In recent years, the Group expanded its investment focus on ICE (Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship), exemplified by its signature project, The Mills, a revitalisation of its legacy yarn factories into a hub promoting techstyle (intersection of technology and style) and an integrated destination housing an experiential shopfloor, startup incubator and interactive gallery. The Group also made significant progress in investments related to life sciences in the US via Pivotal; and in Mainland China via an affiliate, New Frontier, which focuses on healthcare, elderly care, education, and new technology.

About The Mills

Opened on 6 December 2018, The Mills is a landmark revitalisation project by the Nan Fung Group that celebrates the shared industrial legacy of Hong Kong by taking a step towards a future of applied creativity and innovation. The Mills is built on a foundation of legacy and heritage, where visitors can explore the continuity of an authentic Hong Kong story, with themes of textile and the industry woven into experiences of innovation, culture, and learning.

The Mills project transformed and revitalised Nan Fung’s former textile factory into a destination for innovation, culture, and learning for the company’s 60th anniversary in 2014. The Mills has three pillars, each offering a unique take on the Group’s rich history: Fabrica – A business incubator, fund, and space/lab for techstyle startups and strategic partners; Shopfloor – A landmark for experiential retail and a physical manifestation of Hong Kong’s evolving character; and The Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT) – A non-profit arts centre interweaving textile arts, history, and science.

#NanFungGroup #TheMills

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

CPA Australia: Confidence improves but uncertainty weighs on Hong Kong’s economic outlook

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 December 2021 – Hong Kong’s economic outlook has improved and is in line for modest growth next year, according to a new survey by one of the world’s largest professional accounting organisations, CPA Australia.

(from left to right) Mr Peter Lee, Divisional President 2013 of CPA Australia in Greater China; Mr Eden Wong, Divisional Deputy President 2021 of CPA Australia in Greater China; Mr Janssen Chan, Divisional President 2021 of CPA Australia in Greater China; Mr Anthony Lau, Divisional President 2020 of CPA Australia in Greater China

 

CPA Australia surveyed 214 Hong Kong-based accounting and finance professionals about the local economy. Sixty-seven per cent of respondents indicated they expect Hong Kong’s GDP to grow in 2022. Of those, 52 per cent expect the economy to grow by up to 2.9 per cent, while 15 per cent believe it will grow by 3 per cent or more during the year.

 

Janssen Chan FCPA (Aust.) CPA Australia Divisional President of Greater China said, “Measures to combat the pandemic and stimulate the local economy, such as the consumption voucher scheme, have bolstered the city’s economic recovery and prospects. Most respondents are cautiously optimistic about Hong Kong’s economic outlook and think the economy will grow at a modest pace.

 

“However, restrictions on cross-boundary travel and the pandemic remain the top barriers to economic growth nominated by respondents. Despite improvements in overall business and economic sentiment, we should be mindful of the risk of an unequal economic recovery among different industries and the ongoing challenges posed by COVID, such as the emergence of the Omicron variant.”

 

Fifty-three per cent of respondents predict their company’s revenue will increase next year, with 47 per cent expecting revenue growth of up to 29 per cent. Reflecting a more positive outlook, 36 per cent of respondents report their company will increase staff count in 2022, up from 13 per cent in 2021. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents expect their salary to increase in 2022, compared to only 15 per cent in 2021.

 

Chan observed, “The survey findings indicate that business confidence in Hong Kong has improved over the past 12 months. Last year, only 26 per cent of respondents expected their company’s revenue to increase in 2021. In contrast, reflecting a better-than-expected recovery, 50 per cent of respondents said revenue will grow this year.

 

Meanwhile, 78 per cent of respondents expect their company to expand its business activities outside of Hong Kong in the next three years, with Mainland China being the top destination of choice followed by Southeast Asia.

 

“Strong intentions to expand business activities into other markets is another sign of economic recovery. As an international city, expanding Hong Kong’s economic and trade connections will help accelerate the city’s economic recovery and enhance its competitiveness.

 

“China recently upgraded its ties with ASEAN to a comprehensive strategic partnership. With ASEAN being Hong Kong’s second largest trading partner, companies in Hong Kong will be eager to seize the markets opportunities from ASEAN economies as well as greater connectivity with other parts of the Greater Bay Area (GBA).”

 

Six in ten survey respondents think strengthening Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre will improve the city’s international competitiveness. When asked what measures are needed to achieve this, most respondents chose supporting FinTech and other digital finance innovation, followed by Hong Kong’s status as an offshore renminbi (RMB) centre and attracting and retaining finance talent.

 

Chan commented, “Greater cooperation with Qianhai to expand the scope of Hong Kong’s offshore RMB product offering will bolster Hong Kong’s position as a leading offshore RMB centre. We also expect the financial integration schemes launched in the GBA this year to boost economic growth in 2022.

 

The ambiguous timetable for resuming cross-boundary travel and risks of further COVID-19 outbreaks continue to weigh on economic sentiment. Chan said, “While Hong Kong’s economy is recovering, challenges such as the emergence of the Omicron variant continue to present significant uncertainty. Businesses should keep focusing on innovation and technology including digital transformation, attracting, nurturing and retaining talent, and improving business efficiency in 2022 to adapt and thrive in this volatile environment.”

 

Chan suggested that the government may wish to consider several initiatives to support Hong Kong’s economic growth in 2022.

 

“One option to support Hong Kong businesses is developing a roadmap to resume cross-boundary travel with fewer restrictions with Mainland China and some ASEAN countries. Other possible initiatives include allocating additional resources to the Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD) Fund and the SME Export Marketing Fund, and signing more free trade agreements and comprehensive double taxation agreements with other economies.”

 

“Further, we believe the government should consider promoting green and sustainable finance by introducing incentives and regulatory reforms to encourage financial institutions to expand their offerings of green and sustainable funding options, as well as offering more RMB-denominated green financial products.”

 

About CPA Australia

CPA Australia is one of the largest professional accounting bodies in the world, with more than 168,000 members in over 100 countries and regions, including more than 20,000 members in Greater China. CPA Australia has been operating in Hong Kong since 1955 and opened our Hong Kong office in 1989. Our core services include education, training, technical support and advocacy. CPA Australia provides thought leadership on local, national and international issues affecting the accounting profession and public interest. We engage with governments, regulators and industries to advocate policies that stimulate sustainable economic growth and have positive business and public outcomes. Find out more at cpaaustralia.com.au

#CPAAustralia

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Laos Confirms 1,378 New Cases of Covid-19

Covid-19 update Khammouane


Laos has recorded 1,378 cases of Covid-19 across the country today, with four new deaths.

Business Interruption and Cyber Attacks Identified as Top Concerns in Asia Pacific: Aon Study

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 7 December 2021 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has announced the results of its 2021 Global Risk Management Survey, which gathers input from thousands of risk managers every two years to identify key risks and challenges their organisations are facing. The past two years have proved to be incredibly volatile, with the global COVID-19 pandemic having had a ripple effect across other types of risk, such as heightened awareness of reputation and cyber, as long-tail risks have become increasingly important to manage.

 

The 2021 edition surveyed more than 2,300 respondents in 60 countries/territories across 16 industries at both public and private companies. With more emphasis and reliance on technology, cyber risk topped the list as the number one current and predicted future risk globally, its highest rank since the inception of the survey. Cyber was also cited in the top 10 list of risks across each region, industry and respondent type. In Asia Pacific, Business Interruption topped the list, followed by Cyber Attacks.

 

The top 10 risks also strongly reflect the current landscape, namely COVID-19 and its impact on organisations amidst a backdrop of challenging market conditions: slower vaccine rollouts, delayed infrastructure projects and workforce shortages. This is testing the ability of firms to manage volatility and make better decisions. Organisations are shifting their focus from event-based to impact-based risk assessments: for example, business interruption was once seen as a linear risk, but the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how it can affect multiple industries and companies simultaneously and globally.

 

“The world is a more volatile place and the importance of better decision making has never been greater, said Lambros Lambrou, CEO of Commercial Risk Solutions at Aon. “Long-tail risks are not single events. They’re innately interconnected, as we’ve seen with the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changing the way the world works, revealing new risks and re-ordering priorities in the C-suite. A preoccupation with managing these immediate risks may be compromising firms’ ability to invest in managing the risks of tomorrow.”

 

Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighting the interconnectivity of risk, the top 10 Asia Pacific risks according to the 2021 Global Risk Management Survey are:

 

1. Business Interruption

2. Cyber Attacks/Data Breach

3. Economic Slowdown/Slow Recovery

4. Damage to Reputation/Brand

5. Pandemic Risk/Health Crises

6. Failure to Innovate/Meet Customer Needs

7. Increasing Competition

8. Accelerated Rates of Change in Market Factors

9. Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent

10. Regulatory/Legislative Changes

 

Additional key findings for Asia Pacific include:

  • Pandemic Risk/Health Crises risk jumped to number five in Asia Pacific, up from 59 in the 2019 survey.
  • Despite 62 percent of respondents reporting an increase in levels of risk readiness, growing volatility and the changing nature of the top 10 risks led to the highest ever reported loss of income in Asia Pacific compared to other regions.
  • In Asia Pacific, 37 percent of respondents reported a loss of income from the top 10 risks, an increase of 14 percent compared to 2019.
  • Seventy percent of respondents reported that the Total Cost of Insurable Risk in Asia Pacific was increasing.
  • Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent ranked at number nine in 2021, compared to number 10 in 2019, reinforcing the continued importance of building a resilient workforce.
  • Climate change ranks at number 21; however, extreme weather events are occurring regularly in Asia Pacific. Climate change is inherently tied to other, more tangible risks, where the immediate impact is measurable, and is considered an underrated risk by Aon.

“Risk profiles have been and continue to change   as businesses and economies emerge from the pandemic. New exposures have appeared and therefore our understanding, readiness and ability to manage and transfer risk must evolve along with them,” said Anne Corona, CEO, Asia Pacific at Aon. “Several of the top risks identified for Asia Pacific in this year’s survey highlight four key areas of client need and the associated interdependencies of these risks. There is an increasing need to innovate to address these ‘known unknowns.’ As we face unprecedented events, businesses must proactively prepare and manage the current and emerging risk exposures.”

 

About the study

Conducted every two years since 2007, Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey provides data and insights to enable better decision making around risk in an increasingly volatile and complex business environment. The full report is available here. The report highlights the top 10 risks by industry and region, as well as risk readiness, associated losses and mitigation actions for each of the top 10 risks. In addition, the report includes the predicted top 10 risks in the next three years and Aon’s analysis of underrated risks.

About Aon

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.

Follow Aon on Twitter and LinkedIn. Stay up-to-date by visiting the Aon Newsroom and sign up for News Alerts here.

#Aon

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Thanaleng Dry Port and Vientiane Logistics Park Hold Grand Opening

Opening of Thanaleng Dry Port
Opening of Thanaleng Dry Port (Photo: Vientiane Mai)


Thanaleng Dry Port and Vientiane Logistics Park held a grand opening event on Saturday, kicking off the start of streamlined services facilitating transportation.

Simple, safe, fast: AnyDesk presents Version 7.0

AnyDesk is introducing many new, helpful features with the new Version 7.0 for Windows. In addition to a clearer user interface, the update also offers optimized authorization management and new privacy functions.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 December 2021 – AnyDesk, one of the leading companies for remote desktop solutions, is launching AnyDesk 7.0. For the company, the update is the next step in further simplifying the remote maintenance solution. AnyDesk 7.0 is initially available for Windows users, with other operating systems to follow at a later stage. Many new features address user feedback and preferences.

 

Simple: New authorizations and a more intuitive user interface

The update to Version 7.0 sees numerous innovations in the AnyDesk Client. Users can now create different authorization profiles for access to their devices. If others want to access the user’s own device via AnyDesk, the user can choose between authorization profiles with just one click. That even precedes release for use. Thus, for example, it is possible to oversee whether the accessing user is granted full access or, say, just access to shared screen content. This means, on the one hand, that users can grant full access rights to trusted AnyDesk users, such as family members. Conversely, people who cannot be trusted to that extent can be assigned a profile with restricted authorizations, such as just “share screen”.

 

In addition, every profile can be secured using an individual Unattended Access password. If several people are meant to have access to the same device, they can now also be given different passwords – and consequently different authorizations when accessing the device. That increases security and monitoring.

 

The user interface has also been further developed. The intuitive and much-simplified user interface (UI) in Version 7.0 is geared to a conventional web browser layout. It employs a tile view for selecting devices, and a search bar for finding available devices. Another new feature is the option to invite another user directly to a remote desktop session. The user on the invitation page receives a message and can accept or refuse the session invitation within a two-minute window.

 

Safe: Greater privacy during the remote session

Many new functions increase security and privacy during use. For instance, there is a session indicator, which indicates the current incoming session in the form of a colored frame. In addition, private desktop backgrounds can be replaced automatically, as soon as an incoming session starts, by a preinstalled background. The accessing user then sees only this configured desktop background. Users of Version 7.0 also have the option of disabling the online status display of other users in their own Client. This particularly supports privacy in a company context, for example if the online status display is disabled for all employees.

Fast: Still the best performance on the market

With Version 7.0, AnyDesk is confirming its market position as one of the fastest remote solutions. Due to the high frame rates, it is capable of fluid imaging with refresh rates of 60 images per second. And thanks to the in-house developed video-codec DeskRT, the version offers latency of under 16 milliseconds in the LAN – a delay that is imperceptible to the human eye. Even in areas with low bandwidths of 100 kB/s, users can look forward to judder-free remote working. Version 7.0 again ships with a bank-level security standard, in its TLS 1.2 technology. All sessions support perfect forward secrecy and can be further protected against unsupervised access using two-factor authentication. This also applies for the User Account login.

Version 7 coincides with company anniversary
The launch of Version 7.0 also sees the company, founded in 2014, celebrating its seven-year anniversary. For CEO Philipp Weiser, the update is an important step into the future: “For us, product development means cooperation with our users. Good tech companies listen to the feedback from their community, to criticism every bit as much as future wishes. The new features in Version 7.0 are the best evidence of how users become co-developers.”

Further product information available here: https://anydesk.com/en/order.


About AnyDesk

AnyDesk is one of the world’s leading providers of remote desktop software. The ScaleUp’s innovative solutions have already been installed nearly 500 million times – in 2020 alone, the number of downloads has doubled. This makes AnyDesk one of the 50 fastest growing companies in Europe. In more than 190 countries, over 80,000 customers rely on AnyDesk, including internationally renowned companies such as Bosch, McDonald’s and Google. Visit our website here: www.AnyDesk.com.

#AnyDesk

SAP Boosts the United Nations’ Humanitarian Response with Faster, More Accurate Data

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 7 December 2021 – SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) selected SAP’s 4W-Wizard tool that aims at enabling customers to realise time savings and to focus on delivering humanitarian aid during disasters.

OCHA’s adoption of the SAP 4W Wizard tool in humanitarian missions across the Asia Pacific region is intended to help people in Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, and Cambodia, as well as recent crises in the Philippines, Turkey, and South Sudan by bringing together conversational AI, data analytics, and automation.

 

“Every minute counts when it comes to providing fast and effective humanitarian relief. In one case, the 4W-Wizard tool from SAP helped us to reduce the time taken to process data, transforming what used to take a massive amount of effort and resources into something easy and quick to do. That makes a huge difference in our work – and by extension, to the people we support,” said John Marinos, former Regional Information Management Officer for Asia Pacific-Japan at OCHA.

 

Tried and tested technology to save time – and lives

 

“About 235 million people globally have needed humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021. But COVID-19 and the ongoing travel restrictions have forced us to scale back the number of international aid workers we can deploy, severely impacting the support we could provide to vulnerable populations. It means we have to find new ways to save time and resources, so can ensure every second and every dollar is put to the right place,” added Marinos.

 

In Nepal, for example, the OCHA team utilized the SAP 4W-Wizard in its launch of a Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 response, requesting US$83 million worth of live-saving assistance to more than 9 million people. The tool was aimed at minimising time-consuming manual tasks and allowing workers to focus on implementing a proactive, anticipatory approach to prepare for future disasters like monsoons, securing emergency funds and mitigating suffering for the most vulnerable.

 

OCHA also used the SAP 4W-Wizard tool to embark on its objective of achieving seamless coordination between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to empower local organisations while collecting more information than ever before. In Nepal, the inclusion of more local NGOs and community-based organisations proved critical in driving trust in and donations for OCHA’s humanitarian efforts.

 

Innovative technology to make every second count in a disaster

 

The 4W-Wizard, which runs on the SAP Business Technology Platform and uses machine learning and natural language processing technologies, uses information on the aid rendered by NGOs to help improve visibility, collaboration, and planning on a common platform.

 

“We’ve been aiming to prototype new ways that could help humanitarian response at SAP for some years. We designed the SAP 4W-Wizard as an innovative way that helps organisations like the UN to achieve addressing the big challenges we face today, be it climate change, natural disasters, or COVID-19. Rapid access to useable data is crucial for aid personnel to respond accurately to crises and disaster situations, and to be prepared for what might happen in the future,” said Carsten Boekholt, Industry and Customer Innovation Advisor, SAP APJ.

 

“The future of humanitarian response will be smarter – tapping on technology to help connect the dots, enable coordination, and mitigate waste and inefficiencies that result from manual reporting,” added Mr. Boekholt.

 

The SAP 4W-Wizard tool was initiated by Relief.iO, a fully funded, internal SAP start-up committed to building a supply chain collaboration platform for disaster relief. Relief.iO emerged out of South-East Asia under SAP’s One Billion Lives program, a crowd-sourced program that employs SAP technology with the intention of delivering sustainable, commercially viable social impact. Ongoing projects include tackling cancer drug effectiveness in India and aiming to improve disaster prevention and preparedness in Japan.

 

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.

About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

#SAP

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© 2021 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.