Some pictures, impressions and links from ASEM 9

Vientiane is occupied by foreign countries, but this time for good: 60 something leaders (or their delegates) gathering in Laos capital for the ASEM 9 summit. Not much outcome is expected, since the size is too big for a workshop meeting, but at least some bilateral talks might be successful here and there. Also, the Europeans want to convince their Chinese and some other major Asian business partners that everything is under control in Europe. So, the mainstream story reads like that:

Dozens of European and Asian leaders gathered in impoverished Laos on Monday for a major summit dominated by the eurozone debt crisis and growing territorial tensions in the region. Top European officials including French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti were due to spearhead efforts to reassure Asia that the long-running eurozone crisis is finally coming under control. The diplomatic offensive is seen as a sign of the growing importance that debt-laden Europe places on Asia's fast-growing economies, and its desire to counter increased US engagement in the region.

Then, there is some concern about the venue (or better the place where the leaders are supposed to sleep. And there are the side stories, like Austria's State Secretary of Finance Andreas Schieder (turns his back to the street in the picture, but yes, it's him) who decided to stop his convoy right in front of the Joma Cafe to get - a coffee. Police was a bit surprised since they were told parking isn't allowed at Setthathirat road, but nobody was thinking about if this rule applies to the delegates as well.

The Russian Prime Minister Medvedev arrived in his own bullet proof limousine (a quite old one, actually), while the German foreign Minister Westerwelle came in a regular Mercedes (I think all this Mercedes purchased for the summit aren't bullet proof at all). Yinluck from Thailand came quite early, while some Finish delegates were seen cruising around for quite a while. What is a big surprise so far is the work of the traffic police: Haven't seen traffic going so smooth like in this days. The fact that school are closed and many government officials are working for the summit eases the traffic already, but even the rehearsals done last week had a pretty good outcome. So Kudos this time for the Lao Traffic police. The fact that we have a curfew from 10pm on is something I can handle. There isn't nothing to after 10pm anyway, in particular Monday and Tuesday. (Not that I think there is a vibrant nightlife on weekends). So as proud the Lao people are these days because of the summit, the even more quiet is the city, it is actually quite nice again to sit outside in the Benoni Cafe without having an hourlong traffic jam in front of you. More links about the summit: http://www.asem9.la/ (Official Website) Press release from the European Union Wikipedia about ASEM Official Theme Song, in Lao, no subtitles, so much about the international spirit (Video)

Barcamp Vientiane 2010: What a huge success

I am organizing Barcamps since three years now, and people always asking me, how to measure the success. I usually answer: "If anyone is happy, it's a success". An I mean it. It is not so much about the numbers of participants (Barcamp Bangkok and Yangon looking now for ways to actually reduce the number), or how many sessions.



I would call Barcamp Vientiane a huge success: First of all, we proved that this concept works in Laos. Even if it took a while when the participants started to write the topics on the agenda, finally we had around 36 session. Half of them were in Lao language. Then, from the member of the organizing teams point of view, it went incredible smooth. I can't say what went wrong. People helped cleaning up in the end, Internet connection was working (thanks to TIGO again for the backup line). The food was awesome (thanks to Nin and his family). What surprised me a lot was the enthusiasm and the engagement of our volunteers. They usually have a bad job sitting on the reception desk or pointing directions for newcomers and don't have so much time to listen to the sessions. A big applause and Kudo to the volunteers! It's by the way interesting to see that after Barcamp particpants started to connect each other on Facebook in a large scale. We also had people form Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore and Hongkong - that shows that we are now part of the SE Asia Barcamp community.

What about the quality of sessions?
First of all, I think quality isn't the right term. More important and correct is the learning and sharing level, and this was high. From Business development (thanks to Chris Brown) to Lao translation in Google, Iphone App development, How to setup Android Dev on MAC, win, LINUX , to IT for investment and Finance, BarcampVTE, how BarcampVTE begin?, "My hotel sucks! how to plan travel online THE right way", Mindmap (that's only some of the English sessions). Rooms were crowded and that means people were quite interested. The complete schedule on Barcampvientiane.org
We had some money left for a nice After-Barcamp-Dinner were we invited the organizers, the volunteers and our guests from the neighboring countries.



What's next?
Personally I think we will have a next Barcamp in 2011. People already talking about another Barcamp in Pakse and/or Luang Prabang. Why not?

For Vientiane I would like to establish a ICT-Community gathering, like the tweet ups in Vietnam or the Meeting at T&C-Coffee in Cambodia or Beercamp in Thailand. I think it is important to meet at the same place, something like a coffeeshop or restaurant, that is affordable for Lao people. Casablanca on Rue Asian could be such a place.

This gatherings should enable the community to stay connected in real life, not just through Facebook or Twitter. It is always better to meet face to face. A quick survey with our volunteers showed me that Saturday late afternoon (5pm) might be a good time. We should eye two hours, if someone want's to stay longer, no problem.


If your are interested in participating in these gathering, leave me a message in the comments or on my facebook page!