Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

Play a Part in Dennis Kweh’s Mission

May 2, 2009 • Blog • 1 comment

By now, you would have probably read, listened or viewed about Dennis Kweh, a Singapore librarian who suffers from the rare genetic disorder called Morquio Brailsford Disease, Spinal Sclerosis and is blinded in one eye due to Glaucoma. Because of his condition, Dennis has to get around in a motorised wheelchair, which can be hazardous if you consider the high vehicular and human traffic in practically every corner of our city.

At 47 years of age, Dennis decided to do something meaningful and ventured on a journey of 200 km around Singapore – aptly named Adventure 200 – on a motorised wheelchair. His intention is to raise a total of $200,000 for the Spastic Children’s Association of Singapore (SCAS), and the math works like this = a dollar each for every metre traveled, ie $200,000 for 200,000 metres covered (which is 200 km). Management of the fundraising effort comes from the Start Centre Pte Ltd, and support was provided by various sponsors including the NLB, NParks, and several companies.

Walking With Giants @ Otway Fly

April 29, 2009 • Blog • disabled comments

Treetop walks seem to be a common feature of nature parks these days, and we certainly enjoyed our very own along the Southern Ridges of Singapore. Being hardcore outdoor lovers, we decided to check out the Otway National Park on our way to the Great Ocean Road and Port Campbell (near where the 12 Apostles stood) and had an acrophilic (opposite of acrophobic!) time walking amongst some of the tallest trees in the Southern Hemisphere at Otway Fly.

Stretching for 600 metres long at heights up to 25 metres above the ground, Otway Fly is a steel girded treetop walk weaving through age-old primary temperate forests with a 45-metre high observation tower. Apparently, the tree top walk here is the world’s highest and longest, and is nestled amongst temperate rainforest species like Mountain Ash (the world’s tallest flowering plant), Myrtle Beech and Blackwood. Other than the canopy high attraction, one could also take a prehistoric walk through ancient ferns and other species along the 1.9 km long forested path.

Hitting the long and winding road to Otway via Geelong and the M1 Freeway.

Rural Delights @ Collingwood Children’s Farm

April 27, 2009 • Blog • 1 comment

On the 3rd day of our Easter holiday, my family and I went to the Collingwood Children’s Farm at the recommendation of Tim Richards, to experience its pastoral pleasures just minutes away from the Melbourne CBD. Apparently, it has a farmer’s market every second Saturday which offered fresh farm grown produce (many organic) from participating farms in the greater Victoria region which surrounded the city of Melbourne. What this meant was that the farms could sell directly to end consumers (many of them were small family-owned establishments) without having to pay middle-men like retailers and distributors their share of the pie.

For a flat fee of just $2 for adults (free for kids), you can visit both the animal farm itself and the farmer’s market too. That’s pretty cheap considering that normal admission prices are about $16 for adults and $8 for kids. Certainly, a delightful way to spend a Saturday morning!

Can We Truly Market the Arts?

April 23, 2009 • Blog • disabled comments

Art or sheer marketing brilliance? (Damien Hirst’s £50 million For The Love of God courtesy of Secretly Ironic)

There is an underlying tension in the field of cultural management where one has to balance between giving customers what they want and preserving artistic integrity. This is especially prevalent in what we term as the ‘high arts’ like classical music, ballet, theatre and museums.

Against the ever growing competition from lifestyle activities coupled with the ever shrinking discretionary time of today’s consumers, it appears suicidal for art organisations to hold their ground for the sake of their art. Considered by many to be a discretionary expense (compared to purchasing groceries, fuel and homes), cultural activities have never faced such tremendous competition as the present age.

Our Easter Holiday @ Melbourne City

April 19, 2009 • Blog • 5 comments

Last week, my family came over to Melbourne during the Easter vacation period and we had a great time discovering different parts of the colourful city together.

We opted for a slightly different itinerary this time around (its the second trip for my family), exploring neighbourhoods that were slightly off the beaten tourist track and enjoying what typical Melburnians would like.

Night Festival @ University of Melbourne

April 7, 2009 • Blog • 3 comments

One of the things which truly impressed me about the University of Melbourne was how active its various student organisations are. I do receive daily emails and notices in my student email about various causes to support, talks to attend, concerts to participate in, and groups to join in. Some of the student ECA groups even have job descriptions inked on their websites, complete with the mandatory hours and duties that you need to fulfill.

Whenever I walk around the campus – either en route to the library for studying or the cafeteria for lunch – I notice that there is a constant hive of activity generated by various student clubs, societies and associations. Apparently, there never is a dull moment here. Having gone out of the education system for quite a while, it was interesting to see how various causes were so actively and passionately lobbied by these idealistic youths.

Last Friday, a couple of us decided to walk to campus to check out the night market organised by various student groups. Apparently, this was an annual activity pitched at raising funds for the various societies and clubs.