Held in partnership with the British Embassy, and hosted by the Deputy Head of Mission Mr. Cashel Gleeson, a fabulous evening of rugby was enjoyed as guests were able to watch all three of the final round of the Guiness 6 Nations matches. With Italy beating Wales, and France beating England to win the Grand Slam, it was not the ideal results for the home nations, but an enjoyable evening was still had by all!
On 16 February 2022, the Office of the Embassy of Canada, AustCham, Civitas, ECCIL EuroCham, the European Union, LNCCI and the British Business Group in Lao PDR organised the inaugural Lao CSR Awards, with the award ceremony hosted by the British Embassy in Laos. The Lao CSR Awards recognises companies that uphold the highest standards of responsible business conduct (RBC) in their corporate strategies and daily work, and whose CSR activities can serve as models for the wider Lao business community.
The British Embassy in Laos hosted the inaugural Lao CSR Awards ceremony to recognize companies upholding the highest standards of CSR in their corporate strategies, and implementing CSR activities which serve as models for the wider Lao business community. The winners of Lao PDR’s first-ever CSR Awards, in two categories, were; the Luang Prabang hotel Angsana Maison Souvannaphoum in the Large Business Category and online travel agent Discover Laos Today in the SME Category.
It was a great honour to host a Burns Supper at Crowne Plaza Vientiane to celebrate the life and works of Scotland’s famous bard. What a night! More than 120 BBGL members, friends and guests came together for an incredible evening of poetry, song, dance, sumptuous food … and whisky. Thanks to everyone who contributed time and energy to make the event such a success, and to our generous event sponsors Jaguar Land Rover Laos, Isuzu Lao Services and Whessoe Lao.
We’d also like to say a big thank you to the companies that provided prizes for the raffle during the event including:
Souphattra Serviced Apartments
Vector Control Consulting Company
Ban Keo Restaurant
Lee Sheridan, a British national, is a tourism expert with 20+ years of experience in Laos and the Mekong region. During this time Lee has managed some of the leading tour operators in the region, started, managed and sold his own online travel company, worked as a consultant in tourism development and is currently employed as a technical expert for the Skills for Tourism Project which is facilitating the training of students, teachers, employees and businesses to raise the standards across the tourism and hospitality sector in Laos.
In this role, and working closely with the Ministry of Education and Sports, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lee has been behind initiatives such as the Lao Thaio Lao tourism marketing campaign, the Hosts of Laos campaign improving the reputation of tourism training and career opportunities in the hospitality sector, and the recently launched LaoSafe programme – a health and hygiene programme to improve operational standards within hotels and restaurants and prepare the country for a re-opening of the borders. Lee’s passion for tourism includes a personal website www.love-laos.com to inspire more people to visit Laos.
Lee is a passionate sportsman and has played for the Lao national rugby team winning 15 international caps between 2006-2011. While still playing rugby today with the local Vientiane Buffalos team, he is also a keen cyclist with Team Dai.
Within the BBGL, Lee chairs the Business Enquiries sub-committee, and supports both the CSR and Communication sub-committees.
If you would like to get in touch with Lee, he can be reached on business@bbglao.org or connect via LinkedIn.
Siraprapa is Thai national who has lived and worked in Lao PDR since 2013 after graduating with her Postgraduate degree in Management and Marketing from Nottingham Trent University in the UK. She has more than 10 years experience of working and representing English Language schools, boarding schools and universities from the UK.
In 2014, Siraprapa co-founded Oxford Education, the first professional UK-orientated education agency in Lao PDR which worked closely with the British Embassy in Vientiane to promote UK education.
In early 2018, Siraprapa then set up the British Education Centre (BEC). BEC is a Lao company that provides advice and support for Lao students looking to study overseas. While representing more than 200 schools, colleges and universities from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, BEC is especially strongly affiliated with the UK. Her years of experience in the education industry working with Lao students has given her a deep understanding of the needs of individual students as well as the expectation of parents. Since BEC has been in operation, they have helped hundreds of Lao students successfully apply to UK universities.
Through BEC, Siraprapa has been a champion of promoting UK education in Laos, and supporting Lao students to apply, and in many cases obtain scholarships, to fulfill their educational dreams. In 2018 and 2019, Siraprapa has held UK Application Days, facilitating UK university representatives and potential Lao students to meet, learn about education opportunities and application requirements. In 2021, she organised the Olympiad Scholarship with the Oxford Sixth Form College, a leading sixth-form college in the UK, to offer the chance for Lao students to secure full and partial scholarships.
In addition to BEC, Siraprapa also established a student accommodation agency in Thailand named Student Relocate to assist students for booking their hall of residences with UK student accommodation providers.
A serial entrepreneur, Siraprapa joined the British Business Group in Lao PDR as an advisory board member in 2019. During non-Covid times, she travels to Thailand monthly and the UK quarterly for business trips. She plays tennis and has a passion for investing.
You can reach Siraprapa on info@britisheducentre.com or siraprapa@student-relocate.com