Episode 3: A Closer Look at Brunei | Asia Society Skip to main content

Unsupported Browser Detected.
It seems the web browser you're using doesn't support some of the features of this site. For the best experience, we recommend using a modern browser that supports the features of this website. We recommend Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge

  • Back to asiasociety.org
  • About
    • Asia Society
    • Our People
    • Our Board
    • Corporate Members
    • Institutional Members
    • Annual Review
    • Press
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Webcasts
    • Oxford Debates
    • Art Over Lunch
    • Event Recaps
    • Events from Friends
    • Past Events
  • Podcast
  • Support
    • Become a Member
    • Become a Passport Member
    • Become a Partner
  • Blog
    • All Posts
    • Event Recaps
    • Podcast
    • Interviews
  • Contact Us
Switzerland
Search
Switzerland
  • About
    • Asia Society
    • Our People
    • Our Board
    • Corporate Members
    • Institutional Members
    • Annual Review
    • Press
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Webcasts
    • Oxford Debates
    • Art Over Lunch
    • Event Recaps
    • Events from Friends
    • Past Events
  • Podcast
  • Support
    • Become a Member
    • Become a Passport Member
    • Become a Partner
  • Blog
    • All Posts
    • Event Recaps
    • Podcast
    • Interviews
  • Contact Us

Breadcrumb

  • Switzerland
  • Episode 3: A Closer Look at Brunei

Episode 3: A Closer Look at Brunei

VIEW EVENT DETAILS  

Through the Eyes of a Legislative Council Member and an Agricultural Entrepreneur

Brunei

Brunei. Photo of Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque from Canva


Video and Key Takeaways

Have a look at the video and key takeaways.

Watch Now

The third episode of the series brings us to the Sultanate Brunei located on the island Borneo in maritime Southeast Asia. Since the discovery of petroleum resources in the 1920s, Brunei’s economy has largely been dependent on gas and oil revenues, making it one of the highest per capita income countries in Asia. More recently, in a drive to diversify the economy, Brunei’s government strove to develop other sectors, including agriculture.

In a state where most people are government employees, what sort of government bodies are there? What are the government’s strategies to diversify the economy? What are the latest developments in the agricultural sector? And what sort of job opportunities exist for younger generations?

For this, we take on the perspective of the Legislative Council Member Iswandy Ahmad and agricultural entrepreneur Dr. Vanessa Teo. After a brief introductory presentation of the country, the speakers will share their view on the country's potential, where they see the biggest challenges, and discuss the government’s as well as entrepreneurial activities in the agricultural sector, followed by a Q&A session. This episode will be moderated by Simona Grano, Senior Lecturer at the University of Zurich and Director of the Taiwan Studies Project at UZH.


“A Closer Look” is a 5-part series by the Asia Society Switzerland, the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies of the University of Zurich, and the Schweizerische Asiengesellschaft, shedding light on different Asian countries through the eyes of leading local voices. Season 1 covers Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Brunei, Bangladesh and Bhutan. See all episodes here.

Logo University of Zurich
Logo Schweizerische Asiengesellschaft

Isawandy Ahmad

The Honourable Iswandy Ahmad is a Member of the Legislative Council of Brunei as Person who has Achieved Distinction. He regularly delivers capacity-building programs for leadership development for young Brunei leaders and is an active advocate in civil society. Among his voluntary social contribution are HIV & AIDS work on awareness & advocacy, youth mentorship, and employability among job seekers. He is also the Lead Trainer at Perspective Insan Academy (P.I), a capacity-building consultancy. In his role as a Member of the Legislative Council, among his area of policy interests are social enterprise, youth engagement, NGOs, socio-economic development, and volunteerism.

Vanessa Teo

Dr. Vanessa Teo is the Founder of Agrome, an agriculture technology platform that provides digital farm certifications to ensure farm product quality and safety. She pursued her doctorate degree specializing in rice crop modeling and agricultural systems modeling. Her PhD research focused on utilizing modeling systems and algorithms to support in rice farming system optimization in Brunei. Her research was conducted in collaboration with the University of Brunei Darussalam, IBM ResearchLab New Delhi, Bangalore, Brazil and the USA and the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Brunei.

Simona Grano

Simona A. Grano is Senior Lecturer at the University of Zurich (UZH) and Director of the Taiwan Studies Project at UZH. She completed her Ph.D. in Chinese Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy. She has held research positions and taught China Studies  and Taiwan Studies at her alma mater, at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and at the National Cheng'chi University in Taiwan. She has also been a visiting scholar at the University of Hong Kong and is a research fellow of the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan (ERCCT), in Tübingen, Germany as well as a research associate of SOAS for the year 2021. Simona's regional expertise centers on the People's Republic of China as well as on Taiwan and Hong Kong. She is the author of Environmental Governance in Taiwan: a new generation of activists and stakeholders, which has been published in 2015 by Routledge. Her new co-edited monograph titled Civil Society and the State in Democratic East Asia: Between Entanglement and Contention in Post High Growth (Amsterdam University Press, 2020) analyzes the dichotomy between civil society and the state in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Event Details

Thu 03 Jun 2021
12 - 1 p.m.
Zurich Time
Calculate your local time »
20210603T120000 20210603T130000 America/New_York Asia Society: Episode 3: A Closer Look at Brunei

For event details visit https://asiasociety.org/switzerland/events/episode-3-closer-look-brunei
For event details visit https://asiasociety.org/switzerland/events/episode-3-closer-look-brunei
  • Upcoming Events
  • Past Events
About
  • Mission & History
  • Our People
  • Become a Member
  • Career Opportunities
  • Corporate Involvement
visit us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
global network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, DC
resources
  • Arts
  • Asia Society Magazine
  • ChinaFile
  • Current Affairs
  • Education
  • For Kids
  • Policy
  • Video
shop
  • AsiaStore
initiatives
  • Arts & Museum Summit
  • Asia 21 Young Leaders
  • Asia Arts Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Society Museum: The Asia Arts & Museum Network
  • Asia Society Policy Institute
  • Asian Women Empowered
  • Center for Global Education
  • Center on U.S.-China Relations
  • China Learning Initiatives
  • Coal + Ice
  • Creative Voices of Muslim Asia
  • Global Cities Education Network
  • Global Talent Initiatives
  • U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit
  • U.S.-China Dialogue
  • U.S.-China Museum Summit
Connect
Email Signup For the media
Asia Society logo
©2022 Asia Society | Privacy Statement | Accessibility | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Contact

Asia Society takes no institutional position on policy issues and has no affiliation with any government.
The views expressed by Asia Society staff, fellows, experts, report authors, program speakers, board members, and other affiliates are solely their own. Learn more.

 

 

  • Visit Us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
  • Global Network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, DC