As a Global Growth Member of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the QI Group participated in the World Economic Forum on East Asia, which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 12-13 June 2011.

QI was represented by Executive Chairman Vijay Eswaran,  at this international event which brought together Heads of State and senior executives from major corporations in the region.

The key theme of the forum was – Responding to the New Globalism.  It provided a platform for leaders from business, government and civil society to address the region’s challenges by discussing how a sustainable economic recovery can be achieved to ensure the region’s future competitiveness.

Vijay Eswaran was invited to speak at a session titled – Social Media in Asia: From Shaping Norms to Influencing Policy. During this interactive session, his main argument was that companies should no longer rely on traditional PR and crisis management techniques. He said that we are currently in an age where people expect instant, real-time information, which makes social media the perfect solution.

Quoting a real-life example of a crisis within the QI Group, Eswaran explained that the company’s e-commerce portal suffered a DDoS attack some years ago, and described how the company effectively managed the crisis and even gained customers’ trust by providing information and technological support through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and the company’s official blog.

The session, moderated by John Riady from Lippo Group, Indonesia, turned out to be a lively and insightful debate among panellists, as it engaged the audience and challenged them into intensifying their company’s efforts within the area of social media.
Other panellists in the session alongside Vijay Eswaran were Michelle Guthrie from JAPAC, Yoshito Hori from Globis Group, Ken Dean Lawadinata from Kaskus Networks, Jaideep Shergill from Hanmer MS&L Communications and Satya Witoelar from Koprol.

The QI delegation at the East Asia Forum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vijay Eswaran (centre), making his point, alongside Jaideep Shergill ( left) and Ken Lawadinata (right)