Let's start this year with Culture in Wroclaw

Here we are!

2016 finally arrived and will be the year of Wrocław (Poland) as Cultural Capital City together with  San Sebastian (Spain) . Also Wrocław have been nominated World Book Capital City 2016.

This is not the first time for Poland, as Krakow had the same title in 2000.

But Wrocław is an emerging city, one of the most dynamic cities not just in Poland but in Europe. And this title, awarded in 2011, represents a significant moment in the history of this city, that has definitely left the communist past and is launched towards a more international future.

There are many events programmed for this year.

www.wroclaw2016.pl

Since the Opening Weekend (15th-17th of January 2016) when there will be almost hundred cultural events to inaugurate the year of European Capital of Culture. "The 17th tens of thousands of people will participate in the Sunday finale- „The Awakening”, one of the most numerous and spectacular parades in city history. - Wroclavians will be able to unite in the common march and participate in an artistic story about city history and its people” (from the official site of the Cultural Capital).

And this is just the beginning.

We will see how this title will influence the perception of Poland as touristic and cultural destination.

Come to Wrocław and discover the Cultural Capital 2016!

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Working abroad? Wonderful...but where?

Everyone, at least once in his life, has thought to live and work abroad. It can be interesting, usefull for language skills and a good plus on the curriculum.

Leaving your Country is a very good decision. Even if it can be the best place in the word, you will find always something more interesting abroad.

But the main question - once you have decided to move abroad - is: where to go?

Of course, if there is a "sentimental relation" as cause, the Country destination is obvious (almost always). But if you have to take this decision objectively the answer can be more difficult.

You can choose your destination on the basis of the average salary you can earn. In this case cities like Zurich or Copenhagen can be the right choice. But it is not so easy to get a job over there because the competition is very high and the skills required are very specific.

If the most important thing is to taste a multicultural environment, for sure the destination should be a European Capital. London or Paris, Dublin or Berlin, all can be the perfect city to discover new cultures, meet people from all over the World and find a good job. The only possible problem is that these cities attract many foreigners, so the competition is very high and it can pass a lot of time till you find a job.

The third option is to move to Eastern Europe. In Poland, Hungary or Bulgaria there are many positions available, less competition than in other most famous cities and at the same time an unexpected international environment (due to many corporations that installed outsourcing centers over there). The negative aspect is the salary, still much lower than in the Western Europe.

Anywhere you want to go, you should be patient and motivated. Moreover, you need to be optimistic and prepared to sacrifices.

Good luck!

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Reportage from Bangalore: plus and minus of an incredible growth

In October I had the opportunity to spend three weeks in India. I stayed in Bangalore, the capital of the State of Karnataka. With a population of 8.5 millions, Bangalore is the fourth largest metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai and it is the second fastest growing major metropolis after Surat.

Kempfort Shiva - Bangalore

Above all, Bangalore is the "Silicon Valley of India". It represents  the hub for many IT Companies: for instance, the Headquarters of Infosys and Wipro, the third and fourth largest software Indian Companies are located there. Bangalore also hosts Business and Technologic Outsourcing Centers of many corporations such as ABB, Boeing, Google, Hp, IBM, Nokia and Philips. This makes Bangalore the first outsourcing destination in the World according to Tholons Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations.

A new business center

It is useful to point out that Bangalore has always represented one of the most high-tech city of the region: for instance, it has been one of the first city in Asia to have electricity.

The economic growth of the last ten years has deeply touched this city. With $83 Billion per year and an annual growth of 10%, this metropolis is currently the fourth contributor of the Indian GDP after Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

Which are the most significant outcomes of this incredible growth?

The economic development has attracted people from different parts of India for the opportunities to easily get a job. The immigration has completely changed Bangalore: more buildings have been erected, taking away green spaces; moreover, almost everybody had been able to buy a personal vehicle so traffic and pollution became the first evident effect of the growth. In fact, Bangalore is in the top-10 most polluted cities in India.

Traffic in Bangalore

From the other side, prosperity has meant better condition of life, more professional and educational opportunities but, at the same time, also the increase of inequality. It is very common to see poverty and opulence in the space of few meters in the same street.

The wealth is also evident looking at the boost of the Income per capita: in 2000 in the state of Karnataka it was around 17.500 Rupees (250 Eur), now it is around 77000 (about 1000 Eur) - Per Capita Income of India. Also the cost of life is not as low as it could be expected, but actually comparable to the Eastern Europe: Bangalore is the third most expensive city in India after Dehli and Mumbai.

A cow in the street

Bangalore shows positive and negative effects of its economic growth. Even if it is considered one of the best city to live in India - for the business opportunities, the nightlife and the climate - it presents many contrasts. It is possible to find a nice street or beautiful temples and then, suddenly after the corner, seeing some cows browsing in the garbage.

Finally, in every big city in Europe we can see social and environmental imbalance, but in Bangalore those elements seem multiplied by 100 folds.
Anyway, quoting the former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about this modern megalopolis: "Bangalore is a brand the world identifies India with. It is also the single biggest reason why India has become such a hot investment destination".

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Which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday? Third: the accommodation

In the two previous posts, I analyzed the ways to have a low-cost holiday choosing the cheapest destinations and the cheapest transportation.

In this post, the final one of the trilogy (!), I want to put in evidence the ways to save money for the accommodation. There are many possibilities, from the classic hotel to the camping, but I would like to focus about two main (and cheapest) options: the hostels and Couchsuring.

A classic dormitory in a hostel

The first hostel was created in Germany in 1912... Nowadays there are more than 4500 hostels all over the World. Hostels offer cheap accommodation, usually in a dormitory with a variable number of beds. People choose hostels for saving money but also for the environment. There are usually open spaces in which the guests can interact each other and hostel can become not just a place to sleep but also a place to meet people and sharing experiences.

If hostels can look too expensive, there is always the possibility to sleep somewhere else for free, thanks to Couchsurfing. This is a hospitality exchange and social networking website. People can offer a couch to sleep (for free) or, if they don't have place available, they can just offer a coffee and maybe a tour of the place they live.

Couchsurfing is present almost everywhere, with more the 3 millions of users. It is very common in Europe and Us, but we can find couchsurfers also in China, Russia, Australia and Brazil. Despite few negative episodes, the network of couchsurfers is safe and hosts reliable. It is interesting to notice the average age is 28 years, the 71% of members speaks English, the 20% are from United States. The common values are social integration, anti-discrimination, open-mindedness.

Couchsurfers in the World

Finally. which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday?

I would say that it depends from your budget and from your open-mindedness. If someone has a very little amount of money, the option couchsurfing + hitchhiking gives the opportunity to spend money just for food, not giving up to an holiday.

After all, the most important thing is that if you really want to travel, to visit places and to share experiences, you don't have to be rich, you just need to be open-minded, and maybe a little bit daredevil.

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Which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday? Second: the transportation

Even if the mid of August has passed few days ago, it is still time of holidays.

In the previous post, I have discussed about the choice of the best destinations in order to have a low cost holiday. Today I would like to write about the transport options we can have.

Once you choose a destination, there are many ways to get it (and to visit it). I am going just to mention some of them, the most known.

The cheapest way to travel is hitchhiking. This method has the big advantage that is completely free, but from the other side you never know who will give you a lift and you cannot schedule a trip because you cannot predict if and when you will get a ride. Hitchhiking is very common in some Countries like Poland and Netherlands, where there are also platforms dedicated to people waiting for a ride. In Cuba hitchhiking is mandatory by government vehicles, because of the small number of cars.

Another possibility to travel is given by car-pooling service, like Bla Bla Car. In this case, someone who has to travel from a city to another can offer a ride in exchange of the payment of a part of the costs. This solution is generally cheap, but you cannot always find the route you need.

Bus and train can be a good solution if you can find a good offer. For example Polskibus has been a huge success in Poland, because the ticket prices are very low (you can find a ticket from Krakow to Warsaw at less than 10 Euros). Interrail is also a good way to visit one or more countries: you pay a ticket for unlimited trips by train in one ore more Countries for a specific period of time.

If you have a larger budget and you don't want to spend to much time travelling, there are many offers from the low-cost Airlines as Ryanair or Wizzair. From one side, thanks to this solution you can arrive everywhere in Europe. From the other, it is not always easy to find a ticket really cheap and there are also restrictions regarding luggage.

Finally, you can always traver by your own vehicles. More than a car, it is interesting mentioning that many people are used to travel by bike. Even if it is more difficult to plan "exotic trips", travelling by bike gives more opportunities to enjoy the nature and to discover places not easily accessible via other transportations.

As you can see, there are many opportunities to travel in a cheap way. We are spoiled for choice!

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Which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday? First: the destination

In this period many people are planning summer holidays. 

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has estimated that in 2013 Europe has attracted the most number of tourists in the World (52%), followed by Asia (23), America (15), Africa (5) and Middle East (3). Regarding the Countries, France is the first world destination, then Usa, Spain, China and Italy.

Bucharest - the cheapest destination in Europe

During the crisis not everybody can plan a long holiday in one of the places mentioned above. But it doesn't mean that holidays must be cancelled. There is still a huge variety of choices that gives us the possibility to spend some days in nice places, without wasting too much money.

Which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday in Europe? 

I would like to analyze three elements: the destination, the form of transport and the accommodation. This post will be dedicated only to the choice of destination. The two others will be discussed in the next days.

The European Backpacker Index is a good instrument for an overview of the most economic cities in Europe. The 2014 index ranks Bucharest, Kiev and Sofia as the cheapest destinations, whilst Zurich, Stockholm and Oslo are the most expensive. In the top-10 there are also other beautiful cities of Eastern Europe, such as Belgrade, Sarajevo, Krakow and Budapest. 

In this part of Europe the cost of life is lower: if for a meal in Bucharest you have to pay 40 Ron (9 Eur), in a city as Lisbon the price is 16 Eur and in Venice 26. The price of a good hostel in Krakow can reach 30 zloty (7 Eur), in Zurich 41 CHF (33 Eur).

These elements can explain why the tourism in Central and Eastern Europe has increases by 7% last year.

Even with those good results, we still have to register some diffidence from a part of the international tourism, that associates East with grey communist buildings and problems of security. Even if cities like Budapest and Prague are part of the international touristic circuit, there are also other Countries that can offer beautiful places and low-cost holidays.

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The importance of being a Unesco World Heritage Site

Few days ago, Italy got another Unesco World Heritage Site, the area of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, famous all over the world for its vineyard.

A UNESCO Site is a place recognized as of special cultural or physical significance. The criteria to be able to become a Site are defined in a Convention adopted by UN in 1972. The main element to identify a Site is the uniqueness it represents for human history or natural phenomena.

From 1972, there have been created 981 World Heritage Sites, located in 160 different Countries, the most part in Europe and North America. Following the top 10 list of the Countries with most number of Sites:

  1)   Italy - 50 
  2)   China - 47
  3)   Spain - 44
  4)   Germany - 39
  5)   France  - 39
  6)   Mexico - 32
  7)   India - 32
  8)   Uk - 28
  9)   Russia - 26
10)   US - 22

Considering the long procedure to became a Unesco Site (for instance, the candidature of Langhe-Roero began 10 years ago), why is it so important to enter in the Unesco List? Are there real benefit of being a World Heritage Site?

First, when a place becomes part of World Heritage it can have more easily access to National and International Founds. Then, a new Site can increase the number of tourists. From the other side, the prestigious given by being part of Unesco List involves also keeping in a good status the Site itself. This requires further investments and a system of control for the site.

The influence of "UNESCO Brand" is difficult to calculate. Some surveys have estimated that it can touch the 30% of tourists. But there are other elements that influence the tourism of a specific place, from marketing to the accessibility. Moreover, most of the sites were already touristic centers and in some cases the Unesco recognition didn't affect visitors inflow. 

Finally, it seems important to point out that the World Heritage List has been often criticized. From one site, there is a distortion in the number of sites: 496 out of 962 are from North America and Europe, the richest part of the world. Furthermore, the number itself of the sites has raised quickly in the last decades, and the designation has lost part of its uniqueness. The debate to reform the system is still open and regards both the improvement of the criteria to indentify a site, and also the number of the sites can be in the list each year. But for the moment nothing really seems to change.

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Is it really useful studying French?

It has been recently published on the New York Times the news that French Government wants to strengthen the French language programs in the United States. It seems that this purpose has regenerated a debate in US about the importance of studying French at school as first foreign language.

This is an interesting topic also in Europe. If someone suggests stopping pretending that French is an important language, because it is not an international language anymore, some others pointed out that it is still useful, because used by millions of people around the world.

What is the truth? Is this language really important?

To answer, we have to consider two elements: the number of people who effectively speaks French and the economic and political power of the Countries where they live.

On the basis of a research of KryssTal, French is spoken by 200 millions of people and it is the 9^th most spoken language in the World. Following the top 10 list:

Mandarin (1.1 billion)

English (1 billion)

Spanish (500 million)

Hindi (490 million)

Russian (277 million)

Arabic (452 million)

Portuguese (240 million)

Bengali (215 million)

French (200 million)

Malay-Indonesian (175 million)

Actually the Government of Paris estimates that around 300 million of people speak French. 

The second element to consider is that, as the result of the second largest colonial Empire of history, French is spoken outside France in Belgium, Canada, in many states of North and Central Africa and in some part of Indochina. It is also an official language in Switzerland and in the Italian region of Valle d’Aosta, and in many international organizations such as United Nations, NATO, FIFA, FIA, International Red Cross and WTO.

From the economic point of view, French is the third most spoken language in Europe, the richest area in the world. Many of the francophone Countries mentioned above are political and economical powerful.

Finally, in a world “economics oriented”, French is a good choice. It is spoken across all the five Continents and represents an access key for important and rich markets. Moreover, the worth of French is consolidated by the political, economical and also cultural influence of France, the fifth world economic power. But it is also true that other languages, such as Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian or Hindi, are becoming more and more important, and could represent a better alternative to French in the future.

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Tourism in Israel: yes we can

When hearing names like Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, many people imagine dangerous places in a semi-permanent state of war. This is not true, at all.

The history of Israel is very complex and has crossed many conflicts. In the last ten years the political situation has become more stable, especially after the Second Intifada (2000-2004). But there are still delicate zones, like in the north of the Country, at the borders with Lebanon and Syria and in the Palestinian territories, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Western Wall - Jerusalem

In such a difficult context, it is interesting to notice a huge development of the tourism in Israel in the last years, with a record of 3,5 millions tourists in 2013.  From the Tourism Minister data, the biggest number of them came from United States, Russia, France, Germany and UK. 53% were Christians, half of them Catholics, and the 23% Jewish. The city most visited is Jerusalem, and the Western Wall the most visited site.

It seems that Israel could increase also non-religious tourism. The positive feedback from tourists regarding accommodation, transport and also the nightlife and the quality of the beaches, can attract more people who want to spend a holiday in a Mediterranean Country.

In the future, the low costs and the facility to get to Israel could contribute to the development of the sector. Apart from the flag carrier of Israel, EI AI, for example, also other companies have decided to create a route to this Country. One of them is the low-cost Wizzair, that links Tel Aviv with many cities of the Eastern Europe with few Euros.

I want to add one more consideration. The last year tourism contributed with around 11 billions dollars  to the national economy (around 4% of GDP). In order to maintain such a high level of income, the support to peace is fundamental. Hopefully, tourism could play an important role in the stabilization of the area.

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Poland: the leading outsourcing destination in Europe

I want to dedicate the first post of this blog to Poland, the country in which I live.

Poland is a really interesting case in Europe, in the last years has seen a robust economic growth in a reverse trend with respect to the crisis that has touched Europe bringing a slowdown of the economy and an increase of the unemployment rate and social contrasts.

Wroclaw 

Poland has used very well the Eu funds and the Government has implemented incisive structural reforms also helped by the stability of the political system.

A key element of the Polish development is represented by the delocalization of services like accounting, customer care and IT support from the West to the Eastern Europe. In the last ten years, many corporations have decided to create shared services centers in Poland in order to develop their business, maintaining high quality of service and bringing down costs.

There are two processes to be distinguished: outsourcing and offshoring. Outsourcing is the contracting out of a business process, previously performed internally, to an independent organization from which the process is purchased back as a service. Instead offshoring describes the relocation by  a company of a business process from one country to another: in this case the process rests within the company. It often happens that a company decides to implement both processes: it can create, for instance, a internal centre (but in another country) to delocalize some internal processes, and at the same time, it can commit other processes to an outsourcing center. It also can happen that the same company creates a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) for external clients and a Global service center for its internal processes.

It is interesting to notice that there are an estimated number of 500 offshore outsourcing centers in Eastern Europe, and Poland is poised for major expansion in the coming years (www.sourcingline.com). According to KPMG, an audit and consultancy firm, Poland ranks third for shared services centers and business process outsourcing in the world after India and China. Poland's key assets are considered its trained and educated workforce, the economic and political stability and the depreciation of the zloty (the local currency).

The importance of Poland in the outsourcing strategies is evident also from the list of the 100 most important outsourcing Cities 2012 (http://www.cuti.org.uy). Although India took 13 places in the list (Bangalore got the first position) and China 8, Poland with 3 cities, Krakow (10st), Warsaw (36th) and Wroclaw (75th), is the most represented European country.

There are two main consequences of this phenomenon. First of all, investments in outsourcing have brought wealth, reflected in new and modern infrastructures, new international power and in a reinforcement of the domestic demand. Secondly, Poland is becoming a point of attraction for international workers, pushed to leave their own Country by the economic crisis of the last years.

Ten years ago in the Western Europe there was the fear of the famous Polish plumber, ready to invade France, Italy and Germany providing a low cost service. Today instead, it is estimated that over 600 thousands foreigners are officially residents in Poland and this number is estimated to increase. It seems to be an historical victory for a Country that came out just 20 years ago from the Soviet grip.

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