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Milky Merrymaking: 5 Festivals Around the World That Are Dedicated to Milk

Whether you are an ice cream lover or a health-conscious fan of a2 protein milk, the dairy-derived products you consume have had a massive impact on the world. Indeed, many cultures celebrate dairy in unique and fascinating ways. Of all this milky merrymaking, the following festivals are perhaps the most interesting.

1. World Milk Day – Global

Let’s kick off with the largest celebration of dairy – World Milk Day. Held on June 1st each year, this event spans North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the South Pacific. It truly is a global event, triggering talks, shows, exhibitions, and events centering around sustainability and environmental protection.

2. Latte in Festa – Trentino, Italy

This celebration of all things dairy takes place in the far north of Italy in the Trentino province. The festival aims to introduce people to the backstory of milk and the environment and conditions that go into getting it from farm to table. During the three-day event, visitors are invited to taste ice cream, engage in fun activities, and learn about everything from haymaking to traditional Italian architecture.

3. Cow parades – Switzerland

Each summer in Switzerland, farmers take their cattle up onto the higher slopes of the mountains to munch on the fresh grass and herbs that thrive during the warmer months of the year. The cows and their herders generally get to enjoy three months of this lushness before the time comes to head back down and avoid the big freeze.

This is where the cow parades come in. Swiss people recognize cows as the bringers of milk, cheese, chocolate – all the finer things in life. So, they dress the creatures in flowered crowns and honor them as they return from the mountains. The exact time of the cow parades will differ depending on climatic conditions, but it’s usually sometime in September or October. Similar cattle-driving parades – known as almabtriebs – are held in Austria each year.

4. Pongal – India and Sri Lanka

Pongal is a general harvest festival. However, cows and dairy are central to the event. Indeed, the word “Pongal” means “to boil and overflow” and comes from the traditional dish prepared for the festival – a blend of rice, raw sugar, and milk.

Pongal is celebrated in January, around the winter solstice, and cows are given plenty of special treats. During the Mattu Pongal phase of the festival, participants will bathe the cows, polish and paint their horns, and place bright flower garlands around their necks. They also get treated to venn pongal, jaggery (raw sugar), honey, banana, and an assortment of fruits, making the festival a brilliant time for all cows lucky enough to be involved.

5. Cow Hug Day – India

This festival created a bit of a kerfuffle in 2023. It was put forward by India’s Animal Welfare Board as an alternative to Valentine’s Day. The idea is both adorable and in line with Hindu beliefs about the sacred nature of cows. However, it was met with mockery, both in India and abroad.

Sadly, the proposal was rolled back, and Cow Hug Day never happened. However, it revealed to the world just how much some Hindu adherents despise Valentine’s Day. There are even anti-Valentine’s Day squads who make it their mission to stamp out the holiday. Cow Hug Day was a gentle way of pushing that mission forward.

Dairy has had a major effect on the development of human society. Nowhere is this fact more evident than in the celebrations held each year in honor of milk and the cows that produce it. Which of these events will you add to your travel itinerary?

 

Life Advice: 5 Sage Pieces of Advice for the General Public from Practicing Lawyers

We tend to turn to legal professionals only when we directly need their services. However, these experts have a broad understanding of the law and deep knowledge in specific fields, making them a wealth of valuable information that can improve your life.

You probably don’t want to pay a lawyer’s hourly rate to get general life advice, and luckily, you don’t have to. We gathered advice from Albury solicitors, New York attorneys, and legal professionals all over the world and distilled their most valuable ideas into the five core tips below.

1. Read before you sign anything

From employment contracts to terms of service, you should never sign a document you haven’t thoroughly read and understood. Of course, many contracts are so long and laborious that it’s easy to dismiss this advice and hope for the best. However, you could be getting yourself into all sorts of trouble down the line. If you don’t have the patience to struggle through endless pages of legal jargon, hire a lawyer to go over the contract for you. If it’s the T&Cs for a product, service, or subscription, consider using a free AI tool to summarize the document, explain it to you like you’re five, and point out any clauses that could be problematic.

2. Be clear in your expectations

Whether it’s with your life partner, business partner, or anyone else for that matter, always be clear about your expectations. Many employment disputes and lawsuits arise from miscommunications, false promises, and unmet expectations. Clarity and openness can help you avoid legal issues, and these qualities will serve you well in every other aspect of your life.

3. Treat everyone you meet with respect

Whether it’s someone asking you for money on the street, a police officer, a customer service attendant, or your fellow patrons in a restaurant, it’s important to show respect to those you encounter. You may not agree with someone’s lifestyle or choice of profession. You may think you’re within your rights to be rude, loud, and obnoxious. However, if you let these ideas dictate your behavior, you’ll be in for a lifetime of conflicts, large and small.

By contrast, respect can serve you well in all areas of your life, helping you avoid conflict and enjoy more productive interactions with the people you meet.

4. Keep good records

From your taxes to your property lines and everything in between, it will serve you well to have clear records. Digitize as much as possible to save on space, and ensure everything is filed in a logical way. In the workplace, keep records of important meetings, and if anything important is discussed verbally, send a follow-up email confirming whatever was agreed on.

When you’re diligent with record-keeping, you can nip potential disputes in the bud and protect your rights, your property, and your reputation.

5. Keep your mouth shut until your lawyer is present

Regardless of whether you’re guilty or innocent, if you’re ever called in for questioning, it’s crucial to invoke your right to legal counsel. Wrongful convictions can and do happen, and the defense lawyers we spoke to explained that some of their cases would never have even gotten to court if their client had kept quiet and insisted on having a lawyer present.

Keep these sage pieces of wisdom in mind as you navigate the complexities of modern life, and you should be able to avoid unnecessary conflicts and make the most of the opportunities that come your way.

 

Housekeeping Horrors: 6 of the Worst Things Cleaners Have Discovered at Work

There’s more than one reason why it’s essential to have workers’ compensation insurance for a cleaning business. Beyond the regulations and legalities, cleaners and housekeepers encounter a shocking array of dangerous and disgusting things during the course of the average shift.

You can probably already imagine that toilets are no one’s favorite thing to clean. However, we guarantee you’ll be aghast when you read the following stories of housekeeping horrors.

1. Post-party uglinesses

A few beer cans and overflowing ashtrays are one thing, but some hotel guests go above and beyond when they let loose. Syringes, drug paraphernalia, strange stains, bodily fluids, and burn marks are all common – if disgusting – discoveries. However, one cleaner quit her job on the spot after walking into a room that had all of the above plus vomit on the ceiling. We can’t say we blame her!

2. The aftermath of sunburn

At least once in your life, you’ve probably had a sunburn so bad it peeled. While there certainly is a kind of sick satisfaction to peeling away your flaking skin, this is something you should never leave for someone else to clean up.

Sadly, some hotel guests seem to think good manners aren’t necessary if you’re paying for a room. One poor housekeeper came into a hotel room to discover a pile of peeled-off skin beside the bed. Even thinking about it is disgusting, let alone having to clean it up.

3. Living things

From maggots to feral cats, housekeepers have found some wild creatures in hotel rooms and holiday rentals. Whether they’re brought in by the occupants or find their own way in, attracted by old, rotting food, cleaning up after them is never a fun time for the poor housekeepers.

4. Full bathtubs

At first glance, this might not seem all that gross, especially compared to some of the other entries on the list. But take a moment to think about it. You have to clean the tub after some random person has checked out, and it’s full of murky water. You have no idea what they were doing in the bath or what could be lurking under the surface, but you have to reach in to unplug it. This is the reason why most hotel bath plugs are on a chain!

5. Gross things tucked away in hiding places

This is a common theme reported not just by housekeepers but by unlucky guests. Some people apparently like to take disgusting things and hide them around their hotel room before they check out. As you can imagine, this creates a genuine moment of horror for whoever finds it. Commonly discovered surprise items include tampons and sanitary napkins, condoms, bodily excretions, fried chicken, and wedding rings.

6. Piles of hoarded junk

Some of the worst housekeeping horror stories come from hotels and apart-hotels that allow long-term guests. While most people are clean, quiet, and respectful, a few can cause quite a stir when it comes time to clean their rooms.

Quite a few housekeepers reported having to clean up after hoarders who kept mountains of junk piled in their rooms. The terrifying part of this cleaning job is that you never know what you might find under the next pile of garbage. What looks like an innocent pile of magazines could have old food, feces, maggots, or all sorts of other horrors hiding beneath it.

After reading about these nightmarish situations, we hope you have a new-found respect for cleaners and housekeepers. If you can afford to tip them, do it because, sadly, the people who leave the worst messes often don’t.

 

3 Tips For Finding The Ideal Demographic For Your Business

If you have a new business that you’re trying to help takeoff, a big part of finding this type of success will involve knowing who your target audience is and how you can best speak to them. But for many businesses, the thought of narrowing down their potential customer base can seem counterintuitive. However, when you can pinpoint a target demographic, you’ll have a much better chance of actually connecting with those people.

To help you in doing this, here are three tips for finding the ideal demographic for your business.

Learn What Needs You’re Fulfilling

For most consumers, they really only make purchases when they have a need that they need to have met. So to help your new business be the one that people turn to when they have needs, you first need to know what the needs are that your business could be fulfilling. This way, the leads that you get will be quality for what your business is capable of.

Once you’re able to uncover why it is that someone would be needing to use your business, you can better show them what your products or services are the solution they need. It can also help you to better market your business in the places where these people will be looking for solutions in their time of need.

Start By Creating Personas

When you’ve been able to uncover why someone would need to use a business like yours, you can then start to flesh out the ideas of who these people are. As you do this, you should be able to create some personas of the type of people you can and should be targeting with your marketing efforts.

In your customer personas, try to include as much information as you can. Stating things like demographic information as well as things like motivations can help everyone within your company to better understand the people that you’re wanting to be working with.

Do Some Research On Your Competition

If you’re having a hard time knowing where to start with finding the ideal customer and demographic for your own business, another place that you can look is to your competitors.

Other businesses in your industry that have been around for a while will likely have a strong grasp on who their target demographic is. By doing things like checking out the website and social media pages, you should be able to determine the type of people they are targeting. With this information, you can tweak your marketing strategies to better align with both your business and your target audience.

If you’re needing to nail down who the ideal demographic for your new business is, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you determine this.

 

The Cost of Product Liability Insurance: What to Expect

Product liability insurance is necessary to financially protect a company against any claims or actions that arise as a result of defects or malfunctions in the products. The policy provides adequate coverage for the manufacturers/distributors/wholesalers/retailers/resellers’ liability resulting from product damage sustained by the third party due to lack of product warnings or defects in the product.

No matter what kind of products you deal with, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong. Even the seemingly harmless products might sometimes get your company in legal trouble. Claims are incredibly expensive for defending them.

Australia has the best experts to consult and utilize abundant insurance services online. You can also compare numerous options and buy several policies like general liability policies, and professional indemnity insurance policies online in just a few clicks. When a third party accuses a professional of inflicting a loss as a result of their services or advice, professional indemnity insurance covers both the professional and their firm.

Is Product Liability Insurance Mandatory?

The value of product liability insurance cannot be undermined. While it isn’t mandatory, liability insurance is extremely important because the cost of the legal fees necessary to defend yourself may potentially cost your company tens of thousands of dollars. Companies are more vulnerable to third-party damage claims; thus, with adequate product liability insurance, you can reliably guard against damage.

Factors Affecting the Cost of Product Liability Insurance

The cost of insurance is determined by the type of product/business, manufacturing method, marketing methods, necessary safety measures, and revenue generated. Some of the factors influencing the cost of product liability insurance are listed below.

Risk level – Policy costs will be higher for businesses dealing with high-risk products such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and fireworks than for businesses dealing with low-risk products such as household items, stationery, buildings, retail establishments, and so on.

Company size and no. of employees – Another significant aspect affecting the price of the insurance policy is the size, scope, and manpower of the organisation. Large enterprises necessitate higher insurance prices.

Businesses operating in multiple locations or countries will have to pay higher for their product liability insurance coverage as the risk involved is also higher.

Location – Areas involved with theft, burglary, environmental/natural catastrophes, and fire hazards will require high-cost liability insurance. Selecting a locality, free from potential incidents or other environmental impacts have helped businesses to avoid higher premiums.

Cybersecurity – The ransom ware attacks might halt your business operations and create a cyber crisis. It is indeed necessary to restore your business operations in a timely way to limit the cost of a claim. Technology underpins nearly every part of businesses today and hence it is considered one of the vital factors to impact the cost of the product liability policy. The insurers will be provided with experts to work on this on a day-in and day-out basis and will be provided with an early warning system to receive the right responses.

Fire safety – A mandatory factor in assessing the workplace’s fire suppression system, sprinkler system, closest fire hydrant, and proximity of the fire station. This even impacts the entire cost of product liability insurance.

Workplace injuries – Some unavoidable injuries generally occur in industries like warehousing, construction, and many other working areas. The workplace injury claim cost is augmenting every passing year, hence impacting the cost of the policy.

Limit of Liability – A policy with a higher limit will cost more than a product liability policy with a lower limit and it depends on the insurer opting for the type of coverage required.

Prior claims experience – Every business experiences different difficulties and would have claimed more than once. The monthly premium cost of product liability insurance for such insurers is going to be higher than the insurers who have not faced any prior claims.

Product Liability Insurance Policy Online

In today’s ever-changing world, new technologies like online insurance services help tackle risks by easily engaging with risk consultants. Online services have the following advantages.

  • 24*7 assistance in claims
  • Dedicated relationship manager taking care of service-related queries immediately
  • Getting swift responses through calls, emails, video conferences, and even in-person meetings.
  • Providing potential plans and customized quotes with in-house product experts
  • Enabling considerate add-ons.

A comprehensive product liability insurance is vital to protect your company from any financial downturns. Before selecting any policy, consult your broker to understand the terms and conditions involved. The cost of the insurance will vary depending on the underlying factors and be aware to choose the best.

Best beaches and secret tips for experiencing Phuket’s hidden gems 

As Culture Trip describes Phuket as “Thailand’s largest island”, you might already be pretty confident that the place has no shortage of beaches. You would be right to make that assumption, but you ought to be choosy about which of these beaches you visit.

That’s because, though certain Phuket beaches — like Patong, Karon, and Kata — certainly attract a lot of visitors, there are so many good beaches to go around that you don’t have to settle for one that feels suffocatingly overcrowded. You could, for example, consider…

Freedom Beach 

Though situated in the boisterous Patong district, Freedom Beach is much harder to reach than you might have expected. You can only get to this quiet, unspoiled beach by land if you trek through a jungle, though access by boat is also an option.

You are unlikely to be disappointed if you use either means of reaching Freedom Beach, as it is rarely visited and so would allow you to take a dip in the clear, turquoise sea in peace.

Kata Noi Beach

This is not to be confused with the larger and better-known Kata Beach, which is right next to it. Family Destinations Guide explains that the name Kata Noi literally means ‘little Kata’ — and very appropriately too, when you consider how these two strips of sand compare in size.

While Kata Beach is nearly a mile long, Kata Noi Beach still surpasses 2,000 feet in length and benefits from an especially tranquil feel as a result of being overshadowed by its near-namesake.

Kamala Beach

Another relatively quiet beach that happens to be close to a noticeably livelier one — in this instance, Patong Beach, which is sited just south of Kamala Beach.

The latter warrants attention from families due to its calm, shallow waters. Naturally, these could also appeal if you want to try your hand at open water swimming in a environment that doesn’t feel treacherous.

You could actually practice swimming beforehand in a pool on one of the Silversea cruises that stop at Phuket.

Nai Harn Beach

Nai Thon Beach is home to the Phuket Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, but this is far from the only reason for you to drop by what is arguably one of the island’s most underrated beaches.

They say that elephants never forget, and you probably won’t forget time you spend relaxing on this beach’s pristine sand. Also, after you do reach this beach, it might not just be the elephants who sport trunks there, thanks to the clean waters that you could quickly become eager to swim in.

Pansea Beach

This beach is overlooked for several reasons — including that it is fronted by two luxury hotels, while the path leading to Pansea Beach is rather tucked out of sight.

However, this path is easier to trace when you keep in mind that a small, greenery-covered rocky cape separates Pansea Beach from nearby Surin.

Family Destinations Guide reports: “Some found a steep hidden path through this cape, while some rented a boat from Surin or Bangtao to reach Pansea.”

 

Clean Throughout the Week and Leave the Weekend Free

You work hard all week and you want to look forward to some rest. By the time the weekend comes, you are ready for some relaxation. You do not want to spend your weekend cleaning your custom pocket doors and tile floors and doing other chores that will take up all your time. If you spend your time wisely during the week, you should be able to look forward to your weekend and really enjoy it.

Keeping a house clean is a task that requires dedication and consistency. With the right cleaning steps during the week, it is possible to maintain a tidy and organized home without spending hours on end cleaning. Here are some tips for a weekly cleaning routine that will help you keep your home in top condition.

Monday: Tackle the Kitchen

The kitchen is often the heart of the home, but it is also one of the most challenging areas to keep clean. Therefore, start your week by giving your kitchen a thorough clean. Begin by decluttering the countertops and cleaning any dirty dishes. Wipe down the stove, microwave, and refrigerator, and sanitize the sink area. Use a microfiber cloth to dust off the cabinets and sweep the floor. By starting the week with a clean kitchen, you will feel motivated to keep the rest of the house tidy.

Tuesday: Focus on the Bedrooms

Bedrooms should be a haven for relaxation, but it is challenging to unwind in a cluttered and messy room. Dedicate Tuesdays to cleaning the bedrooms. Begin by changing the bed sheets and pillowcases. Then, declutter the surfaces and put away any misplaced items. Dust the furniture, clean the mirrors and vacuum the floors. A clean and organized bedroom promotes better sleep, which is essential for overall health and well-being.

Wednesday: Clean the Bathrooms

The bathrooms are another area that requires consistent cleaning. Spend Wednesday tackling the toilets, sinks, and showers. Scrub the toilets with a disinfectant cleaner and wipe down the sinks and countertops. Clean the shower or bathtub with a mildew remover and replace the towels. Sweep and mop the floors and use an air freshener to keep the space smelling fresh.

Thursday: Tidy up the Living Room

The living room is often where families spend the most time, and it can quickly become cluttered with toys, books, and other items. Take Thursdays to tidy up the living room. Begin by decluttering the space, putting away any misplaced items, and dusting the surfaces. Vacuum or sweep the floors, and fluff up the cushions and pillows. A tidy living room makes the space more inviting and conducive to relaxation.

Friday: Do a Deep Clean

Friday is the perfect day to do a deep clean in the areas that require extra attention. For instance, take this day to scrub the floors, dust the blinds, and clean the windows. Wipe down the baseboards, clean the inside of the cabinets, and sanitize the doorknobs and light switches. By doing a deep clean every Friday, you will prevent dirt and grime from accumulating over time.

Saturday: Tackle the Outdoors

If you have a garden or outdoor space, spend Saturdays taking care of it. Mow the lawn, water the plants, and weed the garden. Sweep the patio or deck, and clean the outdoor furniture. By maintaining your outdoor space, you will improve the curb appeal of your home and create an enjoyable space to relax and entertain.

Sunday: Rest and Relax

After a week of consistent cleaning, take Sundays to rest and relax. Spend time with your family, pursue hobbies, and recharge your batteries. You deserve a break after a week of hard work, and taking a day off will help you maintain your motivation and energy levels.

In conclusion, cleaning steps during the week can make a significant difference in keeping your home tidy and organized. By breaking down the cleaning tasks into smaller daily and weekly goals, you can prevent dirt and grime from accumulating and enjoy a clean and inviting home. Consistency is key, so make sure to stick to your cleaning routine, and you will be rewarded with a clean, stress-free home.

 

Personal Protection: 7 Steps to Protecting Yourself from eCommerce Fraud

What is eCommerce fraud? Well, in short, it’s theft from an online store with the intention of personal or financial gain for the perpetrator, regardless of the impact on the retailer. There are many different types of eCommerce fraud, but the crime is not insurmountable. Your online store does not have to fall victim to this type of fraud if you follow the steps outlined below.

1. Don’t Ship to Non-Physical Addresses

Cybercriminals like to use non-physical addresses in place of their actual addresses because it’s obviously difficult to track them down if the authorities don’t have a physical address. You can avoid this pitfall by refusing P.O. boxes and any other addresses that aren’t identifiable on a map. Implementing eCommerce order processing with a fulfillment company can also keep you from shipping to non-physical addresses.

2. Use an Address Verification System

Credit card fraud is a real problem for eCommerce stores. To reduce the risk, you should use an address verification system (AVS) to identify suspicious addresses and block sales to addresses that don’t match.

The verification system checks the address the credit card user inputs against the one stored by the issuing bank. If they do not match, the system either flags the transaction for further investigation or blocks the sale altogether.

3. Conduct Regular Security Audits

We can’t stress enough how important online security is for your eCommerce business. Your customers expect their data to be safe, so you need to ensure it is. Regular security audits will let you identify risks before cyber criminals do. Things to tick off include updating your shopping cart software, ensuring your SSL certificate is current and website PCI-compliant, and checking that you are backing up your store often.

4. Ensure Your Store is PCI-compliant

What is PCI compliance? PCI stands for Payment Card Industry. The PCI Security Standards Council sets these rules, and your store must follow them to ensure your customers’ credit card information is secure. If your website is professionally built and managed, it should automatically be compliant, but it never hurts to check.

5. Require the Card Verification Value with Each Credit or Debit Card Purchase

The three or four-digit numbers on the back of credit and debit cards are called Card Verification Values, or CVVs. The digits are sometimes also called a Card Security Code or CSC. By requiring this information, you ensure the customer has the physical card in their possession, which helps prevent credit card fraud and protects the customer.

6. Only Collect the Customer Data You Need to Complete a Transaction

Cybercriminals can’t steal what you don’t have, so make it a rule to only gather the information you need to collect payment and ship products. Don’t ask for social security numbers, birthdates, or any other sensitive data that hackers might be able to access if your eCommerce store experiences a security breach. As a general rule, if you don’t need a data point, and there’s no legal requirement to obtain it, don’t ask customers to provide it.

7. Set Acceptable Purchasing Limits

Depending on the nature of your business, set daily spending and quantity limits for individual accounts. Should a breach occur, these limits will reduce the losses you incur. If a customer genuinely needs to spend more than the daily limit, provide easy communication channels for them to make such requests.

eCommerce fraud is a considerable concern for online retailers. It’s a constant battle to stay ahead of cybercriminals. However, by following the steps above, you can stay one step ahead and reduce the risk of eCommerce fraud in your online business.

 

Five Gift Ideas for the Discerning Man in Your Life

When you love someone, you probably know their taste, which should make buying them gifts a pleasant experience. Unlike shopping for someone you don’t know well, you can use your knowledge of their likes and dislikes to help you purchase the perfect present. However, this can bring with it pressures – after all, you want to make sure that they’ll like whatever you choose.

If you are looking for the ideal gift for the discerning gent in your life, whether that’s a partner, father or brother, these five ideas are an excellent starting point.

A Favourite Tipple

Whether the man you’re buying for enjoys a pint of craft beer or a malt whisky, there is plenty of choice out there when it comes to buying alcohol. If you know their favourite brand then that’s an excellent starting point. If you aren’t sure, local independents breweries and distilleries can be a good option. Some also offer tours, which can be an excellent way to try before you buy.

Classic Clothing

When buying clothes for someone else, you want to ensure you’re getting top quality products that will stand the test of time. Choose a curated store such as burrowsandhare.co.uk which offers classic items with a modern twist to be sure your man will be the best dressed in town! Best of all, your loved one will think of you every time they wear the item you’ve selected for them.

Experience Days

It can feel like people have all they need already and this is especially true for those with a minimalist aesthetic. An ideal gift for those who have it all (or have all they want) is an experience day – not only will this mean there’s no unwanted clutter, but it promises to provide memories that will last a lifetime. There are so many options available to suit all budgets, from hot air ballooning to drag racing and axe throwing to skydiving! An experience day can also be a perfect opportunity to spend quality time with your loved one, so why not make it a joint experience? Some packages offer discounts when booking for multiple people, so always ask when you enquire.

A Special Watch

Both practical and stylish, watches are a fashion statement in their own right. With collectable limited editions perfect for those looking to blow the budget and quality designer-inspired timepieces on the high street, a watch is a great option for anyone looking to buy a gift that is both useful and beautiful. To add the personal touch, why not get a message engraved?

Technology

If your special someone loves a gadget then a technological gift could be the ideal gift. Whether this is the latest iPhone, tablet or laptop or you choose to go retro and gift them a games console they loved in their youth, this is a great choice for anyone who loves spending time gaming or on social media.

Whatever gift you choose, remember the most important thing is that it’s given with love – and that will mean more than any present ever could.

 

Vadym Novynskyi Opens Trust for His Ownership Stake in the Smart Holding Group

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Smart Holding Group, founded by Vadym Novynskyi, has recently gone through several rounds of restructuring. The goal of these changes is to give the organization the resources to thrive both during and after the war in Ukraine. The company has announced some ambitious efforts to stabilize the economy while readying itself for post-war reconstruction. Because Novynskyi would like to focus on private interests, he’s disposing of his shares in the company and opened a trust with his ownership stake.

Novynskyi finalized the agreements in the fall of 2022, in full compliance with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. Every trustee has been thoroughly vetted and approved by Cypriot legislation, an essential step to helping the organization run as smoothly as possible. Vadym Novynskyi hasn’t been a part of the management team since the early 2010s, meaning there will be no significant changes within the leadership hierarchy of Smart Holding Group. The trustees will control, manage, and own the various assets of the group to protect and increase the value of the organization’s net worth.

‘Come Out Stronger’

Julia Kiryanova, CEO of Smart Holding, has pledged to use the company for the good of the country. Novynskyi started his organization with mining and metal projects, but left the business model open enough for vertical integration. Today, the investment and industrial group has been optimized for maximum production yield.

As Kiryanova looks to the future, she foresees long-term success and prosperity based on the latest restructuring rounds. “Smart Holding has a mission to support the Ukrainian economy to withstand the devastation of the war and will actively participate in the post-war reconstruction. We also have ambitious investment goals as part of our growth strategy internationally.

“We believe that with the talent and experience that we have accumulated in the management team, the company will rebuild its assets and come out stronger.” Vadym Novynskyi’s organization has been a beacon for individuals, families, and communities in Ukraine, supporting employees with living wages and benefits. The diverse portfolio, with significant stakes in real estate, mining, metals, oil, gas, and infrastructure, is carefully balanced to ensure the best chance of success — both now and after the war.

Private Interests

Vadym Novynskyi immigrated to Ukraine from Russia in the 1990s and started the Smart Holding Group in 1999. He has a degree in engineering management systems and spent a number of years working for a prominent oil producer in Russia. One of his first strategic decisions after arriving in Ukraine was to unite different metallurgy companies. After receiving his citizenship in 2012, he became a member of Ukraine’s Parliament. He was one of the more vocal proponents of peace in Ukraine before the war, meeting with Russian leaders to broker an agreement.

As a member of Parliament, Novynskyi co-authored or authored more than 100 draft laws, all of which aimed to help everyday citizens lead better lives. He’s not a member of any political party, but rather looks at the bigger picture to solve economic or civil problems. He’s been especially vocal about securing rights for displaced people in Ukraine and maintaining religious freedom in occupied territories.

He’s also won many awards for his charitable work, receiving accolades and honors from both secular and religious organizations. From health care to family, his mission is about helping as many people as possible as opposed to catering to the privileged few. He looks forward to continuing his mission in 2023 and beyond.