SARAWAK is preparing to make association history by being the first Asia Pacific regional hub host for the ICCA Congress 2020.
The Malaysia Borneo state will be in the international business events spotlight with a range of satellite events organised to coincide with ICCA’s World Congress, which takes place in a hybrid format in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Business Events Sarawak will be leveraging the region’s rainforest tribe heritage to create a programme of events that build upon the legacy left when ICCA’s World Congress was held in the state capital of Kuching in 2016.
Sarawak is one of seven regional hubs across the world hosting events from October 31 to November 5 complementing the main ICCA Congress in Kaohsiung.
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Education sessions will be held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching and live-streamed from Kaohsiung Exhibition Centre.
“Sarawak is proud to be one of the world’s leaders in this convention,” said Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, tourism, culture and sports minister.
“Legacy building is a ‘win-win’ for the local host organisations, professional sectors, government entities and the society at large. In short, everyone benefits from convention legacies,” the minister said.
Sarawak’s programme combines knowledge sharing, relationship building, business development, CSR and will drive home the key message that conventions not only contribute to local economies, but also help with long-term legacies.
The regional hub activities follow the reopening of Sarawak’s business events industry in July following lockdown restrictions imposed across Malaysia to contain Covid.
“We want to amplify awareness and advocate the power of business events legacies through our educational sessions which will be led by Malaysian and international presenters,” said Amelia Roziman, acting CEO of Business Events Sarawak.
“Having a legacy vision, planning with purpose, an active implementation process followed by monitoring and measurement will illustrate the often-unrecognised, intangible benefits of hosting conventions.
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“Although the Sarawak business events industry has suffered setbacks brought on by Covid-19 pandemic, we remain steadfast to our social responsibility commitments and will continue with our focus on Sarawak’s communities through an extension of our 2016 Book Share programme, driven by the Librarians Association of Malaysia Sarawak Chapter, and first introduced at the ICCA Congress four years ago.
“Participants to this year’s hybrid Congress are encouraged to bring a book or two with them as their personal legacy for Sarawak rural libraries and schools,” Roziman said.
Main picture: Convention bureau staff during a Redefining Global Tribes campaign associated with the ICCA Congress in 2016
