Kuala Lumpur, 7 October 2020: The 59th ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Congress happening 1st – 4th November 2020 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, will be a unique model of organising international congress as Sarawak, Malaysia, has been chosen as the Asia Pacific Regional Hub destination among other regional hubs located in South Africa, Latin America, Luxembourg, Spain, North America, and Saudi Arabia.
With the theme ‘Tribe Legacy ICCA’, the congress in Sarawak will focus on educating associations and ICCA members on the latest trends in association meetings, newest technologies and processes and to understand the importance of legacies and how it benefits the local economy and related communities.
Legacy impact is now the most talked-about agenda in the global business events industry, and Sarawak is already leading the way in Malaysia for this particular cause. Beforehand, tourism impact – the calculation of delegate numbers and spending when travelling for a business event – was deemed the greatest result that business events could bring. Today, this segment of business carries bigger potential that can transform sectors, enhance economies and develop communities. One key activity that an association and organisation can ride on to achieve their first legacy impact is through CSR initiatives.
In pursuit of legacies, the upcoming congress will include a CSR initiative by Business Events Sarawak called ‘Gift of Love: Batang Ai Mini Library’ a construction project at the rural area in collaboration with the Librarians Association of Malaysia and Sarawak State Library who will donate 500 books in Bahasa Malaysia and English for 5 to 15 years old children.
Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, strongly believes that business events will drive Malaysia’s sectoral, economic and societal development. “The biggest value of business events come from the vast quantities of knowledge shared, investments and business connections that are stimulated and; economic and societal challenges which are addressed and solved,” she said. “Malaysia is ready to be part of a national and global change through business events. On behalf of the Malaysian Government, we give our utmost support to Sarawak as the 59th ICCA Congress Asia Pacific Regional Hub to educate our regional counterparts on the impact of business events to develop a stronger nation.”
Sarawak is, in fact, one of the pioneering destinations to advocate for economic and societal transformation, known as legacy impacts. Community empowerment, conserving heritage, culture and biodiversity are just a few of the many legacy impacts that business events can bring to the community. “Business events promote development through responsible actions, with the aspired outcomes being economic prosperity and increased job creation, social inclusivity and development and the promotion of environmental sustainability,” said Yang Berhormat Datuk Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak and Minister of Youth and Sports Sarawak. “This is in line with Sarawak Economic Action Council’s action points that recognises the far-reaching values of conventions to Sarawak and to Malaysia as a whole.”
The 4-day congress in Sarawak is already creating waves in the global business events industry for winning another ICCA event within 4 years. The congress programme will be a combination of knowledge sharing, relationship building and business development featuring streamed sessions from internationally renowned speakers such as Søren Birkelund Pedersen (Inspiring Denmark – Copenhagen) and Gary Grimmer (GainingEdge – Melbourne).
For more information on the event visit <a href=”https://events.iccaworld.org/congress2020-kuching-hub/”>https://events.iccaworld.org/congress2020-kuching-hub/</a>
