Dec 6, 2022

Reimagining future of business events

More than 200 delegates and business event leaders attended the Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) Tribal Meet, better known as TriBE Assembly, held at Pullman Kuching recently.

Themed Reimagine Our Future, TriBE Assembly highlighted the legacy impact and sustainability of business events, further pushing the message of Sarawak’s seriousness in motivating the sector to think beyond the economic returns of events. It also reaffirms that sustainable and legacy-driven events will be the pulling factor for national and international planners, setting Sarawak apart from other destinations.

In her welcoming speech at the juncture, CEO of BESarawak, Amelia Roziman shared her vision on strengthening Sarawak as a valuable destination for business events.

She then introduced a special group of performers from the Kuching Autistic Association, the Sarawak Society for the Deaf, PERKATA Special School and Tabika Krista Stapok, performing a touching rendition of “We Are The World.”

The TriBE Assembly officially commenced with a session on ‘The Legacy Impact of Business Events’, led by Senior Manager – Asia of GainingEdge, Jane Vong Holmes, then followed after with a campfire session with the Dean Faculty of Business, Curtin University Malaysia, Andreas Zins and Director of Marketing & Partnerships of BestCities Global Alliance, Nigel Francis Brown.

A session on ‘Sustainability in Business Events’, led by Senior Lecturer of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s (UNIMAS) Faculty of Engineering and Director of the University Sustainability Centre (USC), Noraziah binti Abdul Wahab as well as Broadcast Journalist and Speaker, Freda Liu, and a discussion comprising Vice President of Sustainability and Safety across Southeast Asia, Japan & Korea Accor, John Timson, Global Manager of The Pledge on Food Waste, Marco Sandri, Founder and CEO of Bernard Business Consulting Sdn Bhd, Bernard Eng ensued. These were followed by the third session by Executive Coach and Corporate Trainer, Ivan Evetovics entitled ‘Tribal Motivation – A New Level of Engagement’ that allowed delegates to engage in new business ideas and steps towards realising them.

The official launching of the Assembly began with a brief introduction of the 10th Anak Sarawak Awards by the Acting General Manager of Government and Industry Relations of BESarawak, Dylan Redas Noel, announcing that the awards would take place on May 2023 and would honour outstanding achievements and notable contributions through five categories: Young Leader Award, Business Events Award, Outstanding Achievement Award, Journalism Award and Sarawak Legacy Award.

The TriBE Assembly also included the launching of the very first issue of the International Journal of Business Events and Legacies (IJBEL), in a ceremony geaced by Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP), Dato Sri Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, MTCP Deputy Ministers, Datuk Snowdan Lawan and Datuk Sebastian Ting and MTCP Permanent Secretary, Datu Hii Chang Kee.

“The first issue provides excellent insights and knowledge into how global business event players are evolving and what impacts have been found until now,” said Amelia. “11 papers have been published and half are reporting on the legacies and sustainability efforts that their respective events and destination have started. Half is already a success for a journal specific to these topics—succeeding in the first volume indicates that the journal is an effective and reliable way to document the real values of business events.”

Congratulating BESarawak on the launch and praising Amelia for her passion and drive, Karim said his Ministry pledged to fully support legacy impact and sustainability, saying that it would be the ethos of the State’s business events sector.

“Since business events are part of PCDS 2030, sustainable and legacy-driven events will be key events to achieve our aspiration of economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability,” Karim said.

Sarawak’s new value proposition is expected to lure and secure 1,245 business events by 2030. So far in 2022, the state has surpassed its target of 90 secured events with 94 events (104% achievement) with an estimated total economic impact of RM303 million; RM165 million from direct delegate expenditure, RM9.9 million tax revenue and 23,755 jobs for Sarawak.

Out of 94, 81 business events have been assessed with a total of 570 impacts on the sector, economy, community, environment and political governance. These events are eligible to enrol on the BESLegacy Initiative.

At the juncture, the Minister also presented some appreciation tokens to the heads of Kuching Autistic Association, the Sarawak Society for the Deaf, PERKATA Special School and Tabika Krista Stapok.

Download the BESLegacy Initiative at https://businesseventssarawak.com/beslegacyinitiative/.

For the BESustainability Starter Kit or more information on TriBE Assembly, email Dylan Redas Noel at drnoel@sarawakcb.com. For more information on legacy impact and sustainability, email Rose Bruce at rose@sarawakcb.com.