Sarawak launches legacy impact initiative

Sarawak sees convention legacies as one of the key strategies to help achieve PCDS goals; Kuching pictured

Business events and their legacy impact on the destination have received official recognition from the Sarawak state government, in line with the state’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS) to recalibrate the destination’s economic, social and environmental development.

During a virtual industry session entitled Rising Impact of Business Events – TRIBE, Sarawak’s chief minister, Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg announced the state’s support towards convention legacies as one of the key strategies to help achieve PCDS goals.

Sarawak sees convention legacies as one of the key strategies to help achieve PCDS goals; Kuching, its capital, pictured

The event on November 8 was hosted by Business Events Sarawak in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak (MTAC), International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), The Iceberg – Legacies of Business Events, and GainingEdge.

The session also saw the virtual launch of BESarawak’s Legacy (BESLegacy) Initiative where planners were advised on how to design their conventions and activities to align with desired legacy outcomes, be it sectoral, economic, environmental, community, social and/ or political.

Abang Abdul Rahman described the BESLegacy as an “innovative tool” that balances people, profit, purpose and planet together. “It is the strongest collaboration between the Government and convention planners because of how compelling value creation is.”

In his speech, Sarawak’s minister of tourism, arts and culture, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, added: “Legacy impact is Sarawak’s strategic approach to further develop business events and become an advanced destination by 2030.”

He added that the “BESLegacy Initiative is a joint effort between the Sarawak Government and the business events industry to align conventions with Sarawak’s 13 Key Priority Areas and United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.”

A past event, the 55th ICCA Congress 2016 held in Sarawak’s capital, Kuching, served as a case study on the legacy impact pilot project, utilising BESLegacy Initiative to trial run its planning components. The Congress had attained legacy impact in all five key areas.

Amelia Roziman, CEO, BESarawak, shared: “(The outcome is an) increased commitment from the government sector to the industry, leading to the acceptance and long term development of legacy impact as an equal to economic impact. Both of these KPIs are important.”

BESarawak will provide financial and non-financial support to assist convention planners in initiating their legacy visions.

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