Empowering young local talents in arts, business

THERE is one Chinese idiom, which goes more or less like this: “The waves behind will drive on those before.”

This adage signifies the situation in a society where everything continues to evolve: the new replacing the old, and the young succeeding the elderly.

This was the highlight of the ‘Embrace Market 2.0: Backyard Bergaya’, held at Saradise Kuching recently.

Organised by the Padawan Chapter of Junior Chamber International (JCI), the bazaar gathered 35 vendors, including some from Peninsular Malaysia, who showcased mostly food and beverages.

There were also those offering garments and fashion accessories, as well as artisanal items.

“The idea behind this is for the participants to mix and mingle, do networking and also learn from one another,” said Douglas Bong, president of JCI Padawan.

Focus on entrepreneurship

Douglas said JCI Padawan’s first edition of Embrace Market took place at the Green Heights Mall in Kuching in March this year, which highlighted women’s empowerment, coinciding with the International Women’s Day 2024 celebration.

“Embrace Market 1.0 was held on a much smaller scale, hosting some 20 local vendors.

“However, it launched the core objectives of this bazaar being meant for the community: of it being intended to support and bring to light entrepreneurs; for them to offer and gain prospects; and to ensure that their perspectives are acknowledged,” he said.

Based on feedback from the vendors of the Backyard Bergaya edition, the programme was a success, said Douglas.

“Most of their products and offerings sold out,” he enthused.

Support from local rep

Douglas acknowledged that the government had indeed created a lot of opportunities for the youths, be they in the areas of education, entrepreneurship or social engagements.

“It is up to the youths to take their responsibilities seriously and to make the most of the opportunities being made available. This is a part of the JCI’s mission.”

In this regard, Douglas said JCI Padawan owed so much to Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap.

“YB (elected representative) Yap believes in our cause and advocacy, and has always supported our activities. Whenever we hold an event, YB Yap would do his best to ‘turun padang’ (go to the ground) and attend it.

“We largely attribute the success of our Embrace Market programme to him,” said Douglas.

On Backyard Bergaya, he said the assemblyman could see the alignment of objectives.

“Just like among the objectives set for a constituency’s development, our programme seeks to create a platform that not only encourages socio-economic growth, but also instils in the participants a sense of pride for and commitment to hometown development,” added Douglas.

‘Beyond sales’

Meanwhile, JCI Padawan secretary Alaric Sim said other than the focus on entrepreneurship, the Embrace Market programme also benefitted the committee overseeing the event.

“As we make sure smooth running of activities, we also enhance our decision-making, leadership and communication skills while networking with like-minded individuals,” he pointed out.

A session run in connection with Embrace Market 2.0: Backyard Bergaya exemplified this.

The ‘Sip & Network’ meet, conducted by Erwin Lai, got the participants to ‘explore themselves’ through personality assessments, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Test.

This assessment is a pseudoscientific self-report questionnaire, said to be able to indicate differing ‘psychological types’ in association with personality types.

The MBTI was constructed by two Americans: Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, who were inspired by the book ‘Psychological Types’ by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.

“In this session, the speaker (Lai) talked about different personalities, and educate the participants about them. This was followed by the participants undertaking the MBTI Test to find out about their own personalities,” said Sim.

On the speaker, Sim said Lai was engaged in view of his long standing interest in psychometrics and personality assessments.

“With over 15 years of experience working in the higher education sector, he has trained and coached thousands of staff and students in various universities and schools.

“Indeed, he enjoys helping people discover who they are, so that they can better fulfil their potential in life.”

Another significant activity was one that featured a local influence, Shi Qi – popularly known by her handle @qiwiie on Instagram.

Moderated by JCI member Linda Yeo, the ‘A Journey to Become a Content Creator’ session discussed the many facets of content-creating, including the challenges involved such as cyberbullying, the struggle to come up with viable content and also overworking.

Shi Qi shared her journey with the participants, including the things she had learned along the way.

“This session meant to give fellow Kuching creatives some insights into ways of navigating all the issues through the sharing-session with Shi Qi, who related her triumphs and struggles after becoming a popular content creator,” said Sim.

‘Lifestyle elements included’

Despite its name, the Embrace Market 2.0: Backyard Bergaya was an open event, welcoming members of all strata of society.

Reiterating Douglas’ comments earlier, Sim highlighted the programme’s focus on showcasing the local talents, and ways for them to contribute meaningfully to the community.

“One of our vendors, Polygrow, carried out activities for children. These activities were not only fun and interactive, but they also focused on children’s cognitive development,” said Sim.

“We also engaged our long-time collaborator, wellness instructor Maryam Evetovics, for the ‘Sunset Yoga’ session.”

The special fashion show was also a crowd-puller, said Sim, hosting many well-known individuals including Datin Melinda Claudia Bucking-Lawan, wife of Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak Datuk Snowdan Lawan.

Themed ‘Calming Ethos’, the showcase featured collections by Harizan Khaider, Lhuna, Kesya Fatin, House of Antara, Jabing Studio, Batik Linut and Kolej Komuniti Kuching.

The entertainment part of Backyard Bergaya was not disappointing at all.

The Band Lab and local sape talent Jeremiah Liew staged live performances, which added more excitement to the event.

“There was also a ‘Be A Star’ showcase, staged by JCI Damai, which was part of their marketing to attract crowds to their event,” said Sim.

Back to Douglas, he expressed appreciation to all the sponsors and also the volunteers who had contributed to the success of the event.

“I believe that the Embrace Market 2.0 has fulfilled the core objective – being a platform that not only fosters local economic growth, but also upholds a sense of pride and commitment to local development,” he said.