Stakeholders called to attend upcoming Kuching Creative Cities Forum on Sept 14

KUCHING (Sept 5): The Kuching Creative Cities Forum will be held at Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) in Santubong, near here on Sept 14.

Supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac), the forum will focus on the topic of ‘Creative Industry Sustainability: From Traditional Practice to Modern Economy’.

Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Kuching in a statement called on creative players across Sarawak and Malaysia to attend and learn about the various approaches being taken by the 12 creative cities around Asia Pacific and all UCCN members.

Kuching South mayor and UCCN Kuching head Dato Wee Hong Seng said the creative economy is one of the fastest growing sectors globally, especially among youth.

“It also looks set for increasing prominence as efforts are made to advocate for culture to have its own standalone goal in the post-2030 development agenda.

“Malaysia’s creative industries are in an incredible stage of growth. With Malaysia, under Motac, taking over the Asean chair next year, this is an area where our fellow Asean nations can focus our collaboration, putting our creative industries and our culture on a firm footing for the future,” he said.

UCCN Kuching and Unesco Focal Point strategic director Karen Shepherd said the Kuching Creative Cities Forum will share international examples of how various cities around Asean are supporting their own creative economies through policy, programmes and events.

“Twelve cities from the clusters of gastronomy, design, craft and folk art and music will each present their approach at the local level.

“From Kuching, we are pleased to announce that Emily Yii will be our keynote speaker. She will take us through her journey from media specialist to one of the partners in Kantin at the Granary. This includes the decision to open a second outlet in Singapore and, just recently, their nomination for Best Restaurant in Malaysia, the only Sarawak restaurant in the list.”

Shepherd said no charges will be imposed for those who wish to attend the forum, thanks to the generous support of Motac in wanting to ensure that the event is shared with domestic stakeholders.

“We believe it will be essential and inspiring content for both policymakers and creative industry players alike.

“It will combine examples from Asean’s big cities such as Jakarta, Bandung and Singapore, as well as smaller cities like Chiang Mai, Sukhotai and Baguio which share a closer context with Kuching.

“We are also very pleased to welcome Ipoh, recently designated as a City of Music under the network,” she said.

Shepherd noted that policies to support the creative industries are under development at both national level under Motac, and state level under the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts.

“This event will give our domestic stakeholders a glimpse of various international examples to inform this process.

“It is an exciting opportunity for our creative industry players to network with each other and also to become inspired by the collective creativity across Asean. We hope to see a packed auditorium at SCV to talk about all things creative,” she added.

For more information, email [email protected] or follow UCCN Kuching’s social media on Kuching Creative City, or visit www.kuchingcreativecity.com.