Building on the power for knowledge that business events offer, Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and the 59th ICCA Congress Asia Pacific Regional Hub (APRH) took the opportunity to cause positive disruption. The ‘Gift of Love: Batang Ai Community Library’ was a Congress-led corporate social responsibility project undertaken by the 59th ICCA APRH Committee in 2020 in Kuching. With a goal to provide a functional space with educational resources to help retain more rural children in school, the library is now a reality.
“ICCA has spent years advocating positive societal impacts through business events,” said Waikin Wong, ICCA’s Asia Pacific Regional Director. “Sarawak raised the bar for the global business events sector when they announced this initiative as a Congress-led corporate social responsibility project. It’s time for sector players to think about how they can make an impact in their own community and we hope that more initiatives will be taken by destinations to transform global economies and societies.”
“Business events are about education which is why they are one of the most effective platforms to change lives around,” stated Committee Advisor and CEO of BESarawak, Amelia Roziman. “As a sector that is connected and collaborative with various parties, we have bigger opportunities to make a difference to Sarawak. This is our motivation and we hope that the library will inspire more business events organisers to replicate this library or create something similar.”