KUCHING, Oct 19: A Sarawak-born musician and creative artist of Dayak Kelabit and English-Italian ancestry, Alena Murang has been selected to be a keynote speaker at the upcoming 59th International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific Regional Hub Congress 2020 here next month.
Business Events Sarawak (BE Sarawak), a non-profit company established by the Sarawak government, in a press statement today said Alena’s keynote session entitled ‘Sarawak Tribal Wisdom’ is uniquely crafted to inspire the delegates to learn and garner tribal values and see where it can be applied to the business world of today.
BE Sarawak added the multi-talented Alena has been at the forefront telling culturally rich stories of the indigenous communities of Sarawak through her music and art.
The company said Alena sees herself as the keeper of stories, as her songs are oral histories learnt from her elderly relatives of the Kelabit tribe.
“As the first female professional ‘sape’ player and teacher, she draws influence from the genres of the world, rock and folk music, combined with her interpretations of traditional indigenous music and songs.
“Having performed in numerous festivals and featured in various media worldwide, Alena is also a motivational speaker for events such as TEDxKL and many more, inspiring her audience in her journey in making cultural heritage and its value of togetherness as well as caring for the earth relevant and prominent in today’s urban world,” BE Sarawak said.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee who is also the local host committee state chairman of the congress said, “We have purposely chosen Legacy Impact as our education agenda for the ICCA congress as Sarawak is keen to shift from focusing on tourism impact of conventions to legacy impact.
“Having Alena as a speaker will be a great metaphor on how Sarawak will progress with its true tribal values which is unity, community and creating a unique and strong identity for the business events sector,” he said.
BE Sarawak’s acting chief executive officer (CEO) Amelia Roziman said through this congress, “we want to share what Sarawak is truly made of, which is our people and their rich and diverse history”.
“This is in line with our congress theme ‘Tribe Legacy ICCA’ that aims to empower our home-grown talent for community development through the long-term legacies left behind from congress events such as ICCA,” she said.
BE Sarawak said Kuching, Sarawak, was successfully selected as the Asia Pacific Regional Hub for the 59th ICCA Congress 2020.
The company noted the hybrid regional hub congress will take place on-site at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) with various live-streamed programmes from ICCA’s world congress in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei, from November 1 to 4. —DayakDaily
