By Yee Mei
KUCHING, Nov 1: Sarawak launched the first issue and volume of the International Journal of Business Events and Legacies (IJBEL) today.
The soft-launch was graced by Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He described the journal as an important piece of literature for Sarawak as it is helping the government to achieve a few of its Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 strategic thrusts by targeting specific economic sectors and enablers.
“One of the strategic thrusts is education and human capital development, which helps to produce an agile workforce that can excel globally; innovation, as the journal is leveraging research and commercialisation to drive global innovation; and sustainable development, where research can be used to make economic activities more environmentally-friendly,” he said.
In addition, Abdul Karim said, IJBEL could also help achieve Sarawak achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of Quality Education and Partnership.
Meanwhile, Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) CEO Amelia Roziman said IJBEL is for them to learn from other business event communities worldwide how to apply and adopt their concepts and practices.
“Whenever we talk about business events, one important question that’s always asked is how many delegates attended it, but nobody asks what the impact of those events on the destination host are.
“This is why we want to be able to measure and prove the impact of business events in terms of legacy to the destination host and how to make it more impactful and relevant,” she said.
According to a press release, IJBEL is the world’s first international academic journal specific to business events and the legacies it leaves behind. It contains six academic papers, four industry papers, and a special note on topics such as hybrid events, managing sustainable events in an urban destination, and holding business events in times of crisis.
The journal is a collaboration between BESarawak, Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak, and Sarawak Research Society. It can be downloaded from here.
Also present during the event were Professor Andreas Zins, who is the Dean of the Faculty of Business in Curtin Malaysia and UiTM Sarawak Rector Prof Datuk Dr Jamil Hamali. — DayakDaily
