World Tourism Day 2022 'Rethinking Tourism' Youth Symposium by Taylor's & PATA Malaysia Chapter

“It is time for the younger generation to support the efforts of the government and tourism stakeholders to rethink and revitalize the tourism and hospitality industry” said by the experts from Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Malaysia Chapter, Tourism Malaysia, Taylor’s University, Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) and Traveloka.

In conjunction with World Tourism Day 2022, Taylor's School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events (SHTE) in collaboration with PATA Malaysia Chapter (PMC) and PATA Malaysia Taylor's Student Chapter (PATA MTSC) hosted a hybrid forum session titled "Rethinking Tourism" Youth Symposium on 27th September 2022, which was supported by Tourism Malaysia. The youth symposium started with a keynote speech that was delivered by Mr. Iskandar Mirza Mohd Yusof, Deputy Director General - Planning on behalf of Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Haji Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, Director General, Tourism Malaysia.

Followed by a forum session, which was moderated by Yang Berbahagia Prof. Datuk Seri Dr. Victor Wee, Professor, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events, Taylor's University with an array of distinguished panel speakers such as Yang Berbahagia Datuk Musa Hj. Yusof, Chairman, PATA Malaysia Chapter and Deputy Director General - Promotion, Tourism Malaysia; Prof. Dr. Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan, Executive Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management, Taylor’s University; Mr. Uzaidi Udanis, President, Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association and Ms. Angelica Chan, Country Manager, Traveloka Malaysia.

The panel speakers highlighted the need of rejuvenating the thinking of tourism stakeholders to redesign future tourism. Some of the points discussed were concerning sustainable recovery, digital transformation, green tourism, safe tourism, resilient tourism economy and behaviour of generation Z.

The winners of the World Tourism Day 2022 – Hidden Gems video contest which was initiated from July to September 2022 were announced at the end of the Youth Symposium. Five winners were selected from the Judges Category and four winners were selected from the Voting Category. All the winners received various tour and holiday packages sponsored by Malaysian Airlines, Sabah Tourism Board, Moraholds Travels Sdn. Bhd., Merdeka Palace Hotel, Cottage by The Sea, Frangipani Langkawi, Grand Beach Resort, Port Dickson, Lotus Desaru Beach Resort, The Datai Langkawi and Legoland Malaysia Resort.

Around 200 representatives from various tourism and educational organizations such as Tourism Malaysia, PATA Malaysia Chapter, KDU University, Management & Science University, UCSI University, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Asia Pacific University, Erican College and Universiti Putra Malaysia joined this event physically. Meanwhile, 250 participants joined the event virtually through the SHTE Facebook page. They were enlightened with the enriching insights at the Youth Symposium.

The school would like to extend sincere gratitude to the invited keynote speaker, moderator, panel speakers, collaborators and all those in attendance for making the event a success.

Taylor's-Zubedy Collaboration: GE-15 Series on Malaysian Politics & Public Issues - "Whither GE-15?"

'Politics and Public Issues in Malaysia' is one of the core modules taken by students in the Taylor's Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) in International Relations and Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) in Social Innovation and Change. The module discusses various issues revolving around Malaysian politics and government, including government spending, civil rights, poverty, education, urban problems, crime, violence and repression, defence policy, environment policy and foreign policy.

In addition to learning activities in class, the module also includes monthly webinar series called “The Malaysian Politics and Public Issues”. The webinar series aims to provide knowledge to students and the public on politics and public issues in Malaysia and involves various prominent Policymakers, Journalists, Practitioners and Academics as Speakers and Discussants. The webinar series 2022 deeply discussed the 15th General Election (GE-15) as this national important event is coming closer. The first webinar titled “Whither GE-15?” was conducted in September involving three speakers and a discussant.

Among the invited Speakers were Mr. Philip Golingai who is the Senior New Editor from the Star Media Group; Dr. G Manimaran who is an Election Analyst and Media & Communication Consultant, Member of the #RasuahBusters Core Team; and Adjunct Prof. Anas Zubedy who is the Founder and Managing Director of Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd. Whereas, Ms. Nur Ainif Omar, Lecturer who teaches the 'Politics and Public Issues in Malaysia' module served as the Moderator at the webinar.

The webinar had successfully attracted many students, academics and the public who were interested in important politics and public issues in Malaysia, especially the 15th General Election who is coming closer in the next few months.

Mark Beau Received Prestigious Arts for Good Fellowship 2022 - Singapore

The Singapore International Foundation has brought world communities together since 1991 to better lives and create positive change, building enduring networks, through education, arts, and culture, as well as business and livelihood. Part of its endeavors includes the Arts for Good Fellowship, a movement that unites creatives around the world through the power of arts.

The fellowship will bring together artists, art administrators, and social sector professionals, to advocate change for communities around the world. Mark Beau de Silva, Programme Director & Senior Lecturer, Taylor's School of Liberal Arts & Sciences has been selected to represent Malaysia in this year’s fellowship and will work with 30 individuals from 16 nationalities in a series of workshops, dialogue and performances.

Some of the issues to be tackled in this year’s fellowship include of:-

• Building sustainable ways of working - how do we work self-care into our creative practice.

• Communicating the arts to gain buy-in from different stakeholders - what works, and what doesn't.

• Impact / outcome measurement - what kind of indicators should we look out for when designing and executing arts programmes?

• Think of qualitative and quantitative.

• Financial sustenance in the space of underserved communities - what do we need to gather to share and secure funding? How to plan for sustainability?

• Leadership and mentorship in the arts - what does it mean to develop and guide others?

Mark and the fellows will spend several weeks in October and November 2022 virtually; and a week in January 2023 in Singapore. The online sessions will be geared towards understanding one another’s vocation and the creation of collaborative workshops that will be put to practice in person in Singapore.