Villagers and children of Nanga Ukom longhouse at their new community library with the 59th ICCA Congress Asia Pacific Regional Hub organising committee.
THE residents of Nanga Ukom longhouse in Batang Ai, Sarawak, now have a community library of their own with 7,500 books.
The library was handed over to the longhouse chief by the organising committee of the 59th International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Congress Asia Pacific Regional Hub this month under its corporate social responsibility project.
The committee’s state coordination chairman Hii Chang Kee said public and private sectors shared a responsibility towards Sarawak’s development through community outreach.
“The best way to achieve the Sarawak government’s aspirations of economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability is by working alongside the local community,” he said.
The library aims to provide a functional space with educational resources to help retain more rural children in school.
ICCA Asia Pacific regional director Waikin Wong said, “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 to transform global economies and societies.”
Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), which won the hosting bid in 2019, adopted ICCA’s “Gift of Love” CSR programme for the Asia-Pacific hub of the congress held in Kuching last November.
The organising committee launched a book donation campaign which resulted in 7,500 books being donated in nine days.
BESarawak chief executive Amelia Roziman said the business events sector had opportunities to make a difference to Sarawak through collaboration with various organisations.
“We hope that the library will inspire more business events organisers to replicate it or create something similar,” she added.
