KUCHING: Sarawak will celebrate the state-level National Journalists Day (Hawana) with a media conference and sports activities this year, says Datuk Abdullah Saidol.
The Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier's Department said the celebration would take place in June or July, organised by the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) in collaboration with local journalists' associations and media agencies.
He said the highlight would be the Sarawak Media Conference (SMEC), to be held for the second time following the inaugural event last year when Sarawak hosted the national Hawana celebration.
"SMEC is a one-and-a-half-day programme, and we will invite speakers from outside.
"The main subject will be very much about the media, especially the influence of artificial intelligence (AI).
"I've also received suggestions on discussing the role of radio because we don't want it to become a sunset media platform," Abdullah told reporters at Ukas' Raya gathering here on Wednesday (April 9).
He said the conference would also cover the role of media professionals behind the scenes, such as editors and creative personnel.
He added that appreciation awards would be presented to media professionals to honour their contributions in Sarawak.
In the run-up to the state-level Hawana, Abdullah said sports activities would be held in Kuching, Sibu and Miri.
"We want to bring media friends together through sports. I think they need to relax once in a while and meet one another," he said.
Abdullah also said the Hawana celebration would include all media professionals, not only journalists but also those from social media platforms.
"Some of them have many followers and are quite positive in their postings on social media, so we want to bring them along," he said.
