LIMBANG, Sept 6: In efforts to ensure that Sarawakian communities are well-equipped to participate in the new digital economy, the first in a series of Randau Digital Sarawak workshops themed “Ke Arah Masyarakat Digital” was held yesterday (Sept 5) in Limbang as part of the state’s initiatives to ensure digital inclusivity across Sarawak.

Organised by Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) in collaboration with Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak, about 100 participants comprising community leaders and members of the Village Development and Security Committees (JKKK) from Limbang Division attended.

The workshop focused on familiarising and educating grassroots leaders on development strategies and trends under the digital economy agenda as well as equipping them with the relevant knowledge and networking to enable them to mobilise their communities to initiate activities that promote and nurture digital economy.

Batu Danau assemblyman Paulus Palu Gumbang was the guest of honour for the randau session on “Peranan pemimpin dalam menggerak masyarakat akar umbi ke arah ekonomi digital” which allowed participants to discuss the future of digital economy in the Limbang division.

“There are many opportunities under digital economy for us to explore, especially in terms of agriculture in Limbang where we are lacking in manpower,” said Paulus, adding that it was difficult to find workers in Limbang, citing cases where farmers or smallholders had been struggling to maintain their farms and collect their produce due to this shortage.

“There are some initiatives where automated irrigation systems have been applied to solve these kinds of problems,” Paulus continued, adding that this kind of automated farming and fertigation could be applied to other crops such as chilli.

He urged participants to also take advantage of free platforms like MyBazar or social media to sell their local products for a wider market reach.

The workshop began with seminars from experts and government representatives Unimas Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology dean Dr Johari Abdullah and Sarawak Administrative Officer from Kuching District Office Suraijah Zainol as well as sharing sessions from successful industry players like apparel and accessories entrepeneur Neng Kho Razali and agro-based entrepreneur Reman Apon.

The breakout sessions in the afternoon covered four key areas: capacity-building, e-tourism, digital entrepreneurship and agriculture and agro-based ventures.

The sessions were conducted by representatives from Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Sarawak (MTACYS), Department of Agriculture Sarawak (DOA), Limbang Resident Office, Kuching District Office, AZAM and local industry players.

The next workshop is scheduled to be held in November for Miri Division.

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A day of confidence-building sessions and an introductory course to AZAM Toastmasters Club (AZAM TMC) is in the works for International College of Advanced Technology Sarawak’s (i-CATS) inaugural “Creating Life on Campus” programme on 8 September 2018.

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In surveys conducted by Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education and JobStreet on unemployment among fresh graduates in 2016, it was found, among others, that one in four fresh graduates in Malaysia remains unemployed for six months after their graduation and that three main reasons why fresh graduates remain unemployed were: poor attitude, lack of English proficiency, and poor communication skills.

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Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak (AZAM Sarawak) and Sarawak Development Institute (SDI) kick-started the new year with a study visit to Hanoi, Vietnam from 14th to 19th January 2018.

The objective of this five-day study visit was to learn from Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) and Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) on the development policies, initiatives and strategies Vietnam adopted to accelerate development sustainably in the country.

The study visit also enabled AZAM and SDI members to explore ways on how to engage rural communities to ensure sustainability not only for rural development but also for the rural economy.

About 16 delegates comprising AZAM Board Members, SDI Board Members and secretariat from both organisations attended the five-day study visit to Hanoi.

Continue reading AZAM and SDI visit Hanoi to study its sustainable rural development programmes →