Prof Amran Hamzah for being elected as an IUCN Regional Councilor

by | Sep 13, 2016 | Award, Featured Slider, News

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Heartiest CONGRATULATIONS to Prof Amran Hamzah who has been elected as an IUCN Regional Councilor during The World Conservation Congress that was held in Hawaii from 1 to 10 September.  There were more than 10,000 registered participants at the congress that ended with elections by about 1,300 members representing government agencies and non-governmental organisations to elect the President, Treasurer, 6 Commission Chairs and 28 Regional Councilors (5 from Asia).

Nominations for the various positions started around nine months ago involving a rigorous process and Prof Amran,  the outgoing  Co-Chair of the Theme on Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, Equity and Protected Areas (TILCEPA), was the only candidate from Southeast Asia. Prof. Amran is now one of the 28 Regional Councilors elected for the 4-year term from 2016 to 2020 and the first Malaysian to be elected. With his election, Prof. Amran will become a member of the IUCN Council, which is the principal governing body of IUCN  responsible for  setting the strategic direction and policy guidance for the work of the Union and provide oversight and guidance on the performance  of IUCN.

IUCN stands for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and it is the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. It has more than 1300 Member organisations worldwide and the input of around 16,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.

When contacted, Prof. Amran said that “I have held several positions in IUCN for the past 6 years  at the regional and Commission levels  and I am honoured to be given the mandate and trust during this Congress as a Regional Councilor. I would like to thank those who voted me in, which came not only from Asia but also from the other regions of the world. I believe that my  proven  track record and good networking with IUCN members across the world had helped me in getting elected and I am in good company given that the former Ambassador to Malaysia, Masahiko Horie, has also been re-elected. Alhamdulillah but I am also very well aware that this prestigious position comes with a huge responsibility. 

This 26th Congress also brought extra joy to me because I became a grandfather for the first time two days before being elected as a Regional Councilor”. Prof Amran ended by indicating he was ready for the challenge and would certainly do his best to represent Asia, Malaysia and UTM. Learn more about IUCN at https://www.iucn.org/.

Sustainable Urban and Rural Development Workshop, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

by | Sep 13, 2016 | Featured Slider, News, photo

Three students from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) participated in a Sustainable Urban and Rural Development Workshop at Tongji University, Shanghai from the 3rd till the 11th of August 2016. The students were Tan Pei Yee (1SBEP), Nur Nadzirah Binti Roswandi (2SBEP) and Mohd Aizuddeen Bin Mohammad Meseztor (3SBEP) and accompanied by Dr. Gobi Krishna A/L Sinniah from the department. A total of 35 students with diverse academic background from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea and Malaysia participated in the workshop.

The objective of the workshop was to expose participants to issues of cultural heritage, conservation, aging, environment, urban transportation planning, disaster prevention in urban and rural areas. The workshop also aims to  inculcate and inspire the younger generation on the importance and need for sustainable development. The nine days workshop consisted of lectures on history of rural and urban planning development in East Asia, the smart technology in architecture engineering in  response to earthquakes, environmental and energy conservation in building construction, traditional gardens, the influence and impact of Taoist culture in modern society, the Eurasia culture and its effects on modern urban planning.

Participants were also on site visits to commercial and residential areas, the Shikumen building in old Shanghai, the Nanjiang Road commercial pedestrian street, The Bund, a waterfront promenade and boardwalk along the Huangpu River that showcase “the museum of buildings on one side and the more modern skyscrapers on the other, the historical and cultural districts, namely, Xin Tian Di, Zhu Jia Jiao, Hang Zhou, Xixi National Wetland Park and Xi Tang.

Participants were also divided into groups and are required to do a group project with “Sustainability” being the theme for all the projects.  The climax to the nine day workshop was a presentation of the group projects followed by a closing ceremony.