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Women's role in development of sustainable cities highlighted in new exhibit

by webmaster FAB | Oct 11, 2016 | In The Press, News, newspaper

KUALA LUMPUR: In this modern era, women across the globe have demonstrated beyond a doubt that they are capable of matching their male counterparts in almost every field, given the right exposure and opportunity.

At the “Female Faces & Malaysia Sustainable Cities” exhibition, taking place at the National Visual Arts Gallery (NVAG) here, around 20 Malaysian women are featured, from policy makers to social entrepreneurs, who play a key role in formulating and implementing policies for sustainable development in Malaysia.

Some of the female faces include National Council of Women’s Organisations Malaysia president Professor Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, Students Volunteer Foundation founder and chairperson Datuk Zuraidah Atan, and former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)’s Institute Sultan Iskandar executive director Prof Dr Mohd Hamdan Ahmad said that in the process of studying sustainable cities development efforts, the programme captured the role of women as agents of change in Malaysia’s major cities, thus the exhibition intends to disseminate the message of the MSCP while honouring these Malaysian women.

The exhibition also includes a variety of physical, audio and immersive ‘artefact’ interviews and video documentaries on broad aspects of sustainability in Malaysian cities. It presents 75 works of field photography, 21 video interviews and 19 research documentaries as the findings of MSCP under one roof.

Supported by the Higher Education Ministry, the exhibition is a joint collaboration between Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), displaying the outcome of the UTM-MIT Malaysia Sustainable Cities Programme (MSCP).

UTM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Ir Dr Wahid Omar said the five-year programme addresses pressing sustainable issues faced with rapid development, with the aim of making Malaysia an example of sustainable development. “Sustainable development issues featured include climate change, conservation of ecosystems, housing, tourism, traffic and transportation, green building and preserving cultural assets. “They are observed in five major Malaysian cities, namely Johor Baru, Kuala Lumpur, George Town, Putrajaya and Kuching.”

The exhibition, which began on Oct 8, was officiated by the Education Ministry’s director of higher education (excellence planning division) Prof Dr Raha Abdul Rahim. The first facet of the exhibition, entitled “Female Faces in Sustainable Places” was held at the MIT’s Wolk Gallery, from April 30 to July 31, 2015. The current exhibition at NVAG is a reciprocal arrangement which expands upon the history of the collaboration programme and findings from international scholars.

The exhibit will continue until Nov 13 and is open to the public.

In this modern era, women across the globe have demonstrated beyond a doubt that they are capable of matching their male counterparts in almost every field, given the right exposure and opportunity. At the “Female Faces & Malaysia Sustainable Cities” exhibition, taking place at the National Visual Arts Gallery (NVAG) here, around 20 Malaysian women are featured, from policy makers to social entrepreneurs, who play a key role in formulating and implementing policies for sustainable development in Malaysia. (Pix by MOHD YUSNI ARIFFIN) – NST

Source: NST (Tuesday, 11th October 2016)

Rural Rejuvenation Plan to Balance Development

by webmaster FAB | Aug 17, 2016 | In The Press, News, newspaper

Prof Wahid (left) exchanging documents with Sukamerta as Mohamed Khaled (centre) looks on during a ceremony at UTM. Photo: The Star

JOHOR BARU: The state government will be launching the rural area rejuvenation plan before the end of the year to balance the rural-urban growth and development in Johor.

Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said among the approach included WiFi connection, good schools and quality healthcare services for rural people.

He said the “soul and essence of the villages” in Johor must be preserved and maintained while at the same time rural areas needed to be rejuvenated to benefit the people.

“We are not talking about constructing high-rise buildings in the (rural) areas or turning them into urban dwellings,” Mohamed Khaled said on Monday.

The event was jointly organised by UTM and Bait Al-Amanah, a think-tank of Johor Umno and attended by 140 participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Malaysia.

Mohamed Khaled said the government acknowledged the importance of rural areas and the state authorities would continue to look at ways to rejuvenate the areas.

“We need to inject new ideas into the areas from time to time, such as how to uplift the living standard of rural people and assist them to get out of the poverty level,’’ he said.

Mohamed Khaled said that there was an “objectively correct” approach to rural development as the process was influenced by time, space and culture.

He added that the term rural development signified overall development of rural areas to improve the quality of life of rural people.

Earlier, Mohamed Khaled witnessed the signing of research documents between UTM and Universitas Mahasaraswati, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.

UTM was represented by its vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Wahid Omar while Universitas Mahasaraswati rector Dr I Made Sukamerta signed on behalf of the university.

Source: The Star (Wednesday, 17th August 2016)