PREPARATIONS FOR HAWANA 2024 CELEBRATION UNDERWAY

KUCHING, May 8 (Bernama) --  Preparations for the National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) 2024 celebration, set to be held here from May 25 to 27, are currently underway with Bernama, as the implementing agency, holding a full-day discussion with its strategic partners here yesterday.

In the morning, the HAWANA 2024 Secretariat, led by project director Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, who is also the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) editor-in-chief, held a meeting with the administration of the Faculty of Education, Language and Communication of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) to outline the details of the ‘Jelajah HAWANA 2024 Bersama Siswa’ programme.

In attendance were the faculty’s dean Dr Dilah Tuah, deputy dean Dr Noratikah Mohamad Ashari and senior lecturer and director of UNIMAS Publisher Dr Malia Taibi.

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During the discussion, Arul Rajoo highlighted that the tour programme at UNIMAS on May 24 marks the first of six series of the tour programme planned for this year’s HAWANA celebration.

He said the tour programme at UNIMAS will consist of two engaging workshops on Mobile Journalism and Fact Check, conducted by Bernama officers, namely Syed Iylia Hariz Al-Qadri and Sakina Mohamed.

“Bernama has a dedicated team focused on fact-checking, and we want to share this with university students during the tour. Similarly, with mobile journalism, we aim to demonstrate how to utilise smartphones in contemporary journalistic practices,” he said.

Arul Rajoo said that around 200 students from UNIMAS, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak, and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak will participate in the workshops, followed by a dialogue session with Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil which is expected to involve 300 students.

Meanwhile, Dilah conveyed gratitude to Bernama for choosing UNIMAS as the venue for the tour programme and expressed his full support to ensure its success.

In the afternoon, the HAWANA 2024 Secretariat held a meeting with the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (UKAS) and several strategic partners of the celebration, chaired by UKAS director Samuel Simon.

In addition to the tour series, the HAWANA 2024 celebration, themed ‘Etika Teras Kewartawanan Mapan’ will feature various programmes, including the Sarawak Media Conference 2024, themed ‘Evolution of Media in the Digital Era,’ expected to draw around 600 participants.

There will also be an exhibition involving approximately 20 exhibitors from May 25 and the ‘Juh Raon’ programme on May 26.

Participants of the celebration will also be honoured at a Dinner Reception with the Sarawak Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar on May 26 before the culmination of HAWANA 2024 on May 27, expected to be officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Over 1,000 media practitioners, representatives from local journalist associations, as well as media representatives from ASEAN member countries, are invited to attend HAWANA 2024, which serves as a significant platform for professional media fraternity and industry experts to exchange ideas and establish strategic relationships.

The largest gathering of Malaysian journalists is organised by the Communications Ministry in collaboration with the Sarawak State Government.

HAWANA was first held in the federal capital in 2018, followed by subsequent celebrations in Melaka (2022) and Perak (2023).

The date of May 29 was chosen as National Journalists’ Day in commemoration of the first publication of the Utusan Melayu newspaper on May 29, 1939.

-- BERNAMA