UCSI University Looks Behind the Scenes of the Rainforest World Music Festival   15 July 2009 The delighted group with Kevin Nila [2nd row, 4th from left] before leaving the Sarawak Cultural Village   Kuching, 15 July 2009 - A posse of UCSI University Sarawak Campus students and staff recently paid a visit to the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV), to see for themselves what goes on in the last days leading to the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF). The festival is Sarawak’s biggest annual event, attracting thousands of visitors to Kuching City and boosting revenue for the local tourism and hospitality industry. Sarawak Tourism Board (STB), as a co-operative partner of UCSI University Sarawak Campus had extended the University an invitation to SCV for a behind the scene feel of the preparations for the annual music festival in creating an ambience that pumps up one’s adrenaline upon setting foot on the festival grounds. The troupe met with Kevin Nila Nangai, the site manager for the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), and also a tourist officer with the marketing department of the STB. He was our tour guide for the SCV. Kevin explained that the response for the festival this year had been overwhelming. People from many different countries have actually taken the time and effort to make their way down to Kuching, just for the three-day event. He mentioned that after more than a decade of organising the RWMF, STB had improved its management of the festival and would continue to enhance the quality of the festival, which is now world-renowned and also a household name to boot. Kevin also described how the event usually kicks off daily with the afternoon cultural workshops conducted under a few select ethnic houses chosen based on crowd size. This is followed by the night concert. This year, the bands and musicians come from 19 countries. We were also informed of the recent measures taken to ease traffic flow around the event location. In the past, people had a hard time entering or leaving the festival site as cars from every imaginable corner would be congested. Now, all festival-goers have to park their cars at Santubong Resort, 2 kilometres away from SCV. Shuttle services are provided, at a minimal fee, to transport people to the festival site. Next, Kevin led us to the food bazaar section, where food vendors from all over the state and even outside the country, had rented booths to sell their products to the festival-goers. The more ambitious vendors had leased bigger spaces for their sales. Four Points by Sheraton Kuching had rented the Iban Longhouse as a dining area for their patrons. Afterwards, the group was shown the two stages that were newly-renovated and repositioned to create more standing area for the RWMF visitors. The main stage for the major performers to entertain the people faced the crowd directly.  The second stage was to ensure the continuity of the performances without long interruptions or pauses between them. Performers and sound technicians also went through several sound check rounds to ensure the smooth running of the show. Everyone was briefed on how prominent spots had been selected to showcase the event’s main sponsors like Astro and Xpax. We were later briefed on waste management and informed that food vendors had been advised to use eco-friendly materials. Another point of interest was the Rainforest World Crafts Bazaar that was held simultaneously with RWMF to attract the same crowd to visit it. It is located at the foot of the Melanau tallhouse. Before the end of the excursion, UCSI University, Sarawak Campus students and staff were given a few moments of question time on SCV, RWMF and STB. The trip ended with a group photo taken at the entrance of SCV and a final wave to the place. However, one UCSI University Sarawak Campus employee remained as she was a volunteer for the festival. She is Isabella Alexander, an academic assistant with UCSI University Sarawak Campus. This year marks her sixth time as an event volunteer for RWMF. She has been assigned all sorts of tasks from night patrolling to assisting in the afternoon workshops. She encourages everyone to become volunteers to extend their learning curve when socialising with people of all races, ages and backgrounds, and also learning indirectly about organising and managing an event of world standard. UCSI University Sarawak Campus which was launched in October 2008 and houses the Faculty of Hospitality and Management, is one of the few hospitality schools in Sarawak that is extensively linked to the STB, as well as other big industry players. Courses offered are Event and Tourism Management, Hotel Management, Commerce (with majors in International Business, Industrial Relations, and Retail Management), Foundation Studies, and A-Levels. For more information, call 082-455 255 or view the university’s website at www.ucsi.edu.my/sarawak. "Without prejudice to the rights of UCSI the information herein is correct at the time of printing and UCSI reserves the right to make amendments without prior notice." Last Updated: 19 November 2009

Press Contact Details Cheryl Melia binti Michael Martin Course Counselor Email: cherylmelia@ucsi.edu.my Telephone: +6082 - 455 255 extension 7033