KUCHING: Sarawak hosted a welcoming dinner for the delegates of the Global Youth Forum Co-operative Entrepreneurship 2020 (GYF20) at Riverside Majestic Hotel on Monday night.
Enjoying Sarawak hospitality at its best, some 250 young entrepreneurs from 109 countries were introduced to the state’s cultural heritage through a series of traditional dance performances ranging from those of the Melanau to the Orang Ulu.
The atmosphere in the ballroom began to warm up when Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah and his assistant minister Datuk Snowdan Lawan volunteered to entertain the delegates with songs.
Performing a local Iban song entitled “Bekikis Bulu Betis”, Karim and Snowdan enticed many delegates to join them on stage.
While many youth joined Karim and Snowdan as they danced on the stage, others enjoyed taking photographs and videos of the stage performances.
In his welcoming speech, National Cooperative Movement of Malaysia Bhd (ANGKASA) president Datuk Abdul Fattah stressed that providing a platform for youth engagement to enhance entrepreneurial knowledge and skills was necessary for social development.
His welcoming speech was read by his vice president and chairman of the GYF20 organising committee Dr Mohd Azlan Yahya during the dinner.
Aimed at encouraging youth to come out with new ideas, new solutions and recommendations in the field of youth and cooperative entrepreneurship, the first edition GYF20 forum was organised in collaboration with the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) and European Union (EU).
The five-day GYF20 forum was attended youth from 109 countries including Belgium, United Kingdom, United States and Japan.
