On November 14, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) students collaborated with a local production company and Yayasan Perpaduan Sarawak (YPS), a non-profit organisation, to create a video for the youth on local history lessons, specifically ethnic languages of Sarawak.
Three UNIMAS students and one Sarawak Skills (PPKS) student volunteered to be in the video to help YPS reach their goal for the video and to be a part of something that educates the youth.
The ongoing title for their campaign video is “History Lesson,” and the main goal of creating the videos, according to YPS, is “to promote Sarawak’s culture and customs.”
According to them, they “identified talents among youth to learn and experience various Sarawakian culture and traditions, such as a first-time walk through a variety of traditional houses, cultural dances, food, and even languages, with the goal of raising awareness about the existence of different cultures and traditions in Sarawak, while also preserving them for future generations.”
“We feel that through social media, anybody, regardless of age, can view, appreciate, and comprehend the message of togetherness, peace, and unity that we are attempting to convey,” YPS said, referring to their intended target audience.
In relation to the campaign, YPS said that their mission is to “promote unity, celebrate diversity, and preserve cultural heritage in Sarawak,” thus creating a peaceful, harmonious Sarawak for future generations through mutual understanding and appreciation for cultural diversity, as depicted in the campaign videos.
“We believe that this media campaign will educate the public about the importance of preserving culture and traditions for future generations,” YPS added.
With this campaign, YPS hopes to engage Sarawak youth in activities that will foster their understanding and appreciation of each other’s cultural heritage, as well as to embrace the elders’ hard work and sacrifices in ensuring that the younger generation today can obtain unity, harmony, and peace in their midst, with the goal of fostering, developing, and improving culturally, hence the access to educational exchanges.
When asked how many more videos will be made for the campaign, YPS said, “there will be four episodes,” which will include an introduction and tour of traditional residences at Sarawak Cultural Village, a showcase and sampling of traditional delicacies, learning different ethnicity dialects, and traditional dancing instruction from other ethnic groups in Sarawak.
Given Sarawak’s unique and rich culture, YPS believes the campaign will pique the interest of the youth.
Sarawak is defined by the existence of multiple races, resulting in a diverse set of languages.
“Language differences do not prevent people from getting along; in fact, we believe that language can be used to bind and bring people together.”
Despite the fact that the languages are distinct, Sarawakians are familiar with a number of terms that are similar in meaning or sound.
“Both the Iban and Sarawak Malay ethnic groups share the same meaning for the word madah, which is ‘tell.’” said YPS.
YPS believes that learning languages from other ethnic groups can strengthen relationships while also indirectly improving society’s sense of unity and harmony.
Alezxandria Kapple, a 25-year-old UNIMAS student, was asked about her experience on set.
“It was alright, I supposed. I was paired with someone who had never appeared on camera before, which was a real challenge for me because it affected my confidence. But I knew I needed to find ways to make things easier for both of us. Making new friends or getting to know strangers is also nothing new to me,” said Alezxandria after her shoot.
Being in front of cameras and a production team cannot be easy, even for a student with no prior experience.
“I believe that this experience helped me develop my ability to react quickly in front of people and cameras,” Liliana Sheryn, 25, said of her experience.
“When confronted with a situation in which we are completely unaware of what is going on around us, we must trust our ability to handle it and act without hesitation. Someone will always point out what we did wrong, and we must be willing to accept their criticism or advice.”
One word in particular drew Alezxandria’s attention: Sakai, which means “friend” in Melanau.
“I couldn’t get it out of my head,” she said, because it has a completely different meaning in Sarawak Malay.
When asked what they gained or learned from the experience, they said they learned new vocabulary from other cultures like Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, and Melanau.
Liliana was impressed with herself for pushing herself beyond her comfort zone because she gets nervous easily when speaking in front of a camera.
“Well, of course! My passion has always been for the media. So, here’s to more of this,” Alezxandria said, expressing enthusiasm for future campaigns and being in front of the camera.
• This article was written by a student from the Strategic Communication Programme at the Faculty of Language and Communication, UNIMAS.
