Enhancing mental literacy at the 10th Festival of the Mind in KL

Dr Milton Lum (2nd from left) presenting a fruit basket to Tan Sri Vincent Lee (2nd from right) while Dr Oo (1st from left) and Prof Chuah look on

To promote mental literacy and understanding of mind power, the Malaysian Mental Literacy Movement (MMLM), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TARUC) jointly organised the 10th Malaysia Festival of the Mind which was officiated by the Guest of Honour Tan Sri Vincent Lee Fook Long, Group Chairman of Naga DDB Sdn Bhd on 14th June 2014 at TAR UC in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.

The official opening ceremony was attended by MMLM Deputy Chairman Dr Milton Lum Siew Wah who was the representative on behalf of MMLM Chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik , UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, and representing TAR UC President was its Centre for Continuing & Professional Education Director Dr Oo Pou San.

The 10th Festival of the Mind in KL which featured as many as 14 talks and 7 workshops and an exhibition with 30 booths attracted over 1,500 visitors which comprised students, families, teachers, staff and many others. The topics for the talks and workshops included brain exercise, math tricks, photo-reading, memory skills, mental visualisation and many more. There were more than 30 booths at the exhibition which showcased a wide range of mental literacy products such as puzzles, mind games, MENSA admission test and books an even the fascinating live demo of 'hand-fire'.

Admission to talks, workshops and exhibitions of the festival which ran from 14 to 15 June 2014, were free. Goodie bags and a special lucky draw with attractive prizes such as Lenovo Smartphones were given to visitors.

Delivering the welcome speech on behalf of Tun Dr Ling, Dr Lum said, “I am very pleased to welcome all of you to the launch of the 10th Malaysia Festival of the Mind. Today’s launch is extra special as it marks the milestone achievement of organising this festival for the tenth time which is a significant number that denotes the strong commitment and purpose in organising the Festival of the Mind.” He said, before explaining more on MMLM activities and introducing the Guest of Honour, Tan Sri Vincent Lee.

“The mind is not a passive object but rather an active entity. It responds to action, and is stimulated by exercise. As a great man once said that the mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. The informative talks, enlightening exhibitions and workshops on offer today are the ignition for that fire. They provide us with the opportunity to challenge the immense power of the human brain and harness the full potential of the human mind.” said Tan Sri Vincent Lee in his address.

The highlights at the launch were the demonstrations of amazing mental feats by West Wong and six-year-old Djarkariel Antonius Gomez. Wong who has been nicknamed “human calculator” wowed the audience with his quick mental arithmetic skills and Gomez proved that age is no deterrent to memory work when he could remember nearly 200 countries and their capital cities. There was also the prize presentations to winners of the competitions on memory, mental calculation and mind mapping, all which were held in April 2014 at the UTAR PJ campus.

Some of the attractions in the talks and workshops included Dato’ Joey Yap’s talk on “When Destiny Calls”, Dr Peter Shephard’s elaboration on “The Learning Brain” and Lim Teck Guan’s explanation on the “Tool of 1Sudoku in developing higher order thinking skills” For more details, visit www.utar.edu.my/mmlm

Tan Sri Vincent Lee delivering his address

West Wong (left) demonstrating his arithmetic skills with three volunteers on stage

Six year-old Djarkariel Gomez demonstrating his impressive memory on stage, flanked by West Wong on his right and his father on the left.

The crowd at the opening ceremony

Tan Sri Vincent Lee and visitors were fascinated by the “hand-fire” demo

The audience at one of the talks

An exhibitor explains his product to visitors



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