A charitable cultural night

UTAR being a university that constantly emphasises on contributing to the society, through its principle “By the people, for the people” has been nurturing students to be likewise serviceable to the society regardless of age and background. Upholding that principle was the charitable “All in Cultural Night 2017” event, organised by the International Friendship Society (IFS), which took place on 1 April 2017 at the Kampar Campus.

Attracting over 2000 audience, the event kick-started with an opening ceremony, attended by Department of Soft Skills Competency Kampar Head Hee Chwen Yee, Director of Six Base Technology Sdn Bhd Frey Wong, Director of Global Line Network (Chimaera) Vincent Wong, Director of NCT Technologies Group Simon Ng, Director of ARTH Watches Liew Han Yang, Director of J&J Commerce Jack, IFS Chairperson Goh Yi Ting, Student Representative Council (SRC)’s Faculty Representative Ang Teck Chee and Organising Chairperson Ng Kah Yan, followed by a lion dance and drum performance by the 24 Festive Drums team of the Wushu Club.

From left: Department of Student Affairs Kampar Officer Lua Zyn Lan, Frey, Vincent, Ng and Hee at the opening ceremony

Not merely was it a night of various cultural performances, but the charitable event also successfully raised money to be donated to the UTAR’s hospital project, and to the orphanage and old folks home located at Kampar town.

“Despite our committee comprising of students of various programmes, our unity brought us success throughout our eight-month planning process and finally to executing the event. As students who are taught to contribute to the society, our motivation came from our eagerness to help with the UTAR Hospital project and to help the less fortunate community in Kampar. Hence we had the idea to make the event a charitable one,” said Ng.

“Being able to help in the hospital project, even in the smallest way possible is something hopeful because we believe the hospital will bring many medical benefits to the public and will improve the lifestyles of the Kampar and Perak communities. We believe that for every act of kindness, hope is spread,” she added.

Apart from organising the event for a good cause, it was also a learning platform for both local and international participants to showcase their respective cultures and learn about others’ cultures, to draw closer participants of diverse cultures and to give participants a unique cultural experience at UTAR through the cultural performances.

“Our objective to organise a cultural night was also to provide opportunities for local and international students to know each other better, and for culture exchange to occur during their interaction. This is important because it will help the international community in UTAR to grow stronger. So having the basic cultural knowledge will enable us to learn new cultural perspectives, and to also learn more about our own personalities. Only then we can grow and improve,” commented Ng.

The event proceeded with a sequence of performances such as Wushu, Colour of Voices Acapella performance, Icelone Magic show, Elecoldxhot street dance performance and a lucky draw session. Ending the night on a good note were the special guest performances by two Taiwan artists, namely Sam Lee 李圣杰and Lara Liang梁心颐, followed by a heart-pounding DJ session with DJ Anna.

When asked about her feeling after the event, Ng expressed her gratitude to the sponsors Six Base Technology Sdn Bhd and Global Line Network (Chimaera) for making the event a success. She also mentioned that the event has taught the committee to learn from their imperfections and to improve oneself, and knowing that their hard work has paid off.

The lion dance and drum performance during the opening ceremony

Spectacular performances at the cultural night

Special-guests performances by Lee (left) and Liang

Crowd cheering as DJ Anna spins

Sponsors presenting a mock cheque to Ng

All smiles for the organising committee after the event

Photos courtesy of Caztelo.