UTAR and Journey Within Studio (JWC) co-organised the inaugural virtual International Mindfulness Conference 2020 (IMC 2020) titled “Mindfulness, Science and Life” on 7 and 8 November 2020 via Zoom.

With the theme “Transforming Your Mind, Transforming Your Life”, the conference aimed to understand the potential impact of introducing mindfulness practices in the context of our local community and professional lives. It also aimed to provide an opportunity for the participants to explore how mindfulness is viewed in the modern world, trace its traditional origins and understand the differences between these two views.

The conference attracted more than 170 local and international participation, including participants from Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat was invited to officiate the virtual opening ceremony. Also present at the ceremony were Organising Chairperson of IMC 2020 Angus Ng Foo Yek, esteemed keynote speakers, namely Griffith University School of Medicine, Australia senior lecturer, Dr Chan Kwong Chee, JWC Founders Calvin Onn and Michelle Tai, Just Life CEO Representative Chang Lay Hon, as well as other local and international speakers.

In his welcome speech, Prof Ewe congratulated the organisers for organising this remarkable digital mindfulness conference for the first time in Malaysia and thanked the distinguished speakers from local and international for their time and effort in sharing their expertise, experience and knowledge. He said, “The topics for IMC 2020 are vast and varied, focusing on the inter-connectivity of various aspects of mindfulness, science and life. Generally, we tend to focus more on our physical health and our looks, however, this conference will provide the balance and give us an opportunity to explore the importance, influence and impact of our mental health on our general well-being. During this period of the pandemic, it is even more important for us to focus on our mental and emotional health as well as building greater patience and resilience to go through the challenges of this difficult period and endeavour to overcome the challenges with enhanced problem-solving skills and greater creativity. Therefore, I hope all participants will be enriched greatly from this conference.” 

There were two keynote addresses on the first day of the conference, namely “Why Mindfulness Took the World by Storm?” and “Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Cancer (MBCT-Ca)” by Founder of Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary (SBS),Taiping-cum-Founding Member of Monastic Advisory Panel of Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia (TCBM) Venerable Aggacitta Mahathera and Chief of the Department of Psychiatry, Tainan Municipal Hospital (TMH), Taiwan Dr Debbie Hu respectively.

As an experienced meditation master, Venerable Aggacitta gave a deep introduction on mindfulness during the keynote session. He explained and elaborated on the allusion, original and popular meaning of mindfulness, “4Rs of mindfulness”, “5-6-1 feature of the senses”, “how mindfulness is sweeping the world”, “why mindfulness is so universally applicable and efficacious”, benefits of mindfulness and many more. He also shared some mindfulness activities that can be practised in daily life, such as mindfulness hiking, stream hiking, swimming, fitness and jogging.

Dr Hu is an experienced consultant psychiatrist who specialises in psycho-oncology and is also recognised as one of the Partner Teachers of Oxford Mindfulness Centre. She introduced the MBCT- Ca programme, its founder, brief research review and elaborated further on the three-circles model of MBCT-Ca, namely circle of suffering, circle of practice and circle of presence. She also shared her experience of conducting an eight-week mindfulness programme for cancer patients in TMH, after which she shared their feedback. According to Dr Hu, the mindfulness programme for cancer patients in TMH started since 2007 and currently runs once per year to encourage the patients to learn how to deal with physical discomfort, ease depressed and anxious mood, overcome the fear of recurrence and improve the quality of sleep. The programme included all types of cancer patients who have completed their clinical treatments and are in a relatively stable condition. The programme received positive feedback from the patients. During the session, she also taught the participants a few on-the-spot mindfulness practices.

The third keynote address was conducted by Dr Chan on the second day. It was titled “Cultivating Mindful Physicians: The MaRIS Model for developing medical students’ human capabilities and personal resilience”. As the Stream Lead of Professional Communication and History Skills Stream in the Griffith Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme, Dr Chan introduced a structured mindfulness practice to the School of Medicine in 2011, so that medical students can apply mindfulness for exam preparation and anxiety management.

During the keynote session, he first gave a brief introduction on his professional background, School of Medicine, Griffith University, and the researches it conducts. Further on, he elaborated on the humanising medicine which stresses on effective communication, human capabilities and personal resilience, as well as the introduction on contemplative pedagogy, the difference between contemplative pedagogy and traditional pedagogy, framework of contemplative pedagogy, and MaRIS model, its components and outcomes. According to Dr Chan, the MaRIS model is based on the ideas of contemplative pedagogy and has four equally-weighted, interlinked components, including Mindfulness, affective Reflection, Impactive experiences and Supportive learning environment.

Apart from the three keynote addresses, the conference also provided an opportunity for attendees to participate in forums and workshops. The first forum titled “Life falls apart, but we don’t have to: Staying mindful in the midst of fear”, was conducted by Dr Chan, Dr Hu and Consultant in Palliative Medicine, University Malaya Assoc Prof Dr Tan Seng Beng; while the second forum titled “Unleashing the potential of mindfulness in corporate management and education”, was conducted by Founders and CEO of Turning Point Integrated Wellness Sdn. Bhd-cum-Registered Counsellor Wilson Tee, Clinical Psychologist-cum-Assistant Professor of  International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Dr Jamilah Hanum binti Abdul Khaiyon and Search Inside Yourself Certified Teacher (SIY)-cum-meditation instructor Komal Chopra Jodha. The moderator for both sessions was the Founder and Partner of Sun & Michele Law Firm, Ng Siau Sun, who is also an experienced meditation practitioner.

Four workshops were also held in conjunction with the conference, namely “Mindfulness in Communication”, conducted by Assistant Professor of Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Art-cum-Director of Taiwan Mindfulness Development Association Dr Wen Tzung-Kuen; “Patterns in Presence”, conducted by Leadership Embodiment Integral Coach Ched Lee; “Mindful Educators and Compassionate Learning Space: The Art of Being a Contemplative Educator”, conducted by Dr Chan; and “An Experiential Review: When a Traditional Yogi Meets Modern MBCT”, conducted by MindSolution CATalist-cum-MBCT Instructor Calvin Onn Yee Han. The workshops aimed to promote mindfulness as a tool for personal development and growth in the fields of education, medicine, corporations, professional careers and mental health.

The conference also witnessed a Q&A session between speakers and participants. The curtains were finally drawn after the closing remark by the Organising Chairperson.

Ng expressed his gratitude to all the participants, speakers, sponsors, partners and organising committee members for their contributions. He said, “With the interesting and fruitful sharing from the speakers, as well as the active participation from local and abroad, the support and contributions from all the parties have made the event a success. This inspires us to continue organising events and conferences for further research and development in the fields of mindfulness, science and life in the future. Actually, we have planned this mindfulness conference last year. The conference was supposed to be held on May at UTAR Sungai Long Campus. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to move the conference online. The pandemic has brought changes to our daily life, but it is also a good opportunity for us to practise mindfulness, and stay calm and safe during this period of time.”