IPOH: The second Pangkor International Development Dialogue (PIDD) 2014 will see Morinosuke Kawaguchi as the keynote speaker.
Known as Japan’s foremost futurist for his groundbreaking concept on innovation drawn from the Japanese “monozukuri” and “otaku” subcultures, Kawaguchi is a renowned strategist in technology and innovation management in various industries.
He is the author of the book Otaku De Onnanoko Na Kuni No Monozukuri (Neon Genesis of the Geeky-Girly Japanese Engineering), which talks about the advantages of Japan’s own unique subcultures and how to leverage them in the technology and engineering spheres.
He is also founder and chief executive officer of Morinoske Co Ltd, a creative future laboratory based in Tokyo.
Currently, he serves as a strategy adviser to the Japanese government and to some of the world’s largest multinationals.
Institut Darul Ridzuan (IDR) chief executive officer Dr Mazalan Kamis said Kawaguchi would bring insights into the subjects of innovation and socioeconomic development at PIDD 2014.
“He has a keen eye on grasping and understanding workable and powerful trends based on a community’s local culture,” he said.
This year’s theme for PIDD, organised by IDR, is “Good Governance for Inclusive Wealth” where Kawaguchi’s speech will focus on how high quality service spurs social economic transformation.
He will explore how innovative strategy can improve public and government administration/services and on how to establish smart partnership between the public and private sectors.
Besides Kawaguchi, Prof Rajah Rasiah, Universiti Malaya’s Professor of Economics and Technology Advancement is also expected to speak at PIDD, which will be held at the Swiss Garden Golf Resort and Spa in Lumut between for three days starting from tomorrow.
Other speakers are Tan Sri Dr Jeffery Cheah, chairman and founder of the Sunway Group, Datuk Hafsah Hashim, CEO of SME Corporation Malaysia and Datuk Redza Rafiq, CEO of Northern Corridor Economic Region.
The theme will explore issues pertaining to public services that spur socio-economic transformation, inclusive wealth that results in sustainable development, the creation of a vibrant private sector for economic growth and empowering the low- and middle-income groups for inclusive growth.
The event is a platform for the convergence of leaders, policy makers, industry players and thinkers from around the world to share ideas and discuss issues related to good governance and socio-economic development.
IDR is a public policy think-tank of the Perak state government. It is the brainchild of Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.
The think-tank’s mission is to conduct high quality research that results in innovative recommendations that are relevant, practical and have impact, in line with the aspiration of the state government’s Perak Amanjaya development blueprint.
IDR works to formulate and advocate public policies that reflect the three main objectives of Perak Amanjaya — quality opportunities, quality income and quality living.
Its efforts are guided by the principles of accountability, integrity, credibility and innovativeness.
In achieving the Perak Amanjaya plan, IDR conducts various researches in socioeconomic development in various fields to come out with blueprints and strategies, and further advising and assisting the state government in implementation of the plans. By Sylvia Looi