IPOH: About 1,000 local media practitioners including journalists from several Asean countries, will gather here tomorrow to celebrate the National Journalists' Day (Hawana) 2023 aimed at appreciating the contributions and services of the group in the country's development.
Themed 'Media Bebas, Tunjang Demokrasi' (Free Media, Pillar of Democracy), various activities have been planned for the media fraternity and industry experts in conjunction with the three-day celebration.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to grace the highlight of the celebration on Sunday at Hotel Casuarina Meru.
The Hawana 2023 celebration is hosted by the Communications and Digital Ministry and is being implemented by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama).
The celebration will begin with a treasure hunt event involving 150 participants from various media agencies which will be flagged off by Communications and Digital deputy minister Teo Nie Ching from Wisma Bernama in Kuala Lumpur at 7am tomorrow.
The Hawana Media Hunt convoy of 30 cars will pass through Tanjung Malim, Gopeng, and Kuala Kangsar and is expected to arrive here at 3pm, while the prize-giving ceremony is scheduled for Sunday.
A bowling tournament will also be held at Ipoh Bowl, Aeon Kinta City here, tomorrow, where about 100 media practitioners will represent 18 teams under the team category of which nine teams are from the state, while four players will compete in the senior official category.
On Sunday, a forum jointly organised by Bernama and the Institute of Broadcasting and Information Tun Abdul Razak (IPPTAR) will be held involving 150 participants including journalists, correspondents and academics from Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Japan and Kuwait.
Themed 'Masa Depan Media' (The Future of Media), the forum is slated to be officiated by Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, before the first slot titled Survival of Traditional Media in the Digital Era.
Four panellists will take part in the discussion namely the chief editor of The Jakarta Post M Taufiqurrahman, Malaysian Advertisers Association senior advisor Mohammad Kadri Taib, Rev Media Group chief operating officer who is also Operation and Technology Transformation Officer at GMD Office of Media Prima Nicholas Sagau and Mindshare Group chief executive officer S.Sheila.
Three panellists have been lined-up for the second slot to discuss Journalism in the Digital Age namely the Broadcasting Department of Malaysia (RTM) director-general Suhaimi Sulaiman, Country Manager at AFP for Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Alric Manickam and Brandzperts brand strategist Andrew Ambrose.
The highlight of the day will be the Prime Minister's opening speech in the afternoon where he will also present the Hawana 2023 Award to one recipient as well as Tabung Kasih@Hawana assistance to three recipients consisting of veteran journalists who are facing health problems and life difficulties.
Yesterday, the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah had given his consent for three media practitioners in the state to read Friday prayer's sermon themed 'Journalism: Accomplishing Tasks Based on Islamic Values' at three mosques today.
To enliven the Hawana 2023 celebration, a three-day mini carnival will be held from 10 am to 6 pm at Mydin Mall Meru starting tomorrow involving 14 government agencies and the private sector namely Bernama, Department of Information Malaysia, RTM, Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Tourism Perak as well as Media Sarawak, The Vibes.Com & Getaran.My, Cybersecurity Malaysia, Personal Data Protection Department, Institut Darul Ridzuan, Selama District Council, National Film Development Corporation Malaysia and PerakFM.
The date May 29 was gazetted as National Journalists' Day in conjunction with the publication of the first edition of the Malay newspaper, Utusan Melayu, on May 29, 1939. –BERNAMA