MOU SIGNING CEREMONY WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING ASSOCIATION WORLD CONGRESS
SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG,
YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
AT THE MOU SIGNING CEREMONY WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING ASSOCIATION WORLD CONGRESS
6th JULY 2022
YB Yeoh Soon Hin
State Exco for Tourism & Creative Economy
Mr Ashwin Gunasekeran
Chief Executive Officer of Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB)
Professor John Doody Chacko
Chairman of the 45th IAA World Congress and President of IAA Malaysia
Distinguished guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
I am thrilled to announce that the 45th edition of the International Advertising Association World Congress will be hosted right here in Penang. Congratulations to the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau for successfully making this happen.
A legacy since 1938, the IAA World Congress has been held in cities like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, Beijing, Dubai and Moscow. Its presence now in Penang testifies to how far we have come in cementing our global presence.
Diversity is very much woven into Penang’s fabric. We have proudly merged and made contemporary our heritage with technological innovations, solidified our reputation as a tourism and investment hub in the Asia Pacific, and have continued to attract established MNCs to our shores.
I am confident that the World Congress, which will see the gathering of experts from the fields of advertising, marketing, the media and its companies, digital and public relations agencies, education, as well as research firms, will stimulate even more opportunities for investment to the State and in spurring greater economic growth.
A crowd of 2,000 attendees from 26 countries is expected at this 3-day event, which will harness RM12.553 million of Estimated Economic Impact to Penang, with an estimated RM1.5 million in Room Fees to be collected throughout the Congress.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The hosting of the IAA World Congress is also in line with the Penang2030 vision of increasing industry engagement initiatives, to broaden the State’s investor base to include other economic and growth sectors, beyond just manufacturing FDI.
The Congress aims to develop small, medium and large enterprises, and entrepreneurs, including youths and women. There will also be start-ups of Createch industries with sustainable brands in a Createch Economy. The Congress is also in line with our green state vision – to have sustainable healthy living, environment, welfare, agriculture, blue economy with clean rivers, oceans and biodiversity.
The Congress also aims to contribute to the Education sector to amplify the learning in science & technology and communications in the Createch knowledge economy. The Congress will also highlight Agrotech, Adtech, Martech, Biotech, Fintech, Edutech and many sectors that will highly aid our strategies to develop Penang as a high-tech hub.
The theme of the Congress this year is “Brand ReCode: Createch for Better Lives, Better World’, in embodying the times we are living through. Covid-19 renewed our collective appreciation of Mother Nature, with the epiphany that very little is needed to satisfy our fundamental human needs.
The Congress committee has proposed to feature notable icons such as Elon Musk, and Jack Ma, just to name a few. I am looking forward to the insights and knowledge sharing from the lineup of speakers that the committee is about to bring to this Congress.
It is my sincere hope that this 3-day Congress, with its host of impactful speakers, will be a catalyst for the Penang2030 vision that the state has curated for its community.
Thank you