PRESS CONFERENCE ‘MALAYSIA DAY NFT ART COMPETITION THEMED WONDERS OF MALAYSIA’ BY DIGITAL PENANG
PRESS CONFERENCE
‘MALAYSIA DAY NFT ART COMPETITION THEMED WONDERS OF MALAYSIA’ BY DIGITAL PENANG
8th July 2022, 11:45am
Bilik Gerakan, Komtar
YB Zairil Khir Johari,
Penang State EXCO for Infrastructure and Transport, and Vice Chairman of Digital Penang,
Mr. Tony Yeoh,
Chief Executive Officer of Digital Penang,
Mr. Irsyad Saidin,
Chief Executive Officer of Pentas.io,
Dr. Norfarizah Binti Mohd Bakhir,
Deputy Dean (Research, Innovation & Community),
from the School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Mr. Mohamed Dzariff Bin Md. Wazilah,
Co-founder of Pentas.io.
Mr. Joe Sidek,
Chairman of Penang Arts Council,
Mr. Moonjay,
BadApe Limited Director, BadApe NFT Artist,
Mr. Ikbal,
Chief Technology Officer of BadApe.io
Mr. David Loh,
Founder and Photojournalist of David ST Loh Images,
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon and thank you for joining us here today for the press conference, announcing the launch of the Malaysia Day NFT Art Competition organised by Digital Penang in partnership with Pentas.io.
Non-fungible tokens, commonly known as NFTs, are something that is becoming increasingly popular among designers and artists.
According to Forbes Advisor, an NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, in-game items and videos. They are bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrencies.
An NFT consists of digital data that is stored in a blockchain.
NFTs and blockchain technologies are still something rather new for most of us (including me) and I look forward to learning more about them.
New technologies may seem confusing at first but with dedicated efforts and resources, we can help educate the masses to be prepared and to help propel the state forward.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The State Government will always welcome new ideas and initiatives.
We must be educated in new technologies for Penang to be an advanced technological state.
As we know, tourism is one of the key economic pillars for Penang, bringing in millions of tourists annually and we hope to continue building this momentum in the Covid-19 endemic phase.
We have seen many tourists flocking into Penang during the public holidays and weekends recently. We expect the numbers to increase with the upcoming George Town Festival, happening this month.
Being a vibrant state that is rich in culture and heritage, Penang also offers a wide variety of local foods, heritage buildings, tranquil nature, the Peranakan culture, sandy beaches, and many more within easy reach.
Therefore, we believe that the theme ‘Wonders of Malaysia’ is suitable as we want to encourage Malaysians to share from their lenses the beauty of our country in the form of digital assets through this NFT Art Competition.
In line with the Penang2030 vision of ‘A Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation’, we hope to inspire Malaysians to spread the love for our country and instil hope and unity to mark the upcoming Malaysia Day.
The organiser, Digital Penang, will be showcasing some of the submissions of the NFT Art Competition at the NFT Art Exhibition. The competition winners will also be announced then.
The NFT Art Exhibition will take place in September in conjunction with the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) and TechFest. The state expects to receive about 4,000 international participants from over 80 countries during the WCIT 2022.
The partnership between Digital Penang and Pentas.io is also a call to action for the LovePenang campaign.
Partnerships like this provide opportunities for Penangites to come together and show their love for the state.
I believe Penang will continue to rise to meet the full potential of new technologies.
Thank you.