Location: Kuching
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 10:30MYT
Session: Sarawak Tribal Wisdom with Alena Murang

Drawing inspirations from her Kelabit heritage, Alena Murang brings you Tribal Wisdom through poignant oral traditions. The English-Kelabit talent became the first female to professionally perform and teach the sape’; a lute instrument of the Bornean highlands believing to heal physically, spiritually and emotionally. Her upbringing in a close-knit community led her to inherit the traditional songs of the Kelabit and Kenyah communities, where she sought guidance from elders to craft some of the best ethnic songs played on the global stage of Paris Fashion Week and Rainforest World Music Festival among others. Her musical presence was also featured on NatGeo People, Channel News Asia, BBC Radio 2 and Asian Nikkei Review to name a few. Her belief is simple: oral traditions will guide you further than any formal education. Oral traditions are more than just music; it passes down invaluable lessons of togetherness, humility and fighting the good fight and how we can apply these values in today’s contemporary issues. Alena will be sharing her story of self-discovery through the mystical sounds of the sape’ and oral traditions exclusively for 59th ICCA Congress Asia Pacific Regional Hub in Sarawak.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 11:00MYT
Session: Impacting Future Education: ICEdDE 2019

Dr Margaret Chan Kit Yok is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UiTM) Sarawak. She holds a Bachelor in Agricultural Science (with first class honours) and PhD (in Agriculture Microbiology) from Lincoln University, New Zealand. From collaboration with international fraternities on her areas of research on sustainable agriculture management, community and higher education programme development, she has brought a number of International Conferences being hosted in Sarawak since 2004. The Sarawak Convention Bureau has awarded her the State’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2013 and Achievement Award in 2015 in the “Anak Sarawak” Appreciation Award. She is currently a Board Director of Sarawak Convention Bureau. She will be sharing the impact of the 1st International Conference on Education in the Digital Ecosystem 2019 on future Education in Sarawak drawing her experience as the organising chairperson.

Location: Kuching
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 11:00MYT
Session: Convention Legacies: More Important Now than Ever

Gary has over 30 years’ experience in the convention industry. In 2004, he founded GainingEdge, a global consulting company that offers advisory services in relation to destinations, convention bureaus and convention & exhibition centres. Gary has consulted at the local and national level on over 100 projects in all parts of the world. Previously Gary was the CEO of convention and visitor bureaus in Melbourne (Australia), Albuquerque (New Mexico, USA) and Portland (Oregon, USA). He has also served as Vice President for the Boston (Massachusetts, USA) bureau. His convention centre consulting experience includes market feasibility, demand analysis, facility scoping, design review, site review, and operational consultation for convention centre developments. He also served on the London International Convention Centre Commission.

Gary was one of the lead consultants on DestinationNEXT, a global study for Destinations International (formerly DMAI) which defined the future of destination marketing. He is a former Chairman of the Board of DMAI and was one of the first six inductees into the inaugural DMAI Hall of Fame in 2014. He also received the Asia Pacific IMEX Academy Award in 2007.

Location: Kuching
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 11:30MYT
Session: The Soft Power of Conventions

Amelia is one of the outstanding pioneers of Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), Malaysia’s first convention bureau. She has over 13 years of experience in branding, marketing & PR and has contributed towards a total win of 15 awards for Sarawak in creative marketing campaigns. She has also assisted the destination in securing national and international Business Events (BE) over the last 10 years; which have translated to both economic and social impacts that cover significant ground beyond the general Tourism umbrella of Sarawak. Her efforts on Legacy Impact have been recognised as the first of its kind within the Asian Region; in alignment with various other global case studies that seek to measure intrinsic values and impacts beyond Tourism. Sarawak has since been touted as the one of the destination trailblazers who not only champion legacies from conventions but also make this happen by collaborating with its stakeholders.

As the current Acting Chief Executive Officer of SCB, she is responsible for the development of the Bureau's strategies, high level government liaison, ensuring execution of operational policies, fostering employee alignment with organisational goals, whilst functioning as the main representative of SCB. With her prolific talents and jet-setting work values, she has spearheaded various organizations in refining their branding, marketing, and PR efforts.

To date she has won 5 internationally acclaimed professional awards and was recently selected as 1 out of 2 recipients globally for the European School of Management and Technology Berlin (ESMT Berlin) Women’s Scholarship for Executive Transition Programme.

Location: Kuching
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:50MYT
Session: ICCA Congress Kuching 2016 – Four Years On, and Beyond



Eric emphasizes on engaging Human Capital and building strong teams. He builds and grows companies from the inside and is particularly determined to formulate and implement strategies to maximize the appropriate business model. Over the past 30+ years Eric has held Senior and Executive positions in various hotel/ casino resorts, five-star hotels, a world-renowned sports and recreation club, IT company and Convention Centre’s on three different continents. He is currently the CEO of the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, Malaysia. BCCK is a National and International award-winning facility. Its business model is based on a vertical keiretsu whereby new related revenue streams are constantly pursued.

Location: Kuching
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:30MYT
Session: Reaching out: Influencing Tangents and Outcomes from Legacies



Søren Birkelund has a long career within international relations, project management and business development behind him.

Serving as a Chief Project Manager for the South Denmark European Office in Brussels, Søren developed and managed a number of large scale international projects around the world, and within a variety of sectors. All with particular relevance to Danish strongholds, such as energy/welfare technology, environment and local business development.

Having the “world as his playground”, Søren moved to Suzhou, China, to take up a position as Director of Asian Affairs for the Region of Southern Denmark, where he set up a large number of Public/Private partnerships between Chinese, Asian and Danish companies, clusters and knowledge institutions working with knowledge sharing and project development within such diverse areas as farming, harbour security, public utility development, pollution and welfare technology.

With a specific focus on the danish creative sector and the unique danish tradition for design and intersectoral innovation, Søren moved back to Denmark in 2011 in order to take up a position as Special Advisor to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he worked intensively on setting up international partnerships, develop innovative cooperation and secure the setting up of international companies in Denmark.

After a continuous professional focus on danish strongholds and with a superb network among danish clusters, knowledge institutions and companies, Søren moved into the international business tourism sector, and now focuses on using his well established experiences in setting up partnerships networks and value chains to Danish and international conferences.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 11:20MYT
Session: Legacy Stories from Around The World

Passionate promotor of South Africa, Corné commenced her formal career at the South African Chamber of Commerce as Manager Corporate Affairs. She then entered the destination marketing sector in 2003 as the Gauteng Tourism Authority’s Business Tourism Manager. Pursuing her other passion, that of strategic communication, she took the role as Communications Manager at the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa before her desire for tourism marketing enticed her back to Gauteng Tourism Authority in 2010. She then had another three-year stint as Trade Development and Partnership Manager. In 2014 she moved to Cape Town and joined Wesgro, (the official destination marketing organization for the Western Cape) in her current role as Head of the Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau. Corne currently serve as Chairperson of the Board of the BestCities Global Alliance as well on the Board of the Cape Castle Control Board.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 11:55MYT
Session: Our Incredible Impact: Clean Water for Rural Communities

Dr. Saradha Narayanan has been a Soroptimist for the past 12 years and has served in various capacities in the organisation. She is currently the National Representative of Malaysia at the Federation of the South West Pacific (SISWP). In 2018, she spearheaded the Soroptimist International Region of Malaysia (SIROM) Project “Clean Water for Rural Communities” to address the lack of potable water in two rural villages in Sarawak and Sabah. This project was one of the recipients of the Soroptimist International (SI) President’s Appeal in 2018 and is still ongoing. She is a passionate advocate for educating, training and enabling women and girls to achieve their full potential. She has also led the projects, ”Human Trafficking” (2017) where funds raised were used to build a classroom for rural children in Cambodia; and “Cycling for Cycles” (2016) to raise funds to buy bicycles for Village Malaria Workers in Cambodia. Dr Narayanan is a physician and cardiologist by training, receiving her MBBS from the University of Malaya, Malaysia; and her MRCP from the United Kingdom.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30MYT
Session: Business UnUsual – Recovering from COVID-19 with Conventions

Dr Edward Koh leads the Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel division of the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, a group under the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), since 2019. He provides strategic counsel to attract quality association congresses and corporate-driven events to Singapore, maintaining its position as a leading International Convention and Meetings destination. Edward also oversees local industry growth to further entrench Singapore as a business events destination.

In his previous appointment, Edward assumed the position of Executive Director, Southeast Asia since January 2015. Edward led the overall operations of STB in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines and Brunei. He also oversaw all strategic planning and execution of marketing activities within these markets to champion Singapore as a compelling tourist destination.

Prior to that, Edward served as Executive Director for Southeast Asia I and International Group Planning in March 2014 where he led the Division in providing critical policy and planning support for the Regional Offices and working with in-market industry partners to drive tourism growth. He was the Executive Director for Strategy & Planning and Research & Incentives in November 2011, responsible for the provision of economic analysis, consumer insights and market trends to the tourism sector.

Edward brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge of the China market. He previously served as Deputy Regional Director for STB Greater China (2006-2008), where he was responsible for strategic planning and channel development to drive BTMICE traffic from China to Singapore. He subsequently assumed the role as Regional Director for STB Greater China (2008-2011), where he managed and oversaw five Regional Offices: Eastern China, Northern China, Southern China, Western China, and Hong Kong & Macau and provided strategic direction for his team to effectively promote Singapore as a compelling destination and hub for business and travel.

Before joining the STB, Edward spent 13 years at the Ministry of Manpower, where he held various positions in its Prosecution Unit, Manpower Policy Department, International Manpower Division and Contact Singapore. His last position was as the Regional Director (Greater China) for Contact Singapore and concurrently the Deputy Director (International Operations), International Manpower Division. He was also the Alternate Lead Negotiator (Movement of Natural Persons), China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) for the period of 2004-2005.

Edward graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science, and Beijing University in 2003 with a second Bachelor's degree (Chinese Language & Literature). He also holds a Master degree in Public Policy & Management (2007) from Tsinghua University, and a doctorate in Hotel & Tourism Management from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Hotel & Tourism Management.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30MYT
Session: Business UnUsual – Recovering from COVID-19 with Conventions

Mike is a destination and convention and visitor bureau specialist with 30 years’ experience in the tourism and business events industry. Since joining Gaining Edge in 2007 he has been a lead consultant on destination and convention bureau development for clients in Australia, Africa, China, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Qatar, Rwanda, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom & USA. Mike was the lead consultant for establishment and capability strengthening for the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau. He has also been providing consultancy support for convention centre developments around the globe, including a number within the Asia Pacific region. In addition, Mike oversees GainingEdge's in-market sales representation.

Mike served as General Manager Sales & Marketing for the Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau. He also worked in senior marketing roles with Tourism Australia helping establish their presence in the Asia market and overseeing travel trade development in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Mike was instrumental in the development of AIME, the largest MICE tradeshow in the Asia Pacific and the world’s first BestCities Global Alliance. Mike is also a past Victorian State Chair and National President of Meetings and Events of Australia (MEA).

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30MYT
Session: Business UnUsual – Recovering from COVID-19 with Conventions

Leonie was a founding member of the Tourism New Zealand, Business Events team set up in 2011. This role gives her the opportunity to work with people who are passionate about what they do and eager to share their experience and expertise with others around the world.

In 2020 a key focus for her team is on conferences which have a long-lasting, positive impact on both their attendees and the host community. This team are committed to demonstrating how meetings help improve the social, cultural, economic, and environmental wellbeing of New Zealanders.

Leonie’s experience, and the respect she has from the New Zealand conference & events industry, has enabled her to provide support and advice as we navigate the challenges of 2020, the evolving heath guidelines, and focus on delivery to the highest professional standards.

With a strong background in customer service and loyalty, Leonie is focused on building relationships, growing new partnerships and ensuring the sustainable growth of this industry both within New Zealand and around the world.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 11:20MYT
Session: Legacy Stories from Around The World

Marshall Dallas joined the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) at the end of 2014 spearheading a new direction for Scotland’s leading conference venue and hitting record profit, ahead of schedule, in 2016. During this period, Marshall led the EICC into winning a series of UK and international industry awards and generating over £50 million for the local economy.

The EICC’s newly developed mission is “to create an environment which inspires ideas that change the world”.  The venue is also on target to becoming one of the most sustainable and accessible conference centres on the international scene.

Marshall and the team have welcomed some of the UK’s and world’s largest associations to the EICC, whilst hosting leading world figures like former President of the United States, Barack Obama, who made his first major public speaking appearance since leaving the White House at the EICC in May of 2017. During 2017, with delegate numbers up against the previous year – 94,000 delegates attended around 200 events at the venue – while operating profits rose to £1.2 million and economic impact for the city was up at a record £55 million.

With a background in hotels, events and hospitality and as an award-winning Director, Marshall has consistently demonstrated success in financial management, achieving strategic objectives and developing a wide range of businesses with turnovers ranging from £500k to over £30m per annum.

In 2018, Marshall was awarded the Institute of Director Scotland’s (IoD) public sector ‘Director of the Year’ Award. More recently, in September 2020, he received IoD Scotland’s  Director of the Year SME Award.

When not at work, Marshall is a keen open-water swimmer and can be seen swimming all year round in all weather conditions in some of Scotland’s most beautiful Lochs and coastlines.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 11:20MYT
Session: Legacy Stories from Around The World

Amanda Wrathall has over 25 years’ experience in the events industry and is the Sales and Marketing Director at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Amanda joined the EICC in March 2015 where she heads up a team of 13 who are not only responsible for revenue generation but also play a key role in delivering economic impact to the wider city through attracting international business events.

Part of the EICC Leadership team, Amanda also chairs the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group’s (ETAG) Business Events Group and is a former board member of Women In Tourism.  In 2016 Amanda completed the Destination Leaders Programme which is delivered by Edinburgh Napier University in conjunction with Scottish Enterprise, and is a passionate member of Edinburgh’s destination community.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30MYT
Session: Business UnUsual – Recovering from COVID-19 with Conventions

As Asia Pacific Managing Director, Karen supports PCMA’s APAC growth through her track record of business events industry leadership success and her ability to introduce new strategic initiatives in the face of industry and marketplace challenges.

Karen is based in Melbourne and leads PCMA’s Asia Pacific operations team through its office in Singapore. Her focus will be on new initiatives to extend and strengthen PCMA’s presence in the region, which includes region-specific events, thought leadership, curated content and education, as well as enhanced stakeholder engagement and identifying new business partners.

As a former CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, Karen Bolinger has made significant business event contributions to the visitor economies of Australia. This includes the ability to successfully bring industry, government policy makers, business partners and service organizations together to focus on new opportunities.

Named as “one of the most dynamic leaders in destination management over a decade,” Karen is well known for her strategic business acumen as she is for business development and marketing and as a destination innovator.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30MYT
Session: Business UnUsual – Recovering from COVID-19 with Conventions

One of the longest serving personalities in Thailand’s MICE or Business Events sector, Sumate began his career in the hospitality industry in 1972 at leading hotels in Bangkok, starting at the Dusit Thani, with a brief spell at Asian Tours Centre as a guide, plus short stints at Bangkok Palace and Mandarin hotels. In 1982 he joined Diethelm Travel as Incentive and Convention Manager and has since been deep -rooted in the destination, meeting management and other business-related travel business. He has been on the TICA – Thailand Incentive and Convention Association board of directors since its early years and became President of the association, being the first from the private sector of the joint public-private organisation, for multiple terms. He had been the principal contact for the dissolved SITE Thailand Chapter for over 12 years and is now an Honourary Member after 30 years of membership.

As president of TICA, Sumate is also a member of the board of TCEB – Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (public organisation) by position.

In 1993 he was awarded World Incentive Travel Personality for Asia by the organisers of IT&ME and EIBTM, and in 1995 was named SITE Member of the Year, subsequent to chairing SITE University 1995 in Pattaya.

The company he founded in 1988, CDM-Creative Destination Management remains a family business serving an upscale clientele from worldwide sources. CDM was later rebranded to Conference & Destination Management to more accurately reflect the company’s evolved business portfolio. The company is recognised as creators of several ‘firsts’ for travel programme deliveries with a difference.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 11:55MYT
Session: Our Incredible Impact: Clean Water for Rural Communities

Noor has been the ICCA Regional Director for Asia Pacific since 2009.

Under his leadership, he has strengthened ICCA’s footprint as one of the most successful international association within the region. He has played an important role in making ICCA Asia Pacific to the largest Chapter, with more than 270-member organisations spanning across 100 cities. It is also notable that he has expanded the Kuala Lumpur-based research team to a Global Research Centre status which allows for more comprehensive research projects to be achieved.

He is the face of ICCA in Asia-Pacific and has spoken in numerous events. In addition, he leads faculty in educational seminars and training workshops. He is one of the Founding Advisory Board & Ambassador for the ASAE’s initiative in Asia Pacific. With his immense works in China, he has been inducted to the China Meetings Industry Convention Hall of Fame in 2018. He has also been recognised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) as one of the key thought leaders for the China’s convention industry.

Despite all these achievements, he preserves his humble aim to help the region grow and expand ICCA’s advocacy to the community.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 11:55MYT
Session: Our Incredible Impact: Clean Water for Rural Communities

Puan Sri Siew Yong’s journey in Soroptimist International (SI) started in 1994 and moving up to Club President and SI Malaysia President and National Representative, before taking on the position of President of SI South West Pacific (2012-2014) and appointed Chair of the 21st SI Convention KL 2019. A graduate of University of Malaya with an Economics degree, she joined the Economic Development Board of Singapore in 1969. She joined Malayan Tobacco Company in 1970 as its first female executive. In 1978 she was appointed PR manager at Malaysia Airlines where she initiated many PR campaigns and events promoting the airline image and retiring as V-P, Group Corporate Communications after 19 years.

She sits as a Board Trustee of Women Institute of Management, the Sejahtera Foundation (which addresses extreme poverty through building sustainable communities) and Nanyang Press Foundation.

Location: Kuching
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 11:20MYT
Session: Legacy Stories from Around the World

Su Ramanathan is the Director of Market Strategy & Sales at Expo 2020 Dubai. She leads a team responsible for promoting the most inclusive global event ever held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, focusing on key visitor markets and leading travel verticals.

With 12 years’ experience at VisitBritain (British Tourist Authority), including as a Director, Su brings to Expo 2020 a wealth of destination development and marketing experience. She was responsible for driving visitation through business promotional strategy, partnership and marketing campaigns. Su has worked in various international locations, including London, Dubai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, where she developed partnerships with key airlines and travel entities and pioneered destination development programmes in more than 15 key markets. Su has a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) and a Masters in Information Management. She was recognised as one of the top 50 most outstanding public sector staff members in the UK BAME Public Sector List 2017, alongside the Mayor of London, ministers, academics and other public sector leaders. She is also a recipient of the EU-ASEAN (Asia-Europe Institute) scholarship.