PRESS RELEASE

SARAWAK FESTIVAL OF RIGHTS AT THE OLD COURT HOUSE, KUCHING IN CONJUNCTION WITH INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, 10 DECEMBER 2016

The Sarawak Festival of Rights is being held at the Old Court House, Kuching in conjunction with International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2016 from 10.00 am – 8.00 pm.

This festival is the first of its kind in Sarawak. Its uniqueness is that it will group a coalition of national and state civil society groups from various sectors of society to share their work, their campaigns and their aims to showcase the rich diversity of social life in Sarawak. In line with it being a festival, all the groups will highlight their work via film screenings, small group discussions, music, poetry, fun activities and mini-exhibitions.

The theme of this Sarawak Festival of Rights is “Human Rights for All”. Consequently, the main aim of this festival is to raise awareness of the key role played by human rights in bringing about an open, dynamic, global and modern society. Through this festival, it is hoped that more members of the public will be encouraged to participate in the diverse works and campaigns of the various civil society groups here in Sarawak.

Organised by the Civil Society Project coalition, this festival will be anchored by Purple Lily, Ikram Sarawak, Sarawak AIDS Concern Society, Lawyers Kamek 4 Change, Rise of Sarawak Efforts, Save Rivers and Teori Timur. Among other groups that will attend and participate in this festival are Jaringan Orang Asal Se-Malaysia (JOAS) and Pertubuhan Kebajikan Sinar Harapan.

Entrance is free. Members of the public encouraged to come and make this festival a memorable one.

7 December 2016

For more information, please contact: Ms. Suraya Bujang, PurpleLily. (Tel: 019-8741251).

NOTE ON GROUPS:

PurpleLily is a non-profit organisation committed to “inspire and empower women & girls to thrive and shine” by providing life skills training and financial education’. (See: http://purplelily.org/)

Ikram Sarawak is a national missionary outreach organization that is focused on improving the quality of public life in accordance with Islam. Ikram works to uphold Islam as a blessing to the entire universe. (See: www.ikram.org.my/negeri/sarawak.html)

Sarawak AIDS Concern Society is a civil society group involved with HIV/AIDs work. It aims to address HIV/AIDs issues in Sarawak using non-judgmental and wholistic approaches, focusing on preventive education and working alongside people living with HIV.

Rise of Sarawak Efforts is a non-partisan civil action group made up of ordinary Sarawakians whose aim is to build a society where ordinary people participate and engage in our country's democratic process and hence take part in nation-building. (See: http://www.sarawakrose.org/).

SAVE Rivers Network groups concerned citizens who wish to protect and conserve Sarawak’s rivers and the biodiversity of Sarawak’s environment which has a direct impact on the lives of the indigenous peoples of the state. (See: http://saveriversnet.blogspot.my/).

Lawyers Kamek 4 Change groups young volunteer lawyers and activists who wish to protect and promote the respect of universal human rights of every person in Sarawak. They believe that equality, justice, dignity, security, rights and freedom are foundations of a democratic and just society. (See: http://www.lawyerkamek4change.org/).

Teori Timur is a group of diverse young Sarawakians who wish to promote an alternative vision of a sharing community in modern society. They believe that culture and art in modern society are central in communicating alternative ideas and visions of a better future for all.