12 April 2016
ICCA members attending IMEX have the unique chance to make their own personal footprint in saving an endangered species by “adopting a Borneo Orang-Utan” at IMEX Frankfurt from 19th to 21st April 2016.
As part of ICCA’s #RoadtoSarawak campaign to the 2016 ICCA Congress in the city of Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia, all ICCA members are exclusively invited to raise awareness for the endangered orangutans, and engage in an opportunity to become an adoptive parent to the precious female baby orang-utan named Ting San.
This official ICCA Congress 2016 corporate social responsibility programme was initially launched at the International Business and Tourism Management (IBTM) Barcelona 2015, followed by the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) Australia in February 2016 and subsequently at the Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings (IT&CM) China earlier this month. IMEX will see the 4th cycle of this unique project.
Ting San is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Matang Wildlife Centre, a sister facility to the world-renowned Semenggoh Wildlife Centre which has 23 orangutans that have successfully undergone rehabilitation. Matang and Semenggoh Wildlife Centres also cater for research on various other animal species brought to the centres for rehabilitation and release to the wild.
Baby Ting San was extremely dependent on humans at first, but being a tough little girl with a resilient nature; she is currently in her final stage of jungle training and will soon be released back into the rainforest.
All that stands between her and her true home is a guardian.
To participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity, visit the Malaysia Booth B200 or ICCA booth A500 during the ICCA networking reception during IMEX (on Wednesday from 15:00 to 17:00), to snap a photo with “Brooke” – the official ICCA Congress 2016 mascot – and share it on social media with the hashtag “#RoadtoSarawak” “#IMEX16” and “#ICCAWorld”.
The announcement of the winner will be made by ICCA in the week after IMEX Frankfurt. ICCA will adopt Ting San for a year on behalf a chosen member upon the announcement.
At IMEX, Malaysia also intends to drive Sarawak as one of the region’s freshest destinations for international events, and to promote membership of ICCA, a leading source of business and expertise for the association meetings market.
“The ICCA experience always aimed at providing exceptional opportunities for both personal and professional growth. Delegates of the 55th ICCA Congress 2016 in Kuching can look forward to a truly unique experience of a modern conference set within the world’s oldest rainforest,” said Ms. Premala Danapakiam, Director of Sales and Marketing for Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) and a representative of the local host.
“We have enormously high expectations for the Sarawak Congress: our education programme is already taking shape with some exciting new topics and experimental formats, we’ve lined up external expert speakers on entrepreneurship, corporate anthropology and sales and pricing theory, and we’re exploring networking theory and practice in ways that we believe no other meeting has attempted before, inspired by Sarawak’s tribal heritage to find modern interpretations of concepts such as ritual, taboo, status, initiation, and even head-hunting! Feedback from our members around the world suggests that this is going to be one of the largest ever gatherings of the ICCA global tribe, and we look forward to working with our friends on the Local Host Committee to put on a truly memorable experience.” Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA
