iCities Conference: Urban and Township Development 2016

The iCities Conference was held recently (21-22 April 2016) at the Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur. This event attracted a number of key global players in the property and construction industry to discuss about the future of townships and explore ways to make them more "liveable and sustainable".

I was invited to present a talk on the topic of 'age friendly built environments' an area I have been interested in in the past couple of years. As some of us may be aware, population ageing is a global phenomenon and the number of elderly people living in urban areas will continue to increase with improved healthcare services and reduced mortality rates. The central question is whether our built environments are ready to cater for the needs of this group of people. There are so many issues that will need to be re-considered such as transportation, walkability,  civic participation and empowerment, accessibility to healthcare facilities as well as safety and security among many others.

There was even a powerhouse panel session moderated by Sophie Kamarudin, anchorwoman for Bloomberg Malaysia. Overall, the event was a huge success and I look forward to participating again perhaps in the near future.

Group Sustainability Day 2016

The much anticipated Sime Darby Group Sustainability Day 2016 finally arrived. This year's theme is on War on Waste (WOW) and we had such an exciting line up of speakers not just from corporate bodies but also government agencies and NGOs.


Panel Session 1: Waste to Wealth
Moderator: Dr Renard Siew, Sime Darby

Panel members:
Ms. Low Lee Ann, Head of CSR Tesco
Datuk Abdul Kadir, CEO of Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd
Mr Phillip Ling, Principal Sustainability of Digi Telecommucations
Mr Hazli Jemaat, Deputy Director of MIDA

Are you a changemaker? Join Project Inspire today

I am very proud to announce that I will continue to be a Project Inspire Country Ambassador for Malaysia in 2016. It's really fulfilling to be able to support such a a great initiative by the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard. Hopefully we will see a greater participation from Malaysians this year.

Here's more information about Project Inspire: http://www.projinspire.com/2016-about-us/

Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World is a joint initiative from the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard, to help young change-makers create a better world for women and girls in Asia and the Pacific.

Launched in 2011, to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the 25th anniversary of MasterCard Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, Project Inspire presents 18-35 year olds with a five-minute platform to pitch their inspired idea, for the chance to win a US$25,000 grant. Today, Project Inspire is a multi-award winning initiative, and one of the most high profile CSR programs in the Asia Pacific region.

Project Inspire 2016 will take on the theme of ‘Empowering Women Through Safety and Security’. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate how their ideas harness safety and security concepts to empower women throughout Asia and the Pacific.

iCities Property Conference

Really excited to be speaking at the upcoming iCities conference on the topic of age-friendly built environments. I have always felt that our built environments are designed without consideration of     marginalised communities especially the elderly. The elderly population have different needs when it comes to mobility, accessibility to shops, communal spaces among others. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to highlight the urgency on this matter to construction/ building management professionals. 

If you're available on the 21 April 2016 at 2.10pm do join me at Continental Hotel Kuala Lumpur.