Sprightly performances by the PR students
Chinese New Year celebration came early for a group of Public Relations (PR) students as they ushered in the festive season in conjunction with the Soft Launch of PR Campaign 2014/2015: Volunteerism IV at UTAR Perak Campus on 2 February 2015.
Themed “Togetherness”, the Soft Launch was organised by the same batch of PR students who earlier kick-started a series of scintillating fund-raising activities in November 2014 for the upcoming PR Campaign.
The VIPs invited to grace the soft launch included UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Assoc Prof Dr Teh Chee Seng, Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) Dr Alia Azalea and Head of Department of Public Relations Pong Kok Shiong, who were greeted by the 24-Festive Drums and lion dance performances by UTAR Wushu Club members.
The campaign’s main director Chia Yi Jing first extended her gratitude to the VIPs and proceeded to introduce PR Campaign 2014/2015: Volunteerism IV as part of their coursework. “The main objectives of this campaign are to improve the lives of Kamparians and to make Kampar a better place. We will focus on volunteerism work and activities on five different aspects of social needs, namely Road Safety, Food Tourism, Vandalism, Environment and Charity. All five groups will organise an in-campus and an outreach event respectively ranging from musical drama, food exhibition to community projects to raise awareness based on the five sub-themes.” She also added that the Soft Launch acts as a warm up to the upcoming Grand Launching Ceremony at the end of February.
Dr Alia commended that the PR Campaign serves as a golden opportunity for the students to be exposed to real life situations while planning and managing events and to groom them for their career advancement in the future. “In line with UTAR’s vision of providing holistic education to the nation, FAS emphasises on both academic excellence and community engagement as well as useful contributions to the society,” she added.
Dr Teh concurred and said, “In UTAR, students don’t just graduate with certificates but also with the sense of giving back to the community.” He also stressed that such activities will enable UTAR graduates leaving their alma mater with a sense of pride for they know they have achieved something in life which is more important. “As you study, do get involved in community work and always do things with the sense of doing good for others,” he concluded.
The Soft Launch also saw the introduction of the five Campaign Mascots, namely Group One’s “Ant-Traffie” for Road Safety, Group Two’s “Ant-Cheffie” for Food Tourism, Group Three’s “Ant-Fixie” for Vandalism, Group Four’s “Ant-Greenie” for Environment and Group Five’s “Ant-Lovie” for “Charity”. According to Chia, ants signify diligence and unity. These values are shown through the continuous and relentless efforts of the students in carrying out the campaign and at the same time, displaying the value of togetherness, which is also the theme of this Chinese New Year event.
Following the introduction of the iconic mascots and several animated performances was a special guests appearance session which saw local Chinese movie “The Dream Boyz” Director Ryon Lee and casts including Alvin Chong, Fuying and Sam, Rayz Lim, Teddy Chin, Joe Chang promoting their upcoming movie which premieres on 12 February 2015. The Soft Launch concluded with an autograph session.
UTAR was one of the pit stops for “The Dream Boyz” movie promotional tour after an inaugural collaboration between the PR students and RAM Entertainment Sdn Bhd.
