Students from Creative Industries class, School of Communications and Creative Arts (SCCA) with Ms Jehan Nabilah, Lecturer, Department of Communication & Media Studies, School of Communication & Creative Arts, UOW Malaysia KDU University College commemorating the success of Little Lokal Street

Professor Dr Hiew Pang Leang, Vice-Chancellor, UOW Malaysia KDU University College joined in the celebration of togetherness with students at the Waka Wake Gelato booth

Students at The Pallas booth, a Malaysian loved footwear brand that includes school shoes and canvas shoes and well known for its easy style and wearing comfort, promoted hand-painted batik and nasi lemak inspired shoes

Little Lokal Street featured prominent pottery artist Mr Clay Loo from Tao Yi Studio who provided students a memorable opportunity to experience first-hand fun and therapeutic benefits of working with clay whilst creating their very own hand thrown pot

By Davin Dhanraj

In light to celebrate the unity of diversity within the UOW Malaysia KDU community, students of creative industries class, School of Communications and Creative Arts (SCCA) celebrated the joy of togetherness through a fun-filled Malaysian bazaar, Little Lokal Street. The aim of this commendable initiative was to celebrate the works and promote awareness and visibility of local brands and products and provided students a platform to work alongside professionals to understand the market demands.

The pasar malam (known as night market) themed bazaar, served as an assembly for 17 established home-grown brands including SO.LEK Cosmetics, Apom.my, Three Six Five, Duchess & Co, that offered an array of products and services and was graced by prominent Malaysian Cartoonist, Nixon Siow. From traditional games such as Batu Seremban, Congkak and Gasing to personal care and hipster fashion accessories, this vibrant nostalgic bazaar brought together students and lecturers from different schools to reignite and remind them of the unity of Malaysians.

Present at the event, Gary Lee, Project Leader of Little Lokal Street said, “We are very thankful for this opportunity as we are able to showcase a plethora of local products that range from food & beverage items, beauty products to customised stainless steel straws. With SO.LEK Cosmetics and Duchess & Co gaining traction, I believe that events like these should be organised religiously to evoke the spirit of patriotism not only among the UOW Malaysia KDU community but also the general public, to be proud of products made in the country.

This invigorating experience provided students a valuable opportunity to understand the importance of creative industries and the need to support and promote Malaysian products in order to create and maintain demand. The practical method of learning is enriched further, now that UOW Malaysia KDU is a part of the University of Wollongong Australia Global Network. UOW is a research-intensive public university and ranked in the top 250 universities in the world, with an enviable record in teaching and research.