2006 Building Bridges Conference

Iowa Sister States-Terengganu Committee hosted its third conference focused on the development of understanding diverse cultures at Iowa State University. A mix of students, legislators, interested citizens, as well as Ambassador Rajmah Hussain were in attendance. Please read more about the project in our December 2006 newsletter. Read the speech given by Ambasssador Rajmah Hussain at the 2006 "Building Bridges" Conference here.

Open Doors II

Iowa Sister States hosted Open Doors II: Iowa and Malaysia, Creating a Grassroots Sports Culture where many organizations came together to develop and conduct programs to train trainers in community based coaching, sport center management and youth sport clinics in Malaysia. Please read more about the project in our October 2006 newsletter!

Official Visit to Terengganu

From October 27-30, Iowa Sister States sent a working delegation to Terengganu, Malaysia. Janet Heinicke, Ph.D., of Simpson College in Indianola; Salina Shrofel, Ph.D., Dean of the Education School of Drake University in Des Moines and Phil Latessa, ISS Executive Director conducted several visits in Terengganu to plan future activities.

Members of the Terengganu-Iowa committee met with the delegation on October 27 to plan the details of the schedule. Senior officials of the Terengganu government presided at the meeting, led by Haji Mohd Abdul Wahid Bin Haji Endut, Chairman of the Terengganu State Committee for Entrepreneur Development, Youth, Petty Traders and Consumer Affairs. Also participating were two key members of the Terengganu Economic Planning Unit, Tun Ahmad Faisal Bin Tun Abdul Razak and Mohd Zahari Mohd Azahar. Both Tun Faisal and Zahari have been involved with Iowa Sister States for many years. Other participants at the meeting included representatives of the two universities that were on the schedule, the director of the Terengganu Museum and Mr. W.W. Ariffin, owner of Noor Arfa, a batik manufacturing company. Mr. Ariffin exhibited and sold his products at the Iowa State Fair for several years as part of the Terengganu Committee’s activities. Participants at the meeting expressed support for continued exchange programming and stated that specific projects could be developed directly with the appropriate organizations, keeping the government informed, rather than working entirely through the government. This relaxation of the procedure will facilitate future activities between both parties.

The Iowa delegation then visited the highly regarded Terengganu Museum and were given a tour by its director, Mohd Yusof Bin Abdullah, who was responsible for the donation to ISS of the artifacts that comprise the traveling exhibit that is currently touring Iowa communities. Plans were discussed to enhance the materials in the exhibit by incorporating some items from the just completed exhibition in Terengganu of the 700th anniversary of the arrival of Islam in Malaysia.

The delegation then visited MARA University of Technology in the town of Dungun in Terengganu. Professor Mustaffa Mohamed Zain, Ph.D., the rector, met with the delegation and suggested several types of exchanges of students and faculty. The University has a hotel and culinary arts program and manages its own hotel and restaurant. He expressed considerable interest in an exchange program with a culinary arts program in Iowa.

The delegation also visited two universities in Terengganu as well as the State Teachers Training College and the Educational Resource Center. KUSZA (Sultan Zainal Abidin Islamic College) has conducted several programs with ISS in the past and is seeking new collaborative arrangements with Iowa colleges. The delegation also visited KUSTEM (University College of Science and Technology Malaysia) for two days of meetings. KUSTEM and the School of Education at Drake University have collaborated in a proposal submitted by Iowa Sister States to the US Department of State. If funded the project would conduct exchanges of faculty and students of both schools in the development of a curriculum for future high school principals and administrators. Professor Dato Dr. Mohamed Mahyuddin Bin Mohd Dahan, Rector; Dr. Salina Shrofel and Dr. Janet Heinicke discussed specific strategies for conducting the project should it be funded. They also discussed other options should the proposal not be approved.

All of these proposed actions will be reviewed by the Terengganu Committee at an upcoming meeting and a proposed work plan will be developed for review by the Terengganu government and the cooperating organizations there.

East Meets West: An Exhibit of Art and Artifacts from Malaysia

The State Historical Museum of Terengganu, Malaysia made a generous gift to Iowa Sister States consisting of art and artifacts that show daily living among people in Malaysia. The materials include textiles made in Terengganu for daily wear and for special occasions; brass vessels for wedding ceremonies; placemats, food covers and fabric table runners for everyday meals; toys and photographs showing daily living.

The Iowa Arts Council and Iowa Sister States collaborated on the funding for the creation of a traveling exhibit of these materials and for marketing and educational materials about it. Supplemental written commentary was prepared by Janet Heinicke, Vice Chair of the Terengganu Committee. Dr. Heinicke also made a presentation about the fabrics included in the exhibit at the display of the materials at Iowa State University, the Grinnell Community Arts Center and the Fisher Gallery and Art Center in Marshalltown where a workshop on batik was conducted. A videotape made with ISS assistance of members of the Iowa State University Malaysian Students Association performing the traditional Lion Dance is also traveling with the exhibit and is played on a continuous basis to those people visiting the exhibit.

To date, the exhibit has been displayed at:
Farnham Galleries of Simpson College in Indianola
The University of Northern Iowa Museum in Cedar Falls
Fisher Gallery and Art Center in Marshalltown
The Memorial Union of Iowa State University in Ames
Grinnell Municipal Gallery in Grinnell
Joan Kuyper Art Gallery at the Pella Community Center in Pella
Muscatine Art Center in Muscatine
Southeast Community College in Burlington
Public Library in Keokuk
Morningside College in Sioux City