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UNESCO CHAIR on SOCIAL PRACTICES
in Intercultural Communication & Social Cohesion
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA
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2023 ORBICOM CONFERENCE
Digitizing Intercultural Communication
Alienation versus Humanism
in Social Spaces & Media
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7 - 9 June 2023
Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
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About our UNESCO Chair
The UNESCO Chair on Social Practices in Intercultural Communication and Social Cohesion was officially established on 18 October 2019 at the National University of Malaysia.
The purpose of this chair is to measure daily practices of social cohesion in the three empirical fields of sociality for working adults :
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First place: Home
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Second Place: Work
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Third place: Leisure time places
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The aggregation of these empirical data shall give qualitative insight into the state of social cohesion in Malaysia, in complement to the bi-annual quantitative national unity index being carried out by our institute.
On-going projects - Current focus on ULAM
Ulam is a Malay word that refers to a category of edible greens, usually eaten raw or blanched, which are part of the traditional diet of Malay and Peranakan (creolised) communities alike. Much of this edible flora possess medicinal virtues that have been validated by science.
Yulam, a food social justice project
Connect - Eat - Heal
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This video focuses on the technological aspect of our regenerative and sustainable food system vision for Malaysia, namely "Yulam". The Yulam app connects urbanites with Ulam, the edible flora of Malaysia with amazing health benefits and enables people to improve their health using nature's goodness at a very low cost.
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Peranakan Chinese Community
Nasi Ulam Culinary Heritage, a force for dialogue
This video shows how the preparation of Nasi Ulam or "herbal rice", prepared by David, a member of the Peranakan-Chinese community in Malaysia. The term "Peranakan" refers to specific creolized communities in the Malay archipelago. Together with the Malays, the Peranakan have been traditionally the curators of Ulam.
Peranakan Indian Community - Chetti Culinary Heritage,
preventing cultural oblivion and fostering social integration
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This video shows Wenila, a member of the Chetti (local name for the Peranakan-Indian community) in Melaka, South of the Malay peninsula. Peranakan-Indians have their own version of Nasi Ulam. This video gives a glimpse into the Chetti culinary system.
This video contributes to "The Peranakan Heritage Preservation" program, a project whose ambition is to preserve the intangible cultural heritage of a category of creolized communities in Malaysia, namely the "Peranakan", who are facing either oblivion or cultural assimilation.
Global Peranakan Heritage Preservation in Malaysia
Social Change Theory