Sarawakiana Carnival

Introduction

Pustaka Negeri Sarawak (Sarawak State Library), Kuching held its inaugural Sarawakiana Carnival in 2010, in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Pustaka Negeri Sarawak with a variety of activities on history, arts and culture with the theme “1Warisan, 1Tradisi, 1Sarawak”. In 2011 and 2015 Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Miri was instrumental in organizing the carnival in Miri to highlight and introduce the cultural heritage of the Land of the Hornbills communities in the Northern Region with the theme "Tradisi Kita, Khazanah Kita". In 2016 this event become an annual event and was held in Kuching and Miri to give greater impact in the state by maintaining the theme "Tradisi Kita, Khazanah Kita". In 2017, it was decided for the event to be held once in every two years (Biennial). The next Carnival will be held in 2019 in Pustaka Negeri Sarawak.

Objectives

The objectives of Sarawakiana Carnival are:

• To create awareness on the importance history, culture, arts, indigenous knowledge and ethnic diversity in mapping the path of the future generations.
• To promote the role of Pustaka and its partners as an intellectual forum and centre for lifelong learning emphasizing on Sarawak’s history, culture, arts and indigenous knowledge.
• To create awareness and instill the love of our unique indigenous knowledge and rich local culture within our core values, educating the world from a global perspective and preserving our very identity as Sarawakians.
• To preserve and provide access and opportunities to users and global audience to know Sarawak’s history, culture, arts and indigenous knowledge for future generation and and to know Sarawak better.
• To support and trigger further research on history, culture, arts and indigenous knowledge on Sarawak.
  

Programs and activities

The public, especially the younger generation and parents are expected to come with family members as Sarawakiana Carnival promises exciting activities for all ages and races. Various programs and activities were organised during the Sarawakiana Carnival from 2010 - 2017, in Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Kuching and Miri. Among activities organised were Bermukun Competition; Hadrah Competition; Sarawak Folk Song Singing Competition; Demonstration & sales - Sarawak’s Traditional Cuisine, Ethnic Dance, Ethnic instruments such as Sape, Traditional Arts & Crafts; Exhibitions on various Sarawakiana subject matter such as - the art of local embroidery art, History, Paintings; Traditional music performance; Traditional games; Sarawakiana Talk; Workshop on dying culture and many more… Food festival with the sales of traditional Sarawak food was held to allow the public to enjoy the traditional delicacies and for handicrafts enthusiasts and collectors there were sales of Sarawak handicraft.

== Collaborators and smart partners ==
The Sarawakiana Carnival supports the acculturation of knowledge and intellectual discourse on history, culture, arts and indigenous knowledge and serves as a platform for Pustaka to synergise with smart partners in Sarawak, nationally or globally. Among Pustaka’s main partners were the local councils, associations, government agencies, politicians, NGOs and individuals. == Conclusion ==
Pustaka hopes that people in Sarawak especially the younger generation will take the opportunity to learn more about Sarawak’s own local cultural heritage. Pustaka makes available information resources and programs that are held as an added value in lifelong learning for all societies in exploring as much knowledge as possible. The most important purpose of the Sarawak State Library is to document all the programs and activities organized to be preserved as a state heritage of Sarawak so that the knowledge will continue and can be used by generations to come. In addition, Pustaka also wants to convey messages to the public and display its role as a body that receives contributions from individual collections such as books, pictures, rare materials, manuscripts and so on for the purpose of research and preserving materials on Sarawak.

Sarawak State Library acts as a catalyst to showcase, preserve and document historical, cultural, artistic and indigenous knowledge Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and Traditional Knowledge (TK) besides preserving our unique identity. So, let's work together and appreciate our own culture and traditions as well as maintaining the noble values and the unity of the people in achieving prosperity by coming en masse to Sarawakiana Carnival organised biennial in Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Kuching and Miri this year.
== How can the general public join the Sarawakiana Carnival as collaborators or participants? ==
The carnival is dedicated to various ages and admission for all programs and activities is free. However, admission to some sessions may be quite limited. Please contact the respective officers and visit our social media to learn more about the information of each program and organized activities as below :

• Library website www.pustaka-sarawak.com
• Facebook - library.sarawak
• Twitter - pustakaswk
• Instagram - pustakaswk

Stay tuned for Sarawakiana Carnival 2019!!