Think City, a homegrown consultancy and project delivery partner, has announced that it has allocated an amount of RM10 million to promote a culture-based economic development in northern Malaysia region in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (MoF), as part of the Budget 2022 initiative.
Through the Cultural Economy Catalytic Grants Programme, the culture-based economic development is aimed at leveraging Malaysia's archaeological heritage by regenerating socio-economic growth and boost the community's cultural, economic and social capital development.
Managing Director of Think City Hamdan Abdul Majeed spoke on how Malaysia's northern region was rich in history and had the potential to grow as a cultural and natural environment showcase and sustainable cultural destination.
“We strongly believe that investments in archaeological heritage will attract the public and stakeholders into a multi-activity programme of participation, comprising not just one but many linked along the northern Malaysia cultural corridor.
“Think City has identified potential nodes in the northern region to enhance culture-based experiences and will look to support grantees who can deepen and diversify the visitor’s journey and broaden the public’s understanding of the region’s cultural significance via the Cultural Economy Catalytic Grants Programme.
“Our aim is to empower communities to take ownership of their shared history and translate that into social, ecological, and financial capital that can sustain generations to come,” added Abdul Majeed.
The Cultural Economy Catalytic Grants Programme aims to achieve its aspirations through the areas of Capacity Building & Advocacy; Demonstration; and Content Creation. The programme is open for submissions from April 11th 2022 and offers grants that may be used for individuals, collectives and organisations in various sectors and various programmes to enhance the cultural or natural heritage of the sites and places, in addition to benefiting the local communities.