IIC trains team to promote knowledge of Islam
KUCHING: Now that the Islamic Information Centre ( IIC) has entered its ninth year, it is taking further steps to provide its team with relevant training and knowledge to promote understanding of Islam through management of information and knowledge.
This is because in this age of smartphones and viralism, the role the centre plays becomes more significant, and they need to better understand the dynamics of this digital global age and the mechanism to better communicate information on Islam, said CEO Zabariah Matali.
“We also carry out exercises to reflect and rethink our impact and effectiveness. Questions we constantly ask ourselves are: What else we can do? How better can we do it? and How can we stay relevant?” she said at IIC’s ninth anniversary celebration on Thursday.
When the centre first started in 2008, there were only four members in the team. Today, the centre has grown by leaps and bounds with 18 full-time staff and five apprentices or trainees.
“Since it started on Aug 17 nine years ago, we have organised more than 400 programmes and activities benefiting more than 50,000 people from various segments of society, from various faiths, ethnicity and
We also carry out exercises to reflect and rethink our impact and effectiveness. Questions we constantly ask ourselves are: What else we can do? How better can we do it? and How can we stay relevant?
cultural background.
“We received more than 130 organisations, of course we encounter challenges, and yes we had our fair share of heartbreaks and heartache, tears and pain given that there was no benchmark or yardstick for us to measure against. But as a living organisation, the challenges are necessary for us to grow in strength and to scale greater heights,” she said.
Those who attended the celebration yesterday were members of IIC advisory panel, team members and invited guests from faith- based organisations, community-based organisations as well as Islamic agencies and NGOs and members of the media.
To mark this year’s anniversary, the centre chose the theme ‘Let’s be extraordinary’ to signify its growth and journey, recognise and appreciate its people
Zabariah Matali, CEO
and beneficiaries, and more importantly uphold information and knowledge as the backbone of a knowledge-wise and knowledgerich society.
The centre also contributed some ‘ wakaf ilmu ( books)’ and publications to selected hotels in Kuching.
The books provide an avenue for the practices and applications of ‘waqf’ among the Muslim community.
IIC Sarawak will hold a number of activities in Sibu, Bintulu and Miri.
For more information and updates on coming events visit the website at www. Sarawakiic. org.my and facebook.com/ IICSarawak.
More information can also be obtained by calling IIC at 082- 420 798 or 420 799.