The Legacy Impact of Business Event - Case Study of ICEdDE 2019

Abstract

The definitions of legacy and various tools of measuring legacy impacts from different perspectives were reviewed. Sarawak Convention Bureau’s initiative to enhance business events with a legacy programme as catalysts to the Sarawak Government Development Plan towards 2030 along the seven key focus areas and the United Nation 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has established five pillars of legacy impacts. Using the BESLegacy Initiative Guideline, the strategic pursuit of measuring the legacy impacts of the 1st International Conference on Education in the Digital Ecosystem (ICEdDE) 2019 were mapped. Methodologically, this paper is based on a case study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected supplemented by official documents. In the framework of planning to measure immediate outcomes, short, medium and long-term legacy impacts, the legacy plan provided evidence of being able to function as a model for forecasting the tangible and intangible impacts of the ICEdDE 2019. The immediate outcomes and short-term impacts were assessed using a questionnaire gathered from Sarawak participants. The respondents agreed to strongly agreed to the immediate impacts that the conventions had on them based on the eight domains. From the perspectives of convention host and the delegates, it was still very much traditionally perceived that the biggest value from conventions came from Knowledge Expansion. This was the main reason for wanting to attend the convention to listen to the deliberations of knowledge that was new or created through collaborations and shared from presenters particularly the keynote, plenary and invited speakers. They agreed networking and relationship building was also a motivator. In a broader outlook, only the host indicated other domains of Fundraising and Philanthropic support, Raising Awareness and Profiling and Trade though exhibitions as immediate and long-term impact which could be quantified and measured. However, the delegates pre-conceived such domains as secondary. The case study on ICEdDE 2019 measuring the short, medium, and long-term legacy impacts was able to show significant contribution to the development of Sarawak digital economy in education and service development industry towards achieving 5 United Nation SDGs.