Programs & Events
Lincoln Corner Harnesses Young Energy for the Environment with iPad and Fashion Show
Fashion show models prepare to make their big entrance on stage as the Public Diplomacy Officer hits the button for catwalk music. (U.S. Embassy photo)
A group of students presents their fashion ideas. (U.S. Embassy photo)
What do heels clicking coolly to catwalk music, Al Gore speaking on an iPad, and a Dr. Seuss shadow puppet show have in common? They are each an integral part of EcoFest!, a program at Lincoln Corner KL that explores new, interactive ways of raising awareness about the environment. On December 17, environmentally conscious youth from colleges across Kuala Lumpur gathered at the Lincoln Corner at KL Library to join in the three-part celebration. Green Grenades, a student environment group, and EcoKnights, an environmental NGO, joined forces with the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to bring a fashion show, an iPad presentation of an interactive digital book on global warming, and a creative reading of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” to the green-themed event.
The fashion show featured eco-friendly designs that favored the use of natural products over artificial embellishments and materialized the possibility of reuse and recycle with clothing made out of old suitcases and bookbags. The designers then presided as judges in a panel that evaluated the audience’s impromptu designs on eco-friendly clothing and accessories.
Green Grenades then presented an iPad app designed by Al Gore, featuring Our Choice, an e-book that explains global warming and proposed solutions with interactive graphics, videos, and fun, hands-on features. The audience sampled the app feature that allows a person to blow into an iPad to “generate electricity” in a demonstration of the potentiality of wind power. Finally, the program ended with a lively reading of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax,” an illustrated cautionary tale of the dangers of deforestation and logging. A cast of three from the Green Grenades narrated the characters of the story to an extensive shadow puppet show that featured cut-out pages from the book.
As the emcee of the event, Public Diplomacy Officer Rain Che Bian emphasized the importance of creativity and innovation in raising environmental awareness and the power of youth in initiating change on global warming and other environmental issues. Rain underscored key embassy involvement in environmental protection in Malaysia, including the Heart of Borneo conservation agreement and the Coral Triangle Initiative. The event also served to introduce the iPads at the Lincoln Corners, donated in October 2011 as a part of the Public Affairs initiative to bring innovative technology to the Corners. Members of the audience have expressed interest in utilizing the iPad for public education and collaborating with the embassy to pursue similar events in the near future.