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Tourism Malaysia

Scuba show

An interesting range of talks will be held during the Malaysia International Dive Expo (MIDE) from July 5 – 7.

These include:

Stories Behind The Picture by Michael Aw, the director/publisher of Ocean Geographic.

It’s a Small Blue World – Miniature Life Underwater by Jason Isley, managing director of Scubazoo Images.

I’m Bent – Now What? by Chris Wachholz, deputy CEO of Divers Alert Network Asia-Pacific.

Marine Mammals of Malaysia by Louisa S. Ponnampalam, co-founder of The Marecet Research Organization.

Underwater Photographers – A Nuisance? by Julian Hyde, general manager of Reef Check Malaysia.

Sharks in Sabah and Sea Turtles in Malaysia by Rohan Perkins, a conservationist.

Photographing Marine Animal Behaviours by William Tan, and underwater photographer.

MIDE was initiated in 2006 and has been held yearly since then. The objective is to promote Malaysia and its surrounding waters as one of the word’s best diving destinations.

MIDE is a trade, consumer and conservation exhibition.

It also aims to develop a new generation of divers to take an interest in environmental issues. Major brands of products and services are also being promoted.

Besides that, visitors will get a chance to have temporary body art tattoos by the artist Empayar Kukubesi. They (including the children) can also express themselves via canvas or T-shirt painting and colouring, activities which will be guided by artists Anuar, Orkibal and Jefferson from Canvas of Nature.

Photo exhibitions including True Colours of Redang (by AB Lee), Picture of The Year (by Ocean Geographic Society) and Natures Photo Art (by Imran Ahmad) will also be on display.

There will also be scuba pool demos and tryouts.

Out of Malaysia’s population of 27 million, there are now approximately 120,000 certified Malaysian divers and MIDE aims to accommodate the needs of both the industry professional and the amateur diver.

The BE A DIVER program has been initiated to create more awareness of the dive industry and to encourage college students and young graduates to take up diving as a hobby, sport and even a career.

MIDE also established the Dive Divas Fanclub last year for women divers to encourage and empower them to build careers and businesses in the industry. To date, there are some 100 members in the fanclub.

One of MIDE’s corporate responsibility initiatives is to help conserve the marine environment. Conservation groups such as Sea Shepherd International (France), Shark Savers Organization (United States), Reef Check Malaysia, WWF, Malaysia Nature Society and Project Aware Foundation (Australia) will be among those which will be represented at the exhibition.

For more information on MIDE, visit www.mide.com.my or call 03-7980 9902/9.

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