We make our way to the college's North Building, apparently the lift is not working with the notice on the wall states that the lift will be closed from 6pm to 10pm. How can we get to the concert in time? "Let's go the South Building of the college, the West side can lead us to Jeffrey Cheah Hall," One of the concert goers is kind enough to share her free popcorn with us! As we reach the forth floor, the Sunway Student Ambassadors lead us to the fifth floor, that makes me wonder, why are we going to the highest floor?
There is another, entrance which leads to the balcony of the hall. Well, throughout my four years on campus, this is the first time at the balcony and it's the best seat in the house! What's more? Hanis and are the firsts to go in before everyone else does. We get to see a short video of all the 17 UN SDGs and a sneak peak of the performers who are doing the sound check before the big night.
"Katelyn, you'll wait for a bit, I'm going to grab food for us okay? Be sure to stand by your phone at all times," Hanis said as she heads out to the roof top garden to grab free food. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that whoever has the "Rock the Goals" for tonight's concert, we will have everything free! From drinks to food, and you know we Malaysians love free stuff right?
As the time nears 6pm, students are starting to fill up the hall, and VIPs are coming in too. I see two royal chairs at the hall. I guess the yellow chair is for HH the Prince of Selangor and the other is for the Prince of Negri Sembilan. One more thing if you can't go into the main concert at the hall, there are three places where concert goers can watch the live telecast- Sunway International School hall, JC 3 and the Art Gallery at the university.
The concert starts with an opening video of the initial venue due to the haze we have to switch from outdoor to indoor. "There is no planet B, but at Sunway there is always a Plan B," the emcee comes out to greet the crowd. We have a few "warm up" session before the concert begins. The VIPs have arrived and everyone has settled down. Let the concert begin!
First off, we have the Sunway University Choir leading the crowd in the room, singing the national anthem- Negaraku. All the 17 SDGs flag bearers are in their position. The opening song is the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson's Heal the World, which I really think suits the theme of the night. Last year, they played "We're All in This Together" as the opening.
The second performance in line is our Sunway University 24 Festive Drums to pump up the beat. It has to be one of my favourite performances of the night. Since it's a rock concert, there are few more performance to hype up the moment but first let us listen to the speakers of the 17 SDGs. We first go to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities by YB Michelle Ng, the state assembly person of Subang Jaya.
As I mentioned before that I'm passionate about SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, Mr. David Ng, the speaker of the goal talked about mental health which gets me really excited! I'm not in any organisation, but I'm passionate to champion the cause of mental health, especially in children.
Besides SDG 3, SDG 4: Quality Education is in my list well. Who knows better about education other than, Dr. Elizabeth Lee herself, the Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Education Group. She is a crowd favourite to the students. In her message, Dr. Lee says "Receiving an education is a privilege, however there are some children didn't have the opportunity. Every child has the right to receive the best education," With the first four speeches made, it's time to pump up with some music! A rocketchestera was performed by MPYO alongside with the Malaysian autistic music group.
Around 8.45pm, the emcee announces the arrival of His Highness- the Crown Prince of Selangor. I curtsy to the Prince of Selangor when His Highness makes his way to the VIP area. More speeches on the 17 SDGs are made. SDG 15: Life on Land, by my best friend, Pratima Tamang. As a survivor of the Nepalese earthquake back in 2015, she urges everyone to stop deforestation and save the earth as well as protecting the environment as much as we can! The Prince of Negri Sembilan gives his speech on SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institution.
More music from Malaysia's rock group Muzza, who sing classic songs from Prince's Purple Rain and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. The last goal- Partnership for the Goals, made by High Highness the Crown Prince of Selangor. The night ends with a big group photo! After that, it's more from Muzza!
Before we head downstairs to the main hall, Hans and I clean up which are left by the students at the balcony, now that's what I called shining a light on sustainability! I'm Katelyn Chin and let's shine a light on the UN Sustainability Development Goals.Tell me, how are you going to shine a light on the UN SDG with your chosen goal? Feel free to comment below.
I'm looking forward to the next UN concert on campus. It might be my last one but I'm hoping to come back as an alumnus to support the goals.
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| Hanis (L) and I at the red carpet |
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| I'm going for Goal 3 |
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| Shining a Light on the SDGs |
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