Hey World, It’s Me!

Date: 27 February to 17 March 2023

Time: 10 am to 5 pm

Venue: Main Foyer, TAR UMT Penang Branch

After being held virtually in 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wellness Campaign 2023 was held face-to-face with the theme ‘Hey World, It’s Me!’. Wellness Campaign 2023 was successfully held from 27 February to 17 March 2023 after months of hard work and preparations by the advisor, and organising committee members.

The main objective of ‘Hey World, It’s Me!’ was to provide a platform for students to discover and to understand their hidden anxiety issues. After students have uncovered their anxiety issues, Wellness Campaign will help them foster positive emotions to positively face and overcome challenges and difficulties. Wellness Campaign offers constructive advice and share information about getting free from anxiety in cases where students need help or methods to overcome their difficulties. This campaign successfully delivered positive methods in confronting anxiety issues, as some students regained their self-confidence by participating in activities with the support of strangers.

There was a week of ‘Booth Activities’ at the Main Foyer (27 February 2023 to 3 March 2023). Wellness Campaign held 5 activities for students to participate in. On days 1 and 2, the message board was prepared for students to pen their worries, and other students could answer or give some encouraging words over the next 3 days and the owner of the worry could come back to look. If students had done something special as stipulated by the organising committee, they could receive a small gift. A chocolate gift with a wishing card could be pre-ordered by students to be sent to their friends to remind them about the happiness in life. Pre-orders began on the first day of the booth and deliveries began from the third day to the last day of the booth, they may collect from the counter, or the organising committee will send it to their friends. On day 3, the organising committee wore a bear costume for the ‘Please Hug Me’ activity. If students felt shy to write their worries on the message board, they could get a hug from the bear. To let students challenge themselves, on day 4, they had to finish a task set by the organising team after they spun the wheel. On the last day of the booth, they could draw on the board prepared by the organising team about how they look at themselves in their own minds.

After a week of booth activities, 2 ceremonies with 4 main events began. The first activity was the opening ceremony that was held from 11 am until 12:30 pm, on 6 March 2023. Speeches were given by Mr. Poh Choo Han (President of Peer Support Society, and Founder of Innovmeta Solution), Ms. Perng Soo Chen (Advisor of Peer Support Society), and Mr. Lim Thean Pheng (Deputy Branch Head of TAR UMT Penang Branch). There were five performances which included singing performances, and a dance performance. The singing performances were by Tan Kar Syuen and Jason Tye with “好像爱这个世界啊”, Chan Jia Ying and Kino “让我留在你身边”, Hoe Shi Kang and Yow Chor Shin with “平凡之路” who sang the Wellness Campaign theme song, ‘This is Me’. The dance performance was performed by Tar Pokemon with “Blast off + Instruction”, and Chew Huan En who appeared as a mystery guest with “Lily”.

On 8 March 2023, coinciding with International Women’s Day, Ms. Hasanah Ahmad Akhir and Ms. Mandy Leow from Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) gave a talk on gender equality. 125 students attended the talk. 

Yoga an exercise that helps a person relax was held on 13 March 2023 with 57 student participants. The Yoga Workshop was conducted by Ms. Lim Lay Sim, Senior Activities and Sports Coordinator, TAR UMT Penang Branch. 

Mind Art Workshop with the theme ‘art relieves stress’ was facilitated by Ms. Hwei Ching for 63 students on 14 March 2023. 

As academic pressure can cause stress, Ms. Perng Soo Chen, Student Counsellor of TAR UMT Penang Branch, gave a talk on How to Handle Academic Anxiety Positively. The talk was attended by 159 students who hopefully after attending the talk could identify the difference between stress and anxiety and to overcome stress by performing some exercises.

Finally, the closing ceremony was held on 17 March 2023 from 10 am to 12.30 pm. Mr. Poh Choo Han, the President of the Wellness Campaign 2023, and Dr. Lye Siew Lye, the Assistant Advisor of Peer Support Society, gave speeches. 

An auction by students was held from 12 am on 16 March 2023 to 8 am on 17 March 2023, for students to bid for their favourite prizes with the tokens they earned during the whole campaign. 

Six students who were successful in their bidding received the following prizes:

● First Prize (Huawei Band): Khaw Zhen Ying

● Second Prize (Canon Printer): Liew Jie Loon

● Third Prize (Wireless Speaker): Chua Shua Yen

● Fourth Prize (Mini Fridge): Pinky Chun

● Fifth Prize (Wireless Earphone): Tan Tzeng Yeng

● Sixth Prize (Power Bank): Chong Xin Rong

In short, the organising committee learned to face challenges positively, helped their fellow students to release anxiety, gained truly enriching experiences which cannot be obtained from classroom activities and created happy memories of their university days.