KUCHING: The Sarawak Youth Day celebration has now been rebranded as Sarawak Youth Week, which will be held for a week at the Kota Samarahan Civic Centre from 10 to 16 August.

Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the rebranding reflects the state government's commitment to expanding the scope of the event with more comprehensive content, thus providing more opportunities for youth to participate in various development programmes.

According to him, the annual celebration organised by his ministry in collaboration with various government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) aims to celebrate the spirit of the younger generation, while also empowering them as future leaders of Sarawak, in line with the theme 'Our Aspirational Youth' which was maintained from last year.

"This programme not only provides a platform for young people to showcase their talents and participate in sports, recreational and entrepreneurial activities, but is also designed to inspire positive change in the local community," he said at a press conference for the Sarawak Youth Week 2026 celebration here, on Thursday.

Dato Sri Abdul Karim added that the opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on 15 August, at the Kota Samarahan Civic Centre and is expected to be officiated by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg.

He further explained that various youth development-based activities will be held through three main components, namely Youth Champion, Youth Active and Youth Marketplace, in addition to government agency exhibitions that provide information on job opportunities, education, entrepreneurship and services to the community.

He said that the highlight of the celebration is the annual event, which is the presentation of the Sarawak Youth Awards which includes the categories of Male Youth Figures, Female Youth Figures and Youth Associations for their outstanding contributions to the development of the community and the state.

"The recipients of the Male and Female Youth Figure Awards will each receive a trophy, certificate and RM5,000 cash, while the winner of the Youth Association Award will receive RM10,000 and the runner-up RM7,000.

"This award is not just an appreciation for the recipient, but rather aims to produce more talented and excellent youth icons to be role models for the younger generation at the state and national levels," he stressed.

The 2026 Sarawak Youth Week celebration will also be enlivened with performances by local artists such as Mawat, Faris Malik, Hairie Francis, Raquel Tan, Hijrah Yahya, Firdaus Matran and Jessie Stellito, in addition to the appearance of guest artists from the Peninsula, Afiq Syazwan and Baby Shima. -UKASnews