Langkawi starts world's first Geopark Junior Guide project

Langkawi: Langkawi is the first geopark site in the world to introduce a Geopark Junior Guide, a programme to train school students to become tour guides specialising in geoparks.To date, the programme has attracted 46 students from 14 primary and secondary schools in Langkawi who have undergone training by the geopark division staff of the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) which started the programme in October this year.

According to Lada deputy chief executive officer Asri Redha Abdul Rahman, the Global Geopark Network (GGN), under the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation (Unesco), has confirmed that the programme was the first of its kind.

"There are 140 geoparks around the world and no one else has started it (the programme) yet. This is a great move as Langkawi would be undergoing a revalidation exercise for its Global Geopark status next year," he told Bernama here today.

Langkawi was accorded the geopark status by Unesco on June 1, 2007 and had successfully maintained it in the last three revalidation exercises, which were conducted by geopark experts from other countries on a four-yearly basis.

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Langkawi was the first location in South East Asia to be accorded the Global Geopark status which has helped promote the island for its unique natural formations.

Asri Redha said the Geopark Junior Guide project will be conducted on an annual basis and would play a crucial part in promoting the island's geopark status.

He said upon completion of their training, the top five students from the primary and secondary school categories qualified as in-house tour guides.

As part of their training, the students were taken to several geopark locations on the island, such as the Kilim Karst Geoforest park and the Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park to enhance their knowledge.

"I am impressed by the talent shown by the students, especially their ability to talk about the Langkawi geopark in a very interesting way," he said.

The students were also encouraged to include legendary stories to make their presentations more interesting, as well as messages on the importance of preserving the natural environment and cleanliness of Langkawi.

Aiman Al Hakim Basirun of Sekolah Kebangsaan Ulu Melaka was the champion for the primary school category, while Muhd Adam Yahya took the title for the secondary school section.

Lada's Geopark Division manager, Azmil Munif Mohd Bokhari said the education aspect was one of criteria that would be assessed by Unesco during the revalidation exercise and the Geopark Junior programme would give another merit for Langkawi to maintain the global geopark status.

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He said Lada had worked closely with the Langkawi District Education Department, schools and the local community since 2007 with the objective of getting them to understand the concept of the geopark and the roles that they could play in promoting sustainability on the island.

"This Geopark Junior Guide programme also gave the students the chance to understand the role of Lada as the leading government agency to promote the Langkawi Global Geopark," he added. - Bernama

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