Petaling Jaya (PJ) is a pretty interesting city, don’t you think? It is undoubtedly a great city to live or work in because of its convenience and diversity.
In fact, PJ is so awesome that even Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has awarded the city with the 2019 Unesco Learning City Award, reported FMT.
Unesco reckoned that PJ has made tremendous progress over the years and it has been very committed to promoting “education and lifelong learning” in Malaysia.
“The city is also making good use of the resources provided by its partners,” said Unesco.
Source: FMT
Unesco mentioned that PJ has also made great efforts to “improve access to public learning spaces”. For instance, they have provided free bus services in four main routes of the city. Unesco noted that the bus services “double as information disseminators through their onboard screen”.
Adding on, Unesco explained in their statement that by promoting education and lifelong learning, PJ aims to enhance the following aspects:
- Individual empowerment
- Social cohesion
- Economic and cultural prosperity
- Sustainable development
Source: The Malay Mail
In a statement released on 31 January 2019, Unesco was quoted by The Malay Mail as saying,
“According to the Learning City Award Jury, these cities have shown exemplary progress and commitment in promoting education and lifelong learning at the local level.”
“Despite their very different starting points and the various economic, political, social and environmental contexts, all of the Unesco Learning City Award 2019 winners have initiated innovative and target-specific policies and programmes that provide fruitful opportunities for their communities to benefit from lifelong learning.”
Apart from PJ, other cities which were listed as winners are mentioned below:
- Aswan (Egypt)
- Chengdu (China)
- Heraklion (Greece)
- Ibadan (Nigeria)
- Medellin (Colombia)
- Melitopol (Ukraine)
- Santiago (Mexico)
- Seodaemun-gu (Republic of Korea)
- Sonderborg (Denmark)
Source: Property Insight
Well, PJ has definitely made us proud by earning this Unesco award; we hope that the city will only continue flourishing as it promotes education and lifelong learning. Congrats, PJ!
Also read: Georgetown is The ONLY Asian City Chosen For Unesco’s New Heritage Projects
