12 September 2009 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – KL this evening plays host to its first Twitter Festival, also known as a “Twestival”, a non-profit event which brings together fans of the free social networking and micro-blogging service for a good cause.
Organized entirely by volunteers, Twestival KL - www.kualalumpur.twestival.com - raises money for charity Destiny Starting Point, a home in Klang which aims to aims to train and rehabilitate delinquent youths. Supporters can follow the event @TwestivalKL on Twitter (www.twitter.com/twestivalkl).
As well as the RM30 (or RM40 on the door) minimum donation paid to attend the festivities at Mist Club Bangsar from 7pm, a pre-event online auction and lucky draw on the night will help raise additional funds. Auction prizes included a limited edition Nooka watch donated by H5, return tickets to Bangkok with AirAsia and a HP mini netbook sponsored by DiGi Broadband.
The money raised from Twestival KL was originally intended to be used to purchase a computer and one year's broadband access for the home. However, sponsor DiGi Broadband stepped in to donate two desktops and a year’s supply of DiGi Broadband access to the home, allowing the full cash proceeds from the event to go towards the home’s other needs.
As 100% of the money collected will go to Destiny Starting Point, Twestival KL has relied upon charitable companies to make the event a success. Mist Club Bangsar sponsored the venue, whilst 1901 Hot Dog and Guiness Anchor Berhad provided hotdogs and beer for Twitterers respectively. Entertainment for the evening was kindly provided by Will Quah (emcee) and TAG (Twilight Action Girl). Twitterers were also able to walk away with a Lenovo C300 All-in-One PC, AirAsia travel packages or other prizes at a lucky draw held at the end of the evening.
Other sponsors include Starbucks Malaysia, Golden Screen Cinemas, Boost Juice Malaysia, Nike, Nooka, Hotel Maya, Raw Pixel Studios Photography, New Zealand Natural Ice Cream, PC.Com, Czip Lee, Exabytes Network, Yeo’s Malaysia, “Little Trees”, Cupcake Chic, Pilatique, A1, Poke Asia and The Star R.AGE.
The very first Twestival was held on 12 February 2009, where 202 participating cities came together to raise over USD250,000, resulting in 55 wells built to serve more than 17,000 people in Uganda, Ethiopia and India. Since then there has been a host of Twestivals worldwide raising money for a variety of charities close to home. Each of these events was driven by volunteers and generous sponsors, with all of proceeds going to the designated charity.
Pictures by David Cheong of RawPixelStudios
The emcee, Will Quah
The co-emcee, Niki Cheong
Elaine Daly, Will Quah & Niki
