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CNY promotion at Radisson

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RBA special promotion

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Education exhibition in February

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BITE into KFC’s “chewy cheese” and see how far you can pull the cheese before it breaks!

This special and limited product is KFC’s one of two new menu items available at all its Bruneian outlets in conjunction with the Chinese New Year.

The “chewy cheese” is mozzarella cheese with a crispy coating, and can either be purchased from the á la carte menu at $3.60, or the Chinese New Year celebration bucket, the establishment’s second new item.

The celebration bucket comes in two choices: Combo A, at $34.80, includes a bucket with nine pieces of chicken, five chewy cheese, one zinger burger, one colonel burger, one large whipped potato, and a bottle of Pepsi; whilst Combo B, at $44.80, includes a bucket with 15 pieces of chicken, 10 chewy cheese, one large coleslaw, one large whipped potato, and a bottle of Pepsi.

And to add to the CNY spirit, both buckets will also include an “ang pow” packet, specifically gift vouchers. These vouchers can only be used from February 6 to March 31, so KFC is encouraging customers to take advantage of these promotions while stocks last. Text by Anwar Rosly of The Brunei Times.

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The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) is a statutory body established on 1 January 2003 by the AITI Order 2001. AITI is responsible for:

a. Telecommunications and Radiocommunications regulation,
b. Radiofrequency spectrum planning and management, and
c. Promotion of ICT industry development

AITI will be organising the two events, the ‘Awareness on Amateur Radio Usage’ Seminar and the ‘AITI Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) Competition 2012’. These events are jointly supported by Brunei Darussalam Amateur Radio Association (BDARA) and Persatuan Gemilang Daerah Tutong.

The objectives of these events are to:

• provide education and knowledge to amateur radio licensees and the public on its rules and regulations, and ethical use.
• serve as an event to promote the use of amateur radio service in Brunei Darussalam.
• harmonise and network among radio enthusiasts.

The seminar will be held on Sunday, 4th March 2012 at the Indera Samudra Grand Hall, Empire Hotel & Country Club.

AITI will be inviting a speaker from the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 3 who will be presenting on the Code-of-conduct of Amateur Radio. There will also be representatives from AITI and local clubs presenting topics related to local and international amateur radio activities including licensing, etiquette and its technical aspects.

Whereas the ARDF competition will be held on Sunday, 26th February 2012, at Sungai Basong Recreational Park, in the Tutong District. The competition is also known as “Fox Hunting” among amateur radio enthusiast and the participants have to find the hidden ‘foxes’ or beacons. For radio enthusiast interested to join the competition, each team must have (3) members and one of them must hold a valid amateur radio licence.

Registration forms and terms and conditions for the above event can be downloaded from AITI website http://www.aiti.gov.bn/amr_awareness2012.

For further information, please contact Haji Hadi Iskandar bin DP Haji Muhammad at 2323232 or email iskandar.mohammad@aiti.gov.bn.

The guys from AITI were on Pilihan to create more awareness on Amateur Radio Usage

This cool is a cool antenna ideal for the upcoming “Fox Hunting” competition

Even the measuring tape can be used as part of an antenna

This is the first time that AITI is organising an event regarding amateur radio. This is because there’s a growing demand among hobbyists and hence it’s important that the licensed holders of amateur radio are aware of the rules and regulations and these also apply to those interested in acquiring amateur radio.

Did you know there are more than 1,000 amateur radio licensees in Brunei Darussalam? And that’s not a bad figure. Hopefully with AITI’s awareness campaign on amateur radio, it will encourage owners of amateur radio to register themselves through AITI. The fee per radio is $25 which can be renewed annually.

I used to own one with a scanner back in the early 90s *lol* and this was way before AITI was formed. I didn’t know it was illegal back then to own one unless you registered the device. Well, this seminar on the 4th March is good way to understand the dos and the donts and a speaker will be invited to present on the Code-of-conduct of Amateur Radio.

Training sessions at International School Brunei (ISB) began Saturday 28 January 2012 in preparation for the 10th ISB Borneo Global Issues Conference, to be held from 9-12 March 2012 at The International Convention Centre (ICC).

The student-run conference is organised by ISB in collaboration with HSBC, supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and BLNG. Over the years, this conference has attracted various local enterprises that have sponsored and supported ISB BGIC, promoting intercultural understanding and fostering close working relationships between local and international student participants.

The theme for this year’s 10th celebratory conference is “Seven billion people; one planet”. This annual high profile conference brings together three hundred secondary students will participate in this year’s conference, from 18 local schools in Brunei Darussalam and 3 overseas schools from Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

The special guest speaker at the 10th ISB BGIC opening ceremony is 2004 Young Australian of the Year Hugh Evans, Co-founder and CEO of the Global Poverty Project. Hugh is also the recipient of the 2005 Junior Chamber International Young Person of the World and a leader of the biggest anti-poverty movement in Australia, the “Make Poverty History” campaign. As a humanitarian and internationally renowned development advocate, he aims to motivate and inspire student participants to contribute more actively to society.

Abdul Hakim, ISB student leader, conducted the training last Saturday at ISB

Students taking notes during the training session

ISB BGIC is a Model United Nations (MUN) style simulation where student participants represent countries to voice their views on real world issues, promoting international understanding and cooperation. The conference aims to develop students’ skills in public speaking, research and communication. This year’s topics include the question of rising global energy and food demand because of the growing global population, the question of the effectiveness of international long-term humanitarian aid with regard to natural disasters and war zones, and the question of massive financial debt worldwide.

The 10th ISB BGIC Secretariat welcomed all local school participants and gave an introduction about the conference procedure. ISB student leader Abdul Hakim bin Haji Ahmad Zakaria is serving as Secretary-General this year and he recently attended The Hague International MUN (THIMUN) conference in Singapore. He said, “I am very passionate about debating world issues and promoting the voice of the youth here in Brunei Darussalam. Next week I am heading to Qatar to attend a university-level MUN conference; I think it is important that we strive to be responsible and caring global citizens who represent our countries fairly and work collaboratively towards achieving common goals”.

“This year, we are very pleased to welcome so many participants from Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Mutadee Billah; Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan; Maktab Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien; Pusat Tingkatan Enam Meragang; Pusat Tingkatan Enam Katok; Pusat Tingkatan Enam Tutong; Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri; Sekolah Menengah Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam; Sekolah Menengah Berakas; Sekolah Menengah Masin; Sekolah Menengah Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Masna; Sekolah Menengah Pehin Dato Seri Maharaja, Mentiri; Sekolah Menengah Pengiran Isteri Hajah Mariam, Serasa; Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina ‘Othman, Tutong; Sekolah Menengah Perdana Wazir, Kuala Belait; St. Andrew’s School and Jerudong International School.

We also look forward to welcoming school teams from overseas: Bangkok Patana, Thailand; Kolej MARA Banting, Malaysia; and Victoria Shanghai Academy, Hong Kong;” he said.

A total of five training sessions will be held on Saturdays from February to early March, offering a chance for all local participants to interact with each other and prepare for the upcoming conference, under the guidance of the ISB student leaders. Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the conference at the ICC from Saturday 10 March 2012 to Monday 12 March 2012. Details are available on www.isb.edu.bn

The guest speaker of this year’s 10th ISB BGIC is 2004 Young Australian of the Year Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of the Global Poverty Project

ISB BGIC 2012 Secretariats

It’s good to see AITI being pretty active this month with Amateur Radio Usage awareness and also the upcoming BICTA. At the moment, AITI is conducting BICTA 2012 roadshow and yesterday they showcased to ICT industries and private education institutions such as Lakasamana College of Business. Around 50 people showed yesterday and they were engaged to a discussion on ideas to improve BICTA.

As part of the initiatives to inform potential participants for the upcoming BICTA 2011, AITI will facilitate this roadshow throughout the month of February. The roadshow is conducted with a committee consisting of members from Ministry of Communications (MINCOM), AITI and Infocomm Federation Brunei (IFB). One of the latest features that will be highlighted for the upcoming BICTA competition is the Identify, Design and Develop (IDD) workshop.

The two day workshop will be held on 22nd and 23rd March, AITI building, Anggerek Desa. There would be renowned oversea speakers who would share with the participants on how to identify, design and develop their products/projects.

The registration for the workshop can be done during the roadshow or interested parties can contact the BICTA committee directly through email or go through the BICTA website http://www.bicta.gov.bn .

Another highlight of this years BICTA competition is the PATRON award, which is given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Royal Patron award will be given away to the best amongst the first place winners in all categories; the award is awarded only once in every 2 years.

This year Brunei Darussalam will be hosting the 12th Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards event. All the 16 economies that are participants of the APICTA award will come to the country to compete for the prestigious APICTA award. The APICTA award will take place in December 2012.

The BICTA roadshow will be held throughout the month of February 2012. Any interested schools and institutions may contact the BICTA representatives at 2323232 or via email at bicta@aiti.gov.bn or visit the BICTA website at http://www.bicta.gov.bn