I was invited as a guest speaker in a regional training course in Siem Reap province on 1st April 2008.

Please read the invitation letter as follows:

 

Dear Im Sokthy,

It is with great pleasure i am writing to you to invite you to share with us on “Media and Information Technology for Advocacy” in the coming ASPBAE Basic Leadership Development Course to be held on 27 March - 3 April 2008 at Siem Reap, Cambodia.

ASPBAE’s Leadership Development Programme is premised on ASPBAE’s commitment to the promotion of education for all and life long learning. It is part of ASPBAE’s long-term multi-level strategy to build and expand the “leadership corps” in the region, committed to advancing the right of all to learn, and to promoting the learning needs and interests especially of the most marginal groups.

Specifically, the Programme aims to contribute towards:

  • · improving the effectiveness and capability of ASPBAE and the education movement in the region;
  • · further strengthening the adult education network; and
  • · ensuring leadership succession within ASPBAE.

In this Course we request you to kindly share with us on “Media and Information Technology for Advocacy”. The session will be held on March 31 at 9:00 to 10:30 am. Given your vast experience in assisting communities with necessary advocacy tool, we believe that your sharing will enrich our participants with necessary skills in their work at home.

In this session we request you to assist our participants with teaching them some hands on skills for using Media and IT for Advocacy. Let us know of the requirements for your session so that we can make them available. If its not a problem do share with us your module of the session.

We shall wait for your confirmation at your earliest.

In Solidarity,


John Shanth Kumar Joseph

Programme Officer - ASPBAE

 

These are some pictures I took during the training course.

 

The last is my presentation paper which you read the following.

 

 

ASPBAE Basic Leadership Development Course

 “Media and IT for Advocacy: Experiences from Cambodia”

27 March - 3 April 2008 at Siem Reap, Cambodia.

By Im Sokthy, Executive Director of Open Forum of Cambodia

Phone: 855 12 902200; Email: sokthyim@yahoo.com; Web Blog: www.imsokthy.com

 

Introduction

Cambodia was just emerging with the growth of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 1993, after decades of civil wars. This emerging was due to the adoption of principle of democracy and the return of Cambodian refugees from Cambodia-Thai border. As example, the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) was founded by a group of former political prisoners in December 1991 after the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements on October 23, 1991. Another example is about Open Forum of Cambodia (OFC) which has been created in 1994 by a group of people who wished to see the exchange of information and dialogue in Cambodia’s democracy by at first used information technology (IT) as tool to foster discussion among Cambodians and stakeholders.

From year to year, there were more and more NGOs working for advocacy and development of the country in according to their fields and expertise. Most of the NGOs worked in democracy, human rights, governance and democracy. However, the tendency has a bit change since Cambodia was moving forward toward development, especially while Cambodia was adopting local governance reforms at commune levels through its first commune council election in 2002.

There is growing tendency of NGOs working at community levels since the adoption of decentralization reforms at commune levels in 2000s. It is noted that NGOs works are now to reach to rural communities and the poor and engaging with locally elected commune councils. Phnom Penh based NGOs also have had their programs with communities and created many kinds of community based organizations (CBOs), coalitions, groups and networks. They worked in natural resource management, livelihood related issues, educations, health, good governance, local administration reforms, etc. Some NGOs programs are to provide direct basic needs of the poor and the others are to empower people participation in making positive change or demanding public authorities and service providers to response or solve their concerns. The last NGO groups do advocacy works with the poor or marginalized groups in order to demand for better service delivery such as education, health, etc. However, it is seen that their advocacy mandates were not about to mainly use IT and media as tools for advocacy. Some NGOs are doing this and the others do not.

Therefore, this paper is intended to describe, find some challenge issues of adopting IT and media as advocacy tools among Cambodian NGOs and identify some possible approaches focusing on its advocacy works at community levels. This paper will also raise examples of NGOs programs which describe the realities of grass root advocacy works in Cambodia.

Overview of Media and IT Development in Cambodia

Cambodia’s constitution 1993 gives rights to expression and ideas and rights to own newspapers and other means of media such as TV and radio. The government itself has newspaper, bulletin, TV, radio and website. Non-government actors, including NGOs and private sectors, also have media tools to serve their respective interests. Some political parties also have media tools such as newspapers and websites. Tiv Sarayeth, Director of Women Media Center reported that “Cambodia has registered more than 200 local and foreign media organizations at the Ministry of Information (MOI) since the early 1990s. However, now there are only around 30 organisations in operation. There are 7 TV stations, 18 radio stations. There are more than 100 newspapers and magazines on the MOI list but only about 20 of them are regularly printed.”

Some private newspapers, radios and TVs have tendency toward the ruling parties, while only newspapers are working for opposition parties. At this present time, while Cambodia is moving toward upcoming national election in July 2008, political parties have buy hours of private radio station, Behave Radio Station FM 105 MHz, to broadcast their parties activities and platform.

Unlike those government and private media organizations, radio program of NGOs, as examples of Center for Social Development, Comfrel, Youth Council of Cambodia, Voice of Democracy, Adhoc, etc. have also bought hours of radio program to broadcast about society, democracy, corruption and human rights. Among Cambodian NGOs, only Women Media Center of Cambodia has its own radio station created many years.

Thus, it is seen that domestic media broadcasting organizations are mostly tended to bias in some cases, except a few. But, foreign media organizations such as Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Radio Australia and Radio France International are reported independent and supply sensitive information which in some cases are to give voice to the voiceless and advocate for problems solving.

At the same time, online media is slowly developed. Internet price is still high and its connection is not widely covered throughout the country. Only those who are in Phnom Penh and other capital towns could access to internet. On the other hand, as internet is mostly used non-Khmer language and thus not many Cambodians like to search information through internet. But, it is to note that now there is an increasing demand of creating website (online media) which its content is in Khmer language and foreign languages. Taking as example, electronic media is now growing such as Community Information Web Portal Cambodia (www.cambodiacic.info), Khmer Rouge Trial web portal (www.krtrial.info), anti-corruption website (www.saatsaam.info) which are under management of OFC, the everyday website (www.everyday.com.kh), RFA (http://www.rfa.org/khmer/), the Phnom Penh Post (www.phnompenhpost.com), the Cambodge Soir (www.ka-set.info), etc.

These above media tools are mostly for those who are literate and can afford. Some of these tools have reached to communities and remote areas. Some NGOs are producing leaflets, posters, stickers, bulletins, or newsletters and distribute these materials to communities. Most of these materials aim to raise awareness and give advocacy messages to the public, particularly to public authorities. T-Shirts are also used for this kind of purposes.

Looking into this situation and context, information dissemination at community levels is limited and thus the use of this community information for advocacy purpose is also still limited. Seeing the importance of community information dissemination, the OFC has published its Community Information Newsletter that aims to promote youth participation in local governance reforms and distribute the newsletters to nine target communes of Svay Rieng province. The OFC’s newsletter is a media advocacy tool for youths to demand for better transparency and accountability of local councils who have to function as service providers in many aspects such as domestic violence, social orders, health care, education and other development agendas.  

Community Information and Advocacy

There are many ways for advocacy. One of them is information through printed and electronic media. The community based information is regarded as a tool for effective advocacy which Cambodian NGOs have had experiences. How is information related to advocacy? What are realities and challenges in the real NGO communities in Cambodia?

To answer the questions above, the following is summary of NGO programs/activities that aim to use information (referring to media and IT) as advocacy and awareness raising.

Community Information Center

The Community Information Center (CIC) was an initiative of the Asia Foundation (TAF) which collaborated with local NGOs to host the CIC and host a website to publish information throughout the country through 22 CICs, except Phnom Penh and Kep municipality. The CIC aimed to supply information to Cambodians as a part for development and democracy. Each CIC was based on provincial town and provided services such as library, computer usages and training, access to internet and meeting room. CIC staff of provincial host NGOs printed news downloaded from the Community Information Web Portal Cambodia (www.cambodiacic.info) with regards to human rights, elections, agriculture, etc. to distribute to those who can’t access to internet and printed newspapers at rural areas. However, the three-year (2003-2005) CIC project did mainly wish to get people informed about society.

The CIC project was implemented while internet access and printed newspapers were not mostly accessed at rural areas, including some remote provincial towns. There was only one center (CIC) which provided internet access in some provincial town. Though, during the project implementation, it was seen that the CIC may not be sustained, the TAF also had its main goal to conceptualize internet use among Cambodians across the country. After about two years, internet cafés had been created in some provincial towns. Moreover, the TAF also provided entrepreneurship training to CIC managers so that each CIC will be commercialized and act as social enterprise to still continue its operation. Now, it is reported that only a few have its operation.

Noteworthy is that the CIC had played important role in getting voters informed about 2003 national election. NGOs staff and those who used to use the CIC services got understanding of election and provided them information which they can make voting decision.

Beside the CIC, some NGOs and individual groups have initiated to created village library where people can access to printed media, as for example Development and Partnership in Action (DPA), and youth groups have created village libraries in Stung Treng, Mondul Kiri, Ratanakiri and Svay Rieng. These libraries serve for information resource centers.

One more important thing is community internet centers which are piloted in Kep municipality and Kamchay Mear district of Prey Veng province under a project called Informatics for Rural Empowerment and Cambodian Healthy Community (iREACH) (http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-93387-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html). This project creates community center and radio station. It is now in second year of implementation.  

 

Community Information for Local Governance Reforms

It is a project designed by Open Forum of Cambodia and is implemented in Svay Rieng province. It aims to promote youth participation in local governance reforms through their activities in news writing, community forums and their participation in commune council meetings. Youth networks of Youth Council of Cambodia and Khmer Youth Association are correspondents of community information newsletter which is weekly published and distributed to nine communes of three districts of Svay Rieng province. After getting training on news writing and decentralization, youth reporters make reports about commune councils, governance and development agenda that are relevant to issues and concerns of local communities. Youth reporters are bridges between service providers (commune councils, public authorities and private sector) and service deliverers (local residents). They use newsletter to make better transparency and accountability.

At this moment, this project is available with only printed media as computer and internet literacy is low in Svay Rieng and internet connection is not accessible in offices. OFC had provided blog training for young people to know about IT and know how to use internet. However, there is still much more to be done.

Local Newspaper

The TAF had also initiated local newspaper and website about province. Samne Thmey is regional newspaper published every week for regional geographical areas, covering a few surrounding provinces. Province website, called Khet Krong website, also created in 2004. The Samne Thmey was not for regional areas and the Khet Krong website was not available any more. Funding sustainability is the most concern.

Other means

Media advocacy can also be done through the awareness raising with media organizations. As for example, some NGOs had invited journalists to join courses or exchange visits in order to make journalists realize that important issues and publish those issues widely. The NGOs can do with some specific topics, like Tobacco, natural resource management, Khmer Rouge Trial, etc.

However, press release, poster, fliers, banners, stickers are more popular than the strategies used above. Well-known organizations like to use these methods such as Pact Cambodia, Comfrel, NGO Forum on Cambodia, CSD, and so on.

Conclusion

Printed media is much more important than electronic media (IT) among Cambodian NGOs. However, printed newspapers are not to be a strong focus yet among NGOs as there are not many community based newspaper that its objective is to give voice to the voiceless to advocate with public authorities. However, there is growing consideration of IT and media for advocacy in Cambodia. But, seeking constraints and finding solutions for effective uses of community media are needed when starting implement any advocacy program.