N E W S L E T T E R VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1
JANUARY - MARCH 2014
TI Cambodia Hosts National Conference on Promoting Integrity in Education In February 2014, TI Cambodia and its partners— the Khmer Institute for National Development (KIND) and the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA)—hosted the conference, ‘Promoting Integrity to Strengthen the Quality of Education in Cambodia.’ The conference included presentations on upper secondary school textbook management monitoring, budget allocation for early childhood education in Cambodia, ande integrity education curriculum. The conference was well attended by a wide variety of participants representing the government's education and finance departments, civil society, foreign donors, media, academia and students.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE PAGE 2:
Young Professional Journalist Training
PAGE 3:
Youth Empowerment for Transparency and Integrity
students. As a result of the studies and conference, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) has issued a public announcement ordering bookstore owners to stop the illegal sale of public school textbooks in their shops. Sellers have been warned of legal actions if they refuse to comply. In addition, TI Cambodia’s partners KIND and ANSA are currently conducting two major activities. Round table discussions are being held in four provinces in order to further discuss and collect input on textbook leakage at the subnational level and an advocacy plan is also being developed around the key findings of the conference.
www.ticambodia.org
PAGE 2
Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre Update Between January and March 2014, the Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) organised several trainings on Cambodia’s anticorruption law. Following the training, participants were more aware of their legal rights and empowered with the tools necessary to take legal action against corruption. In addition, ALAC’s lawyer also made an appearance on three radio talk shows. Over the past three months, ALAC has received more than 100 cases and 70 corruption complaints. ALAC will transfer relevant cases to the ACU and other partners for effective solutions. If you are a victim or witness of corruption, contact ALAC today:
Email: alac@ticambodia.org
Young Professional Journalist Training In February, TI Cambodia organised a three-day training for young professional journalists and bloggers. The training was held to build the participants’ capacity to effectively investigate, report and communicate corruption cases to the wider public. 25 young professionals were selected to participate and three innovative projects were produced on the last day of the training: I. A radio report about combating corruption in the health sector—to be broadcasted on FM 102, Wonderful FM 106.7, Khmer Post FM 93.5 and Voice of Democracy
II. A video clip illustrating how youth can play an influential role in ending corruption in public education III. A newsletter featuring inspirational stories of individuals overcoming corruption By training journalists and bloggers, it is expected that corruption related news stories will experience better coverage in existing media outlets such as radio, television, newspaper and the Internet. Such coverage will result in increased public awareness of corruption issues and cases; while promoting further social demand for integrity and transparency.
www.ticambodia.org
PAGE 3
Youth Empowerment for Transparency and Integrity TI Cambodia recently organised its third youth camp on ‘Youth Empowerment for Transparency and Integrity’ (YETI). YETI is a semi annual youth camp held to raise young people’s awareness of transparency, integrity, and the causes and consequences of corruption. During the three-day camp in Siem Reap, 64 youths from 7 provinces participated in interactive learning sessions and received training from professionals and experts. By the conclusion of the camp, participants were successfully empowered with the tools to recognise and combat corruption. In addition, participants have gone on to initiate projects within their own local communities. Youth are currently monitoring the quality of their respective Commune Council’s governance and public service delivery. Surveys are also being undertaken to determine potential concerns of commune citizens regarding public education, health and public service fees. Upon completion, public forums will be organised to present the findings of each project to the Commune Councils and the general public. Several participants pose with their certificates after successfully completing the camp
National Photo Competition Illustrate How Corruption Negatively Affects Your World
Corruption occurs in all levels and sectors of society in Cambodia. In order to creatively engage people through art, TI Cambodia’s Research and Advocacy Programme ran a photo competition inviting contestants to submit images illustrating how corruption negatively affected their world. The photos will be judged based on the following criteria: artistic interpretation of the theme, creativity and photographic quality—with the top 12 photos to be exhibited in Phnom Penh’s German-Cambodian cultural centre this April. In addition, the top photo will also be featured on TI Cambodia’s forthcoming major report: Corruption and Cambodia’s Governance System; to be launched on 16 July 2014.
www.ticambodia.org
PAGE 4
TI Cambodia Annual Staff Retreat In March, TI Cambodia staff embarked on a threeday annual staff retreat. During the retreat, the organisation’s Board of Directors and staff met to discuss and provide inputs on TI Cambodia’s external mid-term review. In addition, senior management also conducted a quarterly meeting
with the Board of Directors to exchange information and enhance the collective vision for TI Cambodia’s future strategic plan (2015-2020). The annual retreat provided an excellent platform to strengthen effective communications, productivity and relationships amongst staff!
TI Cambodia Conducts Social Media Training Communication and networking through social media outlets are an important way for today’s youth to express their ideas and concerns. As a result, TI Cambodia’s recent training, ‘The Use of Social Media for Sharing Social Concerns and Reporting Corruption,’ provided youth with instruction on how to report corruption using Facebook, blogs and the online service: Bribespot. Following the training, participants are responsible for implementing trainings within their own communities and maintaining their own advocacy blogs.
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL CAMBODIA
PHONE: (+855) 023 214 430 EMAIL: info@ticambodia.org WEBSITE:www.ticambodia.org