UNV CAMBODIA

Dear friends, colleagues and volunteers,

With 2014 coming to an end, we are pleased to share
with you the last issue in 2014 of the UNV Cambodia
Newsletter, taking the opportunity to wish you all the
best for the New Year!
This year, and in particular the last quarter has been
filled with exciting events, new team members and a
lot of achievements from UN Volunteers in Cambodia,
some of which are presented in this issue. It
culminated with IVD Celebrations earlier this month
which was an opportunity to recognize the
contributions that volunteers make to Cambodias
development. With this in mind, we would like to say a
big THANK YOU to all of you, for your great work and
for making change happen. We also had the pleasure
of welcoming Richard Dictus, the UNV Executive
Coordinator for his first mission to Cambodia, in the
context of the Post-2015 Global meeting. Have a look
below to find out more!
We hope that 2015 will bring you all a lot of success in
your professional and personal lives, and first and
foremost happiness! Happy reading and we will be
back in the New Year!
Your UNV Field Unit

In this issue:

Inspiration in Action Newsletter # 6

Phnom Penh, December 2014

Make it happen, volunteer!

Celebrating UN Day

Volunteerism Caravan

Post 2015 Global Meeting

4th National Forum on Volunteerism

National Career Fair

Visit from Korea!

2014 IVD

Make it happen, volunteer!

On 5th of December, the volunteer community

in Cambodia together with volunteers all over
the world, celebrated International Volunteer
Day (IVD). On that day, over 800 volunteers
attended IVD organized in Phnom Penh by
UNV, VolCam and the National Committee for
Promoting Volunteerism under the leadership
of the Ministry of Education, Youth & Sport
(MoEYS).
Make it happen, volunteer
IVD was a celebration of the hard work and
commitment of the volunteers in Cambodia.
The event, in line with this years theme Make
it happen, volunteer! showcased the
volunteers contribution to the development of
Cambodia and allowed for volunteers to share
their experiences about volunteerism and how
it benefited themselves and the community
they work in.
The main theme of the opening speeches was
the important place volunteerism has in the
future development of Cambodia. Ms. Claire

Van der Vaeren, UN Resident Coordinator, stressed

this point; volunteerism she said forms the
backbone of national and international civil society
organizations in Cambodia as a key driver for
development. His Excellency Dr. Hang Chuon
Naron, Minister of Education, Cambodia focused on
the benefits of volunteerism, commenting that
volunteer activity expresses a positive attitude
and virtue of people and it is also a bridge to
connect all parts of society.
Lets talk about volunteering!
Five Volunteer Stars that volunteer for different
VolCam organizations were invited to take part in
the Volunteer Stars Talk Show. Kimlay Leav, the
president of the U.S Ambassadors Youth Council
spoke about his many volunteering activities
including his work with the UN Youth Advisory Panel
(UNYAP) which represents a range of young
Cambodians and allows them to voice their
concerns. In October, Kimlay also attended the First
Global Forum on Youth Policies held in Azerbaijan.
Veasna Sophea, a Youth Star Volunteer, volunteered
in Prey Veng province earlier this year. There, she
promoted local development by facilitating youth
groups and organizing a Back-pack library. The
inspiring speeches and photos from the volunteers
was a fun and interactive opportunity for the
participants to learn about the different ways you
can volunteer and contribute to the development of
Cambodia.

Recycling Fashion Show was a crowd

pleaser with models showing off
dresses made from recyclable material.
The talented Sovanaphom Performers
finished off the evening with an
exciting performance of traditional
Khmer drums.
for the winners of the UNV Facebook
Photograph Competition. In October,
volunteer photographers were invited
to submit photographs depicting
volunteers in action, to the theme
Make it happen, volunteer!. Mr. Hor
Singhuo, a volunteer with ASEAN
Community-Cambodia, was the 1st
place winner, and received 1,277 Likes
on his photo from an event called
Imagine. The three winners of the
Facebook competition were awarded
photography lessons sponsored by
Canon, I-Qlick Cambodia, and the
runner ups received Brown Coffee
vouchers.

During the IVD fair, participants had

the opportunity to closely engage with
representatives of more than ten
national and international volunteer
involving organizations from VolCam,
to talk to experienced volunteers and
find out more about benefits of
volunteering and its great impact.
The exciting event was a fun and
interactive way to celebrate the hard
work and achievements of volunteers
throughout the year. To see more
photos of the day check out our
Facebook Page!

IVD Fair
Volunteer entertainment acts took the
stage next and delighted the audience
with dances from Michael Jackson
impersonations to Hip Hop, musical
numbers on the guitar, beat boxing and
wonderful singing solos. The La Chhuk

The session concluded with a presentation of prizes

V Caravan

The Volunteerism Caravan continues travelling throughout Cambodia

Inspired by a similar activity organized in
Tunisia as part of the Arab Youth
Volunteering for a Better Future project, the
Volunteerism Caravan was launched by the
UNV Field Unit in Cambodia in partnership
with VolCam in 2014, to broaden the scope
of the Recognize me! Campaign. Recognize
me! is an awareness raising campaign, which
aims at nationwide recognition of volunteers
and their contribution to Cambodia's
development.

potential to develop Cambodia.

Volunteerism Caravans Stops so far:
The Volunteerism Caravan was piloted in
Battambang on the 11th June. More than 30
national and international volunteers arrived
from different parts of the province to attend.
The first session consisted mostly international
volunteers from both a young and an older
generation.

The objective of the Caravan is to gather

different segments of society and create a
space for debate and dialogue around
volunteerism,
through
exchange
of
experiences, networking and community-led
actions.

On the 10th September, the Caravan was

officially launched at the 4th National Forum on
Volunteerism. Over 750 mostly national young
volunteers participated in Caravan group work.
The discussion was facilitated by national VSO
ICS Volunteers.

The Caravan travelled to different provinces

in Cambodia, engaging volunteers and their
organization counterparts on discussions
related
to volunteerism. The research
collected will be used to update the 2008
publication: Volunteerism, harnessing the

These ICS Volunteers continued to facilitate the

next two stops of the Caravan in both Kratie and
Ratanakiri provinces. Fifty participants from both
local and international volunteer organizations
attended the Caravan on the 14th November in
Kratie. The participants of this session differed
from both Phnom Penh and Battambang, as it
was attended by project managers from local
NGOs in addition to both young and mature
national and international volunteers. This mix of
attendees allowed for new perspectives on
volunteerism and a fruitful discussion.

Ratanakiri, and newly arrived VSO ICS

volunteers.
Community Activities
While in Kratie and Ratankiri, the
Caravan participants took part in
community activities facilitated by
VSO volunteers working in the
communities. In Kratie VSO ICSE
Team organized an event at Kratie
Krong High school to promote
environmental awareness in young
people, focusing on how littering and
waste
disposal
affects
the
community. A highlight of the day
was a fun and interactive recycling
activity where teams of students and
volunteers raced to make a bin made
out of used water bottles, followed
by rubbish picking in the school. Lydia
Jones, one of the ICSE volunteers has
been in Cambodia for two months
discussed
the
importance
of
volunteer engagement with the
community and recognizing the
issues that affect the community
specifically.

In
Ratanakiri,
long-term
VSO
volunteers organized the Caravan
participants to help out in renovating
a library for a local school. The Cha
Lung library is part of the English
Access Micro Scholarship Programme
sponsored by the USA Embassy and
the North-Eastern English center. The
volunteers helped by painting and redesigning the building, planting trees,
and rubbish picking in the school.
Outcomes
For an in depth review of the
outcomes please click here.

The final stop of 2014 for the Caravan took place

on the 25th November, in Banlong, Ratanakiri.
Over 60 national and international volunteers
joined the session.
These dialogues brought in a unique perspective
as they were attended by indigenous youth of

UN Day in Cambodia

Celebrating the work of the people who make the UN a reality

dancing was a crowd favourite,
with staff from every agency
enthusiastically taking part! The
event wasnt just for adults;
children were highly entertained
by arts and crafts and games such
as tug of war and egg-and-spoon
races.

th

October 25 of this year marked the

69th year since the founding of the
United Nations, celebrated globally as
UN Day. The UN Family in Cambodia,
comprised of 26 agencies, came together
to celebrate cooperation between
people from all over the world and learn
about the different agencies based in
Phnom Penh.

Claire Van
Coordinator,

der Vaeren, UN Resident

stated during the event,

In celebrating the 69th anniversary of the

United Nations, we also want to celebrate
you, the women and men who make the
work of the UN in Cambodia a reality.
UN
Volunteer
Maria
Mutya
Fria,
Communications Officer at the UN Resident
Coordinators Office, facilitated the event that
was attended by over 500 staff from UN
agencies in Cambodia at the Prek Leap School
of Agriculture.
Interaction between agency staff members
was priority for the day, with fun activities
such as face painting and sports. The zumba

In
addition
to
Marias
involvement with UN Day, the
UNV Field Unit and UN
Volunteers were also engaged in
the organization of the event, in
particular Markara Nuon, UNV
Programme Assistant, who is a
committed member of the Staff
Association.
When asked about the event,
Maria commented:
During the day Markara acted as
MC, facilitated the entertainment it was a great experience to
and along with other UN
meet staff from other UN
Volunteers,
helped
with
agencies in a festive
entertainment, logistics and environment. Also, I got to work
catering.
with Cambodian colleagues who
made up the Staff Associations
(SA). Their dedication and work
in organizing the UN Day was
remarkable.

Post 2015 Global Meeting

Partnerships with Civil Society

development agenda, be engaged in its
implementation, and enhance national policy
formulation. The outcomes of the meeting were
submitted as key inputs for intergovernmental
negotiations and for the UN Secretary-Generals
Synthesis Report on the post-2015 development
agenda.

Volunteerism is a way to localize the

Sustainable Development Goals because it
provides new spaces of interaction between
governments and people for concrete and
scalable actions." Richard Dictus, UNV
executive coordinator
On October 20th-21st , eight countries
(Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Colombia, Indonesia,
Jordan, Lesotho, St. Lucia, and Tunisia) came
together in Siem Reap to join the final global
United Nations Development Group (UNDG)
Dialogues on the implementation of the post
-2015 agenda: Partnerships with Civil
Society. Similar dialogues were held in those
countries and through an online discussion.
UNV co-led these dialogues with United
Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), the
United Nations Millennium Campaign
(UNMC) and the United Nations Nongovernmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS).
During this global meeting, governments,
civil society and the UN discussed
recommendations on how civil society can
continue to form the global post-2015

Richard Dictus, UNV Executive Coordinator,

spoke at the high level event, highlighting that
the engagement of civil society in the post-2015
agenda needs to be articulated around three
issues, notably space, capacity as well as trust
and confidence. To deliver on a complex agenda,
which spans across environmental, social and
economic issues, inclusive opportunities need to
be developed for all actors to engage in a
complementary way and according to their area
of expertise.

UNV Cambodia supported the national

consultations and preparations of the high-level
Global Meeting through UN Volunteer Peter Prix,
UN Coordination Officer and dedicated post2015 based in the Office of the UN Resident

Coordinator. Peter is serving as a UN

Country Team focal point for the

dialogues and organizer for the

rollout of the national dialogues.

different national contexts;

Greater awareness of existing
examples,
practices
and
opportunities with regard to an
enabling environment for civil
society to contribute substantially
to shaping key policies related to
means of implementation for the
post-2015 agenda;

Peter commented that both, the

national dialogues and the global
meeting,
have
revealed
the
transformative and unprecedented
shift in engagement and recognition
of civil society as important Enhanced partnerships among
contributor to development. For the
key stakeholders at national level
development and implementation of
and across the dialogues.
the future development agenda, it is
The full meeting report can be
crucially important to place civil
accessed at:
society at the heart of the discussion,
providing spaces and listening to their
http://worldwewant2015.org/
voices as member states decide on
civilsociety2015
the development goals that will
determine the development agenda
over the next 15+ years.
Main recommendations
meeting include:

of

the

Strengthened engagement of
different stakeholders, including
Governments, civil society and
volunteering organizations in the
design and implementation of the
post-2015 development agenda;

Greater
awareness
and
understanding of the role of civil
society in policy development
related to the post-2015 agenda,
including with regard to the

Career Fair

National Career Fair

On October 21st, UNV participated in the National Career Fair
organized by the National Employment Agency (NEA), with
financial support from ILO/ China South-South Cooperation
Project. The day allowed for job seeking Cambodians to learn
more about the UNV Programme and how to volunteer both in
country and abroad.

UNV Field
Unit: Markara
Nuon, Naomi
Umeda and
Maeve Anne
Halpin

4th National Forum on Volunteerism

Young..Global..Active
Department of Youth, MoEYS,
Isabelle Devylder, UNV Programme
Officer and the Forum participants
engaged in an interactive discussion
on
the
current
status
of
volunteerism in Cambodia and the
objective of the Volunteerism
Caravan. Participants then took
part in the Caravan dialogue
sessions, discussing and analyzing 5
questions on volunteerism.

Young.Global.Active.you are role

models, you are volunteers
UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Claire Van der
Vaeren
In September, over 750 participants
attended the 4th National Forum on
Volunteerism. The Ministry of Education,
Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and the Cambodia
Volunteering Network (VolCam) members
jointly organized the event so that
volunteers may meet, share experiences and
discuss issues related to volunteerism.
Active engagement by volunteers was a key
message of the Forum; creating positive role
models for youth through volunteerism was
conveyed through the days motto Be a role
model, be a volunteer!.
What does Volunteerism mean to you?
The first session of the Forum began with
the launch of an exciting joint activity of
VolCam: The Volunteerism Caravan. H.E.
Tauch Choeun, Director General, General

Volunteer Stars Talk Show

Challenge yourself to change the world!
encouraged Matt Prescott, VSO ICS, one of six
Volunteer Stars from different volunteering
sectors that were chosen to present to the
Forum about their volunteering achievements.
I discovered that there were more
important things to life than making money.
Volunteering has changed my life, he said.
The inspiring speeches and videos from the
community and university volunteers were the
highlight of the Forum, demonstrating to the
participants how diverse the volunteering
sector is with benefits both professionally and
personally, showing the real and concrete
impacts of volunteerism.
Your role in Post 2015?
The Post 2015 agenda is a hot topic in the
development sector and with that in mind the
National Forum included a brainstorming
session inviting participants to reflect on how
volunteering will continue playing a
meaningful role in the Post-2015 context.

UN Youth Volunteer Peter Prix presented

the progress of the post-2015
development agenda and highlighted the
importance of the consultations in
gathering data around the world in order
to create the future Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG). Two UN Youth
Advisory Panel members, Kimlay Leav and
Sinoun Hun, presented the findings of the
Dialogues held in Cambodia, both in
terms of the priorities identified for the
country and recommendations for means
of implementation through Partnerships
with Civil Society.

The volunteers were also treated to a

brilliant performance by Tiny Toones a
local dance group supporting childrens
education and an evening concert by the
talented musician Kong Nay.
The 4th National Forum on Volunteerism
was not only an interesting and
informational event, it also allowed
volunteers from different organizations
and districts to network and get to know
each other as well as discuss issues that
affect them as volunteers.

The enthusiastic participants provided

numerous examples demonstrating how
volunteers are already contributing to the
five priority areas identified for Cambodia
in the Post-2015 context (health,
education, employment, environment
and economic growth). A number of
recommendations were also made to
ensure that volunteerism can continue
being an important means of actively
engaging people for the implementation
of the future SDGs. The answers collected
were added to the results of the
Dialogues held previously and presented
at the global post 2015 meeting.
How to volunteer?
The VolCam fair took place in the
evening, allowing participants to closely
engage with representatives of both
national and international volunteer
organizations.

Student Visits

A Visit from Korea!

students to get experience while they
are in university, by volunteering and
joining societies: go outside and see
the world, work with as many people as
possible.

UN Volunteer Spotlight!
Before becoming a UN Youth
Volunteer, Sulah, previously worked
with
the
Korea
International
Cooperation Agency (KOICA) addressing
global issues in education.

Six students from Ewha Woman's University

and their Professor Dr. Jinhwah Oh visited
UNV Cambodia August 27th to learn more
about volunteerism both in the UN and in
Cambodia.
Ewha Womens University, located in Seoul,
South Korea, is currently the world's largest
female educational institute. The students

were eager to learn more about volunteering

within the UN, in particular the UN Youth
Volunteer
programme
and
On-line
volunteering.

UNV Programme Officer Isabelle Devylder,

who explained the UNV Programme and the
work of UN Volunteers within Cambodia,
stressed the importance of youth
participation.

A unique opportunity for the

students was also to meet and hear
from Sulah Kim an Ewha alumni and
UN Youth Volunteer. Sulah spoke
about her great experience in
Cambodia and her time working for
UNESCO: it is an opportunity to
develop both your professional and
language skills. She advised the

After that Sulah says I got more

passionate about working for education
in developing countries. So, I applied to
UNV for a position in UNESCO,
Cambodia as an Education Programme
Officer.

Sulah Kim, UN Youth Volunteer

Volunteerism is giving empowerment

to people.
Sulah supports the secretariat of the
Education Sector Working Group, by Being a volunteer is important to Sulah.
gathering UN agencies, international She believes that volunteerism is more
NGOs, and government groups. In than just helping but also about
addition, she offers technical support to providing empowerment and being
the Ministry of Education Youth and accountable to the community, giving
Sport (MoEYS) as well as the Ministry of them the opportunity to participate in
Labor and Vocational Training (MoLVT). the projects. Sulah feels that no one
These experiences have helped me decides to live a life of dedication to
learn more about and appreciate the others from the beginning, but that it is
important role that UN agencies play in a step-by-step process.
coordinating the diverse organizations
and governments towards the shared
goal of access to education.
If you take the first step, you
could devote more and more. So, just
start!

Visit from Japan!

Opportunities

On the 11th December, UN University volunteer Naomi Umeda had a visit

from her university, Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Yuka Mizutani
(Assistant Professor, Center for Global Discovery and Yu Chin, Administrator
of Office of Global Education and Collaboration visited UNV Cambodia Field
Unit to discuss the UN University Volunteer Programme and to see Naomi!

Now Recruiting in Cambodia

Organizations operating in Cambodia, click for

more information about vacancies:

Cambodian Children's Fund

Awareness Cambodia
Friends International
VSO Cambodia

World Vision Cambodia

CARE Cambodia
Save the Children

More on CAMHR AND Bong Thom.

Upcoming Training in 2015

Training
Upcoming training opportunities in 2015, click
for details of the schedule:

Folk Bernadotte Academy

RedR UK

ELD Training
ASPR Study Centre
INTRAC

Online Courses:
Coursera
edX

Happening in Phnom Penh!

Pocket dictionaryShopping
How much for this?- Teu nis thlay pun mann?

Khmer corner
Currency:

Expensive- Thlaiy

50- Haa-sep

Market- Phsar

100- Muoy-roy

Please take me to- Sohn york knhum toev...

Where is- Noev ey na

500- Pram-roy

Happening in Phnom Penh:

META HOUSE:
Dec. 19th 7PM - DOCUMENTARY: BREAKING THE
NEWS (2011, 53 min) explores the high cost of
being a truth-seeking journalist in East-Timor.
Dec. 31st, 8 PM- NEW YEARS EVE DINNER: Fivecourse-menu event for 25 USD, including a
welcome cocktail and a glass of prosecco. Tickets
can be reserved via
metaartcambodia@gmail.com

1000- Muoy-pin
50000 Pram-pin

Culture

AROUND PHNOM PENH:

Dec. 13th, 2 PM- Amazing Anniversary Picnic
Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of FriendsInternational at Mith Samlanh
Dec. 17th , 6:30 PM- Public Talk With Marie
Despleschin
In partnership with Institut Franais, the SIPAR
association invites Marie Desplechin, a French
journalist and author of both adult (La Vie Sauve)
and childrens books (Verte, Pome, Mauve), to
guide a writing workshop in Cambodia.. The talk
will be followed by a book signing session at
Carnets dAsie bookshop.

Your UNV FU:

Share your opinion and stories with us!
maeve.anne.halpin@undp.org
unv.kh@undp.org

Isabelle Devylder
Programme Officer
077 333 046

Markara Nuon
Programme
Assistant
012788 173

Maeve anne Halpin

Naomi Umeda

Communications,
Youth & Outreach
078277578

Youth Volunteering
Specialist
085402812

United Nations Volunteers in Cambodia

@ http://www.un.org.kh/unv/