Youth camp empowering young people to demand for transparency and integrity

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) - Transparency International Cambodia together with Canada Fund for Local Initiatives will run a youth camp for young Cambodians to increase their knowledge about transparency and integrity and empower them to demand for better governance in the future, said a statement.

The statement released to the media today said that CFLI supports building a youth network by funding a youth camp and youth to youth initiatives that will allow young citizens to strengthen and build their capacity in integrity, transparency and social accountability.

“For close to three decades, the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives has funded modest-scale development assistance projects in over 120 countries, including Cambodia. The CFLI is unique within the array of Canada’s international assistance programs as projects are generally conceived and designed locally, making the CFLI highly responsive to local needs and interests. The CFLI is pleased to work with civil society organizations in Cambodia and to support the Youth Empowerment for Transparency and Integrity project of Transparency International Cambodia,” said Mr Jean-Stephane Couture of Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

130 youths from 11 provinces and municipalities will have the opportunity to learn from and meet with representatives of the Anti-Corruption Unit, a law firm specialising on transparency and anti-corruption, media producers, prominent youth leaders, motivational speakers and many more. In addition to the training and experience-sharing sessions conducted by these professionals and experts, the youths will also participate in interactive learning sessions and role plays. They will develop their own concepts on how to share the learning with their peers in their communities when they return home. This will allow the project to reach out to more than a thousand youths across Cambodia.

“Our goal is to empower young Cambodians and build a social movement against corruption so young people can voice their demand for integrity and accountability from their leaders. These young people might be our potential future leaders in Government, private sector, civil society, media or other professions and will be able to make a difference in their own environment at school, at work, and at home. We believe that youths have the ability to create long-lasting change in Cambodian society and we look forward to motivate and inspire them to actively participate in the fight against corruption and the promotion of social integrity,” said Mr Kol Preap, Executive Director of Transparency International Cambodia.