More than 200 university and high school students, principals, teachers and NGO staff exchanged views on leadership and the use of information and communication technology in social development in a community outreach activity organized by CheckMySchool on July 2.
Among the speakers were ANSA-EAP’s support head for CMS San Chey, University of Management and Economy Director Keo Chan Mony, Tim Malay, CMS project officer Korm Chanraksmey and Hourt Menghong, Chief of District of Education of Kampong Siem district.
Mr. San Chey emphasized the need for access to information, providing feedback and solving issue and networking among various education stakeholders.
Mr. Keo Chan Mony reminded the youth that people are valued for their attitude and leadership, and hence they should use successful individuals as their role models.
Mr. Tim Malay urged the participants to make good use of their time online, using Twitter, Facebook and other sites to be active youth leaders in social media instead of engaging in drugs or computer games.
Mr. Korm Chanraksmey informed those present that they could use the existing IVR and CMS Cambodia Facebook page to report on needs and concerns of the schools.
Mr. Hourt Menghong cautioned the youth against believing or circulating fake information online. Social media users must be discerning, he said, and he called on everybody to use technology ethically and for the right purposes.
The CMS team encouraged the participants to provide feedback on the activity online. In a matter of days, CMS noted an increase in the number of friend requests for its site.
CheckMySchool is a project by KIND and the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP), in collaboration with the University of Management and Economy (UME) Kampong Cham branch.
Itfosters constructive engagement between the government and civil society to improve the quality of services in the education sector. So far, CMS has been able to provide better sanitation to lower secondary schools in Cambodia.