Samdech Krala Hom Sar Kheng Receives UNESCO Representative in Cambodia
Phnom Penh: Samdech Krala Hom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, on the afternoon of October 25, 2022, received Mr. Sadar Uma Alam, UNESCO Representative in Cambodia for a courtesy call and discussion.
During the meeting, Prince Sar Kheng extended a warm welcome to Mr. Sadar Uma Alam and thanked UNESCO for its continued support for Cambodia.
He noted that Cambodia joined the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1951, the year of its founding, and had a series of contacts and collaborations, but was interrupted in 1975 due to the internal situation of the country. Cambodia.
In response, Mr. Sadar Uma Alam thanked Prince Sar Kheng for taking the opportunity of his busy schedule to allow him to pay a courtesy call on the Prince. Taking this opportunity, he also thanked the leadership of the Royal Government of Cambodia for the success of the vaccination campaign to the people, including himself, has already received this vaccine until the fifth dose. In particular, he was pleased to observe that the campaign was carried out in a harmonious and non-discriminatory manner.
He said that since the reopening of UNESCO’s office in Cambodia in 1991, the organization has been assisting Cambodia in areas such as culture, education, information, natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. In the last two years, the organization has focused on education on factory literacy programs and the BEEP online equivalent. At the same time, the organization has expanded the scope of work related to the field of expression, especially the fight against false information.
Regarding the field of expression, Mr. Sadar Uma Alam informed Prince Sar Kheng that social media in modern technology has changed the way the public can access information and created a complex problem for journalists and the government. In addition, it also has an impact on society, such as: providing opportunities for criminals to commit crimes through technology.
At the international level, UNESCO is also working with the Ministry of Interior in various countries to provide training to police officers in charge of digital literacy and social media literacy to be used in the fight against false information and misinformation.
In this regard, Mr. Sadar Uma Alam informed Prince Krala Hom Sar Kheng that UNESCO has the resources and wishes to establish cooperation with the Ministry of Interior in the training of Cambodian police officers and to provide assistance in formulating policies to Respond to the above problem.
In response to Sadar Uma Alam, Prince Sar Kheng said that Cambodia, as well as other countries in the world, are facing challenges related to the digital sector. In principle, the Royal Government encourages people to express their opinions, but at the same time we also need to prevent any opinions that may have an impact on social interests. “This is a complex issue that requires a clear distinction between fake and true information,” he said.
Samdech Krala Hom continued that this digital social system has also created opportunities for some crooks to commit technology crimes such as: fraud, theft.
He informed Sadar Uma Alam that he also has his own Facebook page that is open to people to file complaints, including many technological crimes.
He cited examples such as online fraud, and he noted that the Cambodian authorities still have limited capacity to deal with cases related to technology crimes.
Kralahom informed Sadar Uma Alam that the Royal Government of Cambodia is currently drafting a law on technology crime and that it is in the process of being discussed with stakeholders, including experts from the United States. However, this law is not yet complete, requiring further preparation time. In this context, Prince Kralahom also expressed support for Sadar Uma Alam’s initiative in training literacy, information technology, digital and social media.
In response, Sadar Uma Alam thanked Sar Kheng for his support and agreed with Kralahom’s remarks, informing him that the new digital social network was creating a lot of complexity as a tool. Used by everyone, including children, to solve the above problems that arise from this social network requires the consent of stakeholders and in-depth education.
In connection with this education, Mr. Sadar Uma Alam informed Prince Krala Hom Sar Kheng that today UNESCO is promoting a program called the Basic Education Equivalent Program on the Internet and this program is a free online education program. Non-formal education fees of the Royal Government, which provides basic education programs to people from the age of 14 so that they can complete basic education, upon graduation they will receive an official degree from the Ministry of Education, which allows They continue their education in high school or vocational institute.
Today, UNESCO plans to expand the scope of this education program to migrant workers’ detainees, and Sadar Uma Alam requested that Sar Kheng support the UNESCO working group to meet with the Ministry of Interior. Examine the feasibility of implementing this plan into action.
In response to Sadar Uma Alam, Prince Sar Kheng expressed his keen interest in educating migrant workers, claiming that some migrants had left the country illegally. Facing the loss of other benefits. Today, Cambodia also has a mechanism for receiving migrant workers returning from abroad, a waiting center, and a means of transportation to bring them home.
In this sense, basic education is really important to them, and Prince Sar Kheng also expressed support for the UNESCO initiative and ready to appoint officials of the Ministry of Interior to cooperate with the organization to achieve practical action.
