CCIM is partnering with DanChurchAid/ChristianAid (DCA/CA) and the Advocacy and Policy Institute (API) to promote Access to Information in rural communities throughout Cambodia. The project, funded by the European Commission (EU), aims to increase access to information and strengthen independent media and will run from 2015 to 2017.
The project is designed with two-pronged approach. First, API will increase the supply of information available in targeted communities by working with local authorities to increase their capacities to respond to information requests by citizens and media. Second, CCIM will generate demand for information by training everyday citizens, citizen journalists and provincial broadcasters on their right to know.
“During the three-year term, CCIM, API and DCA/CA will work together to train at least 28 citizen journalists; to hold meetings and trainings with local authorities, community members, citizen journalists and provincial broadcasters; and to raise awareness about access to information through VOD radio broadcasts to more than 8.5 million VOD radio listeners nationwide,” said Ms. Virak Bonnarath, CCIM Project Manager.
Recently, 28 CJs were selected from four provinces (Bonteay Meanchey, Pursat, Kratie and Kompong Thom); among them, nine are female. CCIM equipped them with comprehensive training in early May 2015 on how to report news stories from their communities by using smartphones and social media. All CJs produced reports and sent them to CCIM’s VOD news outlet for publication.
Access to information is core value of democracy and is guaranteed by the Cambodian Constitution. As taxpayers and voters, the Cambodian people have a basic right to access public information. But despite a constitutional guarantee of this right and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s recent announcement in 2014 that Access to Information is a priority of his mandate, media professionals, citizens and civil society organizations still face challenges in obtaining information from the government. The resulting lack of information creates an environment where corruption thrives and where everyday citizens lack the basic information to make decisions that affect their daily lives.
