Press Release on the Inauguration Ceremony of Community Technology Center at Hun Sen High School on June 1 in Param Commune, Bati District, Takeo Province

In the morning of June 24, 2024, in Pearam commune, Bati district, Takeo province, His Excellency Chea Vandeth, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC), presided over the “Inauguration Ceremony of the Community Technology Center at Hun Sen Muy Mithona High School” with the participation of His Excellency Ueno Atsushi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and His Excellency San Vathana, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS), in charge of the Community Technology Center. On this occasion, His Excellency, the Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of State, Director General and civil servants of the Ministry of Education, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations, private enterprises and development partners, the Bati District Government, representatives of the Department of Education and the Takeo Provincial Youth Commission, members of the councils of all 15 communes of Bati District, directors, deputy directors, teachers, students and local residents, a total of approximately 1,800 people.

The Community Technology Center (CTC) at Hun Sen Muy Mithona High School is now a reality, the fruit of cooperation between Cambodia and Japan through the Cambodian-Japanese Cultural Foundation and the Kusanagi Grant from the Royal Government and the people of Japan to contribute to supporting the process of developing digital human capital, promoting digital literacy, and reducing the digital gap in the community.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Hean Poline, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, stated that the C.T.C. at Hun Sen Muy Mithona High School has four main functions: (1) Providing a computer lab for training in digital technology skills, providing distance learning education to public high school students, and serving as an assembly hall and teacher training hall for distance learning; (2) Providing a training room for training in digital technology skills for local authorities and community members who wish to use technology for various purposes; (3) Providing a post office location for receiving and sending packages and providing other services to traders, businessmen and community members; and (4) Providing an Internet Café for community members to access and search for information related to agriculture, business, and other information related to the actual needs of the people in each community.

His Excellency San Vathana, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, highlighted the importance of being a cooperative partner on the joint mission between the MPTC and the MOEYS to achieve the common goal of establishing a CTC in public high schools, in line with the vision of the Royal Government of Cambodia to create a strong digital ecosystem that is conducive to digital transformation in all sectors across the country.

In addition, His Excellency Ueno Atsushi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan in the Kingdom of Cambodia, welcomed today’s new and exciting achievements, which reflect the fruitful results of Cambodia-Japan cooperation and Japan’s support for the digital human capital development process in Cambodia through the Counterpart Fund of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Kusanagi Grant of the Royal Government and the people of Japan.

Speaking at the ceremony, His Excellency Chea Vandeth, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, said that the need to establish a digital ecosystem in public high schools reflects the long-term vision of the MPTC. In the field of communication and information technology, to fulfill the mission of digital transformation for education, which will contribute to the development of digital human capital in both the public and private sectors in preparing a strong digital ecosystem that is conducive to digital transformation in all sectors across the country.

The Minister is optimistic that when fully operational, the C.T.C. will be a new, important, timely and targeted achievement that supports the development of digital education with a proactive spirit and an open mind in fulfilling the mission of digital government transformation, aiming to contribute to the effective implementation of the strategic goals set in the Cambodian Digital Government Policy 2022-2035 and one angle of the Five-Point Strategy - Phase 1 of the Royal Government to achieve Cambodian Vision 2050 under the wise leadership of His Excellency President Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Please be aware that the C.T.C. at Hun Sen Muy Mithona High School is the first achievement among the projects to establish C.T.C. in public high schools in the Kingdom of Cambodia, which started in Takeo province as a project in the first phase, and the task force in charge plans to study and identify priority locations in order to build C.T.C. in public high schools in other provinces in the future.