IPYG Partnership Signing Ceremony with YEPW in Cambodia

 

The International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) held the Youth Engagement & Peacebuilding Working Group (YEPW) in Cambodia for three days from January 27^th to 29^th. On January 27^th , the ‘2024 IPYG Cambodia Partnership Signing Ceremony and Networking Event’ was held at the Asian Euro University, and on January 28^th and 29^th, the Youth Empowerment Peace Class (YEPC) and the regular meeting for youth union peace activities in Cambodia were held at the office of the Khmer Youth Association, respectively.

 

 

The Khmer Youth Association, which co-hosted and organized the meeting of YEPW, has been engaged in discussions with IPYG for peace and continuous cooperation since they participated in the YEPC in 2021. During the 9th Anniversary of the September 18th HWPL World Peace Summit, which was held in Korea last year, the Khmer Youth Association pledged to actively promote youth union peace activities using global networking for Cambodian youth with IPYG, and in January this year, the YEPW activities were carried out based on the promised cooperation.

Later, to start youth union peace activities in Cambodia in earnest, IPYG and the Khmer Youth Association recruited organizations to work together. As a result, on the 27th, the first day of the event, 8 NGOs and 1 educational institution from the sections of youth, education, human rights, and women joined IPYG, signed a partnership, and pledged to continuously cooperate with it.

 

 

Dr. Sophea Sous, Vice Chancellor of Asia Euro University, said in his congratulatory speech, “The head and management of the Khmer Youth Association, representatives of related organizations, and IPYG officials of Korea worked together and hosted this event here. It is a great honor to see the event here for Asia Euro University’s management, staff, professors, and students. The Khmer Youth Association and Korea’s IPYG are actively discussing and dedicating themselves to raising awareness of society and young people and to helping young people to follow domestic and international trends as potential successful ones.” He added that he hopes Euro University students learn more through the activities of the organization.

Monirath Prak, representative of the Khmer Youth Association, gave a presentation titled ‘(peace activity) Cooperation Cases of IPYG and the Importance of Youth Union.’ He said, “I attended the 9th anniversary of the HWPL World Peace Summit held in Korea last year. I was able to learn good examples of other NGOs and their networks for building peace.” He also said, emphasizing the importance of cooperation, “In particular, I think that Cambodian youth and IPYG should cooperate so that the voices of Cambodian youth can be reflected to foster a peaceful mindset. Therefore, I believe that the Khmer Youth Association will not only cooperate with IPYG but also participate in networks with other NGOs.”

During the remaining two days of the event, Yeng Sopheng, program manager of the Khmer Youth Association, gave the NGOs a lecture about the YEPC, and a discussion on collaborative activities with IPYG was made. Participants in the discussion suggested ways to revitalize the YEPC by using social media. They also gave the idea of reorganizing youth and peace education tailored to the Cambodian locale and providing it online so that 2,000 members of the organization can freely take it anywhere.