Report
On
Annual Reflection of the Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association
“Empowerment of Indigenous Youth through Education and Interdependence”
8-9 Feb 2020
Cham Pen Protected Forest, Bangkeun Phal village, Preah Vihear
I. Introduction
(Please insert some info here by CIYA president or program staff)
II. Opening Session of the Reflection Meeting
Beginning with the introduction of the participants, the session also invited the Kui community elders who set their own security system at the edge of the main door of the forest to make sure that every single looting activity is noticed, to make a summary of their sacrifice in defending their ancestral resources. Uncle Ros Lim, one of the active patrollers taking much of his time to take care of the forest, discussed why his community had set its own traditional system to challenge the aggressive loggers who intended to cut trees inside the protected area of Bangkeun Phal village. He confirmed the power and high-ranking officials and Economic Land Concessions have dramatically extracted the neighboring forest, under the administration of Forestry officials. Instead, his community forest is properly safeguarded in spite of very limited support from the outsiders.
He also urged the youth to participate in protecting the forest as it was part of social responsibilities and interdependence.
In this regard, the participants are also allowed to raise the questions to the elders regarding forest protection.
After that, the facilitator briefed the introduction of the reflection meeting by indicating the objective and what would be discussed in each session.
Key agenda of the meeting discussed as followed:
– Update of the provincial member in which their general information, implemented activities, challenges, recommendations and lesson learned and plan 2020 are presented;
– Key achievements of the CIYA secretariat in 2019
– Review of strategic plan and by-law
III. Summary of Key Reflection Session
a. Presentation of Provincial Members
CIYA provincial members have prepared their presentation by focusing on the key activities and challenges faced in 2019. Along with this, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations are raised to reflect back and find feedback for next year.
1. Activities Implemented by Members:
• Mobilized the donation, contribution, and generous support from other sources: As CIYA is planning to buy a house in Phnom Penh for indigenous students who want to pursue their higher education in the city, it has been mobilizing resources from its former members who have finished their school and employed. Until now fund raised reaches more than one thousand US dollars.
• Created art group to perform in other events if any invitation: Members in Phnom Penh have been active in the traditional art performance in which they are often invited to perform in other events that they can earn some income for their saving group.
• Football team: The team plays with some unofficial competition/match (The members in Phnom Penh only)
• Study circle: The group has been created to share other knowledge and experiences among the students not only from its indigenous students but also from other students who wish to share theirs with the group. This model was initiated since the inception of CIYA; it becomes a space for indigenous students to meet and share their issues of different fields.
• Joined events/campaigns like the conference, workshop, meeting with cooperation with other NGOs: CIPO, CYN, UN, CVS, NGO Forum, PKH, DPA and other authorities. This helps students shape their skills during their schooling. The internship and placement program are very useful for them. Therefore, CIYA has to build good cooperation with other institutions to find potential opportunities for its members, particularly scholarship space for poor students.
• Organized Indigenous Peoples Day: Almost all provincial CIYA members celebrated the IPs day together with the community respectively. Even there have been some restrictions from local authority in conducting the event, some members insisted on mobilizing their community to celebrate and even invited the authority to find out what the IPs Day is.
• Conducted regular monthly meeting: The meeting is to update what they have been doing in 2019 and plan what to do next year. In some provinces, they conducted both monthly and quarterly meeting.
• Registered new members: Becoming the members of CIYA, individuals have to complete the application form so that CIYA can review before decide to choose as a membership of the Association.
• Selected new provincial representative: Some provincial members have changed their representatives and to choose new ones, the members must elect based on the policy of CIYA.
• Built stall to sell products: In Kampong Thom, CIYA members have started running the business by selling vegetables and traditional products. This is part of sustaining their livelihood, and of supporting their members, who are facing difficulties in schooling. They have set up the saving group with initial fund from CIYA of $500, and now they could save up to more than 40,000,000 riel (around $10000). Now it becomes like-microfinance, which can provide loan to its members including the community.
• Joined community activity to protect the forest: In Preah Vihear, CIYA members have closely and actively joined hand with their community to protect the forest through patrolling, cycling campaign, press conference, etc, in the case of Chinese Sugarcane Company in Preah Vihear. Some members face lawsuit charges. In Stung Treng’s Kbal Romeas where the Lower Sesan II located, the members have been working against the government’s policy relocating the flooded villagers to the new area. Now about 53 households have been allowed to live on their land closed to the submerged area. They’re also working with CIPO on the communal land registration of their land of around 7000 hectares to secure their traditional way of land use and tenure. The boundary adjudication is complete, and waiting for approval to the next step.
2. Challenges and Issues
• Without traditional dance mentor, the group has faced some issues particularly the budget for other expenses. As most members are busy studying, the group has very limited time to rehearse and some are indifferent in the group.
• No computer for learning and training. Like in Kampong Thom province, due to an increase in saving balance, they simply need a system that can control their finance flow effectively avoiding any loss or damage in their financial management.
• Some members have limited understanding about the CIYA. This leads to misinterpretation and misrepresentation to others.
• Lack of participation from its members
• Migration to the city and other countries is also alerting issues for the provincial members who experienced difficulties in making a living in their village
• Some local authorities remain negative on what the youth have been doing including restricting them from organizing event
• High rate of school drop-out
• Insecure due to huge influx of outsiders in the community
• Limited support and cooperation from local authority
• Young marriage
3. Key Achievements Update of Secretariat Team
Nun Sokunthea, newly elected president of CIYA, presented the update of what have been done in 2019. He provided more about the changes within the CIYA since he had taken the office.
In late 2018, CIYA conducted its general assembly to choose new president for new term. Based on the majority of the election, Sokunthea was selected as a president.
During his administration, CIYA has made a lot of change in term of structure and by-law. To ensure the compliance with the determined direction of CIYA, the extraordinary meeting has decided to create a group of Boards who are chosen from the provincial members of eight provinces and one city. The Board is a group of decision-makers and oversees the implementation of the secretariat team (CIYA staff are now composed 4).
Since there have been a lot changes in new term, CIYA has to work closely with the relevant Ministries, especially the Ministry of Interior, on the process of document requesting an approval on other minutes and reports according to the law in place. Some amendments have been done within the by-law to make more applicable based on the real context of Cambodia.
Remarkably, CIYA has updated its strategic plan for 2020-2024, with support from its members and Board. The strategy has eight thematic focuses:
Highest Priority strategies:
1. Support the development of IP youth associations from local level to national level. This would then form the base for indigenous youth to advocate on their issues.
2. Provide accommodation to assist IP youth to be able to access post-school education. This would aim to overcome the economic barriers to indigenous youth undertaking post-school education.
3. Develop and provide extra IP youth post-school capacity building that respond to community needs. This would be in recognition that mainstream education providers will likely never provide the full and specific post-school education that indigenous youth need. Examples, the skills for community organizing need to be learned through practice and experience in order to develop youth capacity.
4. Strengthen the internal systems, accountability, transparency and sustainability of CIYA secretariat and membership. This is important to keep CIYA strong and sustainable.
Second Priority strategies:
5. Provide support to indigenous human rights defenders. This recognizes that indigenous youth will be involved in supporting indigenous communities defend their rights.
6. Collaborate with other organizations in order to increase collaboration and appropriateness of community support. This is so that CIYA’s work is part of a holistic support to indigenous communities and society.
7. Work with post-school education providers to improve their services. This would be so the post-school institutions that indigenous youth are enrolling with better serve them and indigenous society.
8. Support post-school education so non-indigenous youth understand more about indigenous peoples and indigenous affairs. this will lead to more non-indigenous understanding and appreciating indigenous culture and indigenous affairs – to be more respectful and appreciative of indigenous peoples.
All these strategies have also been discussed within the group discussion in the reflection meeting to see where/what should be revised or what more inputs should the members have.
In the reflection meeting, we not only reflected what CIYA did last year, but we also discussed the contents of CIYA’s strategy at very detail with the members to make sure that they clearly understand about what direction CIYA is going to.
In this session, Choem Samut, former president, led the discussion of CIYA’s by-law. The session was to make sure that all provincial members have understand the contents of the by-law and their power within the association. During the review, the meeting has found some articles should be amended such as articles 17, 23, 29.
4. Fund Raising
At the same time, the meeting also discussed the potential sources to help CIYA, avoiding total depending on donors. Sources of fund mobilization are suggested as follows:
– Raise from the members
– Crowdfunding (considering other online donation platforms)
– Art performance
– Small business run by its members (selling goods, planting vegetables, livestock…)
– Savings group
– Eco-tourism
– Members’ parents contribution
– Community support
– Charity
– Commune fund
5. Recommendations and Lesson Learnt
– Capacity building is needed for provincial members such as advocacy, documentation, use of computer, communications, indigenous peoples related legal instruments, ect…
– Secretariat team has to work closely with provincial members and update of every change within the association and social trends so that they will be able to think critically.
– Fund support for provincial members is important so that they will be able to implement activities effectively,
– CIYA should document and publish as many as documents about indigenous peoples in Cambodia, especially new knowledge and experiences that its members can learn from it.