Under the guidance of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs, the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF), the Women's Economic and Entrepreneurship Development Center of Cambodia, and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) jointly unveiled the China-Cambodia Friendly Space for Women's Empowerment and Girls' Growth in the Women's Economic and Entrepreneurship Development Center in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on September 29.

The inauguration of the China-Cambodia Friendly Space for Women's Empowerment and Girls' Growth marked the implementation of the China-Cambodia Cooperation Project for Girls and Women's Education.

The inaugural ceremony brought together around 50 guests, including Kry Nallis, Secretary of State from the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs and Executive Director of the Women's Economic and Entrepreneurship Development Center of Cambodia; Savuth Sophanharath, Under Secretary of State from the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs; Chhun Hak, Director General of the Department for Gender Equality and Economic Development in the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs; Chen Cong, Minister-Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia; Zhu Dongyun, Deputy Secretary-General of the CCTF; Gu Xiaobai, Vice-President of the CSCEC Trade Union; Li Liangyuan, Vice President of the CSCEC Third Engineering Bureau Group International; staff workers of the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs, the CCTF and the CSCEC; and some Cambodian girls.

 

The opening of the China-Cambodia Friendly Space for Women's Empowerment and Girls' Growth is designed to offer courses about STEM education, vocational skills and the enhancement of entrepreneurship and employment capacity, further deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in girls and women's education, help more Cambodian girls and women improve scientific and digital literacy, and assist them in mastering a "gold key" to strive for a happy life in the present era.

At the ceremony, Zhu talked with participants about the newly-launched space and the courses on digital intelligence empowerment for Chinese and Cambodian girls and women. She said that the launch of the China-Cambodia Cooperation Project for Girls and Women's Education bears great importance as this year is the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women will be held in China soon. Noting that the project is a vivid "small and beautiful" practice for China and Cambodia to reinforce bilateral cooperation on girls and women's education, she said the two countries should work together for a bright future of girls via education, and help more girls and women enjoy equitable, inclusive and high-quality education.

Zhu and Nallis jointly unveiled a plaque of the China-Cambodia Friendly Space for Women's Empowerment and Girls' Growth at the ceremony. Zhu sent to Nallis a symbolic key of the newly-installed space, which also represents the key to a happy life and bright future of girls and women's education, and relevant course resources.

 

 

 

Nallis spoke highly of the China-Cambodia Cooperation Project for Girls and Women's Education, which was the first project landed in the Women's Economic and Entrepreneurship Development Center of Cambodia. She said that the opening of the space is a landmark event for the center and that it represents the iron-clad friendship, close cooperation and common vision of the two countries. She noted that the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs will consolidate its partnership with the ACWF and the CCTF, further deepen cooperation between the two countries, and build the China-Cambodia Cooperation Project for Girls and Women's Education into an international cooperation model for promoting gender equality and inclusive economic growth.

The China-Cambodia Friendly Space for Women's Empowerment and Girls' Growth has closely followed children-first and children-friendly principles. A virtual persona, Teacher Lei Lei, provides instruction in 12 core courses –– including digital basics, e-commerce practices, cultural integration and women's leadership –– in fluent Khmer, with Chinese and English subtitles. The digital intelligence courses have encompassed the wisdom of Chinese experts and scholars in STEM education and the AI sector, and met the pressing demands, of Cambodian women and girls, for the utilization of digital technologies in improving personal life and achieving self-development.

 

 

 

On the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony, calligraphy teachers instructed several Cambodian girls to learn the writing of 中柬友好 ("China-Cambodia friendship" in Chinese characters) at the "roundtable sharing" area. A Cambodian girl conveyed thanks to Chinese teachers for their teaching of Chinese culture and characters and hoped that she would pursue further education in China and have more exchanges with her Chinese peers in the future.

 

Attending guests also distributed growth care packages among Cambodian girls.

After the ceremony, the Chinese delegation held talks with officials of the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs over vocational education, digital intelligence empowerment, the innovative integration between enterprises and schools, international cooperation, and the exploration of new paths for the sustainable development of girls and women's education.

In addition, the Chinese delegation also visited Cambodian demonstration centers for women's development and the women's development center in Kampong Chhnang, to inspect the latest development and actual demands of vocational education for girls and women.

In the years ahead, the CCTF, with the support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia and under the ACWF's guidance, will engage in closer cooperation with the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Women's Economic and Entrepreneurship Development Center of Cambodia, promote the building of exchange platforms for girls and women of the two countries, make the stories of bilateral cooperation on girls and women's education well known, give full play to the functions of the Global Exchange and Cooperation Center for Digital Empowerment of Women in helping more Cambodian girls and women acquire scientific knowledge and new technologies, make innovations, embrace technological revolution and write a brilliant chapter, and contribute the unique strength of women to the building of an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.