KAPE and its partner World Education recently completed a2-day workshop that marks the closure of the 5-year IBEC Project, an innovativeproject funded by USAID through World Education. Funded jointly by USAID and MoEYS, the workshop was organizedwith the full participation of the Ministry;indeed, the workshop was chaired by H.E. Hang Chuon Naron himself along withseveral secretaries of state, department heads, POEYS Directors, andrepresentatives from numerous development partners. Rebecca Black, the USAIDMission Director was a key speaker at the workshop, providing insights aboutUSAID’s thoughts on education development and the way forward for US-Cambodiapartnership.

This has been one of the most productive and innovativeworkshops KAPE has ever managed. The Minister of Education, Youth, and Sportpresided over the workshop for the entire two-day period and provided manyinsightful and exciting observations on current issues in the education sectorand the Ministry’s new reform initiative. The workshop was innovative in everyrespect including its venue at the Provincial Teacher Training College ofKampong Cham, in close proximity to the KAPE-supported Demonstration School,which provided an opportunity for participants to see concrete examples ofinnovative school design and practice. The workshop employed a novel approachinvolving 7 seminars with small groupings of participants involving detailedpresentations by resource persons followed by group discussions leading to theformulation of recommendations for the Ministry to consider. Seminar topicsincluded Science Education, Improving Reading Curricula, Student CouncilDevelopment, ICT in Education, Life Skills Education, School Management andDecentralization, and Cooperative Learning. The workshop helped to make therelationship with the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport even closer andpromises to help the agency participate more fully in the reforms proposed bythe Ministry.