South Asian Bar Association of Washington Facilitates Student Work in Genocide/Human Rights Education in Cambodia
Dear SABAW Board Members:
I am writing to confirm the expenditure of the student stipend provided to me by the South Asian Bar Association and provide a brief description of the work that I accomplished while in Cambodia.
The South Asian Bar Association awarded me a student stipend of $2,000 for the purpose of facilitating my work in genocide/human rights education in Cambodia over the Winter/Spring of 2010. I used my stipend to pay for two round-trip tickets to Cambodia. A brief description of each trip is provided below.
1. The first trip was accomplished March 24-31, 2010. I flew to Phnom Penh and traveled to Siem Riep to attend a conference of national and regional education officials who were tasked with training 3,000 teachers and education officials throughout Cambodia. A brief synopsis of the events at this conference is provided below, as taken from the report produced by the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-CAM) [see attached].
The conference began with an opening speech by Chumteav Tun Sa-im, Undersecretary of State for the Ministry of Education, followed by the handing out of certificates to provincial trainers.
The newly appointed co-prosecutor for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia), Andrew T. Cayley, spoke on the new case currently being reviewed by the court (Case 002), and commended the teachers on their vital social role as educators, noting that the future of the nation depends on the success of their efforts.
Professor Sambo Manara lectured the teachers on the role of research in education, and encouraged them to take an active role in contributing to historical knowledge about Democratic Kampuchea. He cited a number of possibilities for locally led, action-based research in the communities of the teachers.
Mr. Christopher Dearing delivered a stimulating presentation on the role of critical thinking in the classroom, which was followed by a useful model lesson on participatory learning strategies. All teachers had the chance to be involved and to become acquainted with the techniques of group work.
Three artists from the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA) led a lively discussion on the play “Breaking the Silence,” which all the teachers had screened during their previous training. The teachers were given an opportunity to question the actors and also to debate the various dramatic and literary components of the piece.
2. May 7-14, 2010, I flew to Cambodia again to facilitate the commune-level trainings in three provinces: Kampong Thom, Takeo, and Prey Veng. Because these provinces constituted communes from several other provinces, each provincial training team was tasked with training an audience of between 60-150 educators during the seven-day session. Spending approximately one-and-a-half days in each province, I gave a brief lecture, modeled a lesson, and facilitated a meeting of the respective trainers for each province.
I want to thank the South Asian Bar Association of Washington for the honor of being recognized as one of the student awardees, and speaking on behalf of the Documentation Center of Cambodia and the educators who I have been able to work with and train, thank you for your support.
I intend to be returning to Cambodia in August 2010, but should you require more information, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by the email provided or by telephone.
Christopher Dearing
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