Cambodian students tour the National Assembly during a parliamentary school outreach in July.

The 15 students of Kor high school in Kampong Cham province staged a role play, some acting as Cambodian lawmakers talking about their work to a group of visitors, also played by their own classmates. They based their sketch on a recent tour of Cambodia’s Parliament, which has already inspired some of them to think about how they want to start their career.

 

“The visit has encouraged them to study harder for their future. Some of the students who just graduated from grade 12 are planning to apply for a law school because they want to become members of Parliament,” said Chheng Sophanarum, the principal of the eastern Cambodian school. He said the 15 students conducted the play to share the experience of their trip with other students at the school.

 

Mr. Chheng Sophanarum’s students were among a group of 37 children who visited the National Assembly and Senate offices in Phnom Penh in July. The other 22 students came from Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces in the country’s northeast. They became the first group of citizens to be given a tour of both houses of parliament in a school outreach initiative supported by UNDP.

The aim of the activity is to increase knowledge and understanding of young Cambodians about the role and function of the legislative branch. Presently, very few Cambodians, particularly those living in the countryside, are aware of the role and responsibility of the legislative branch and its members.

“My students had never before thought that they would have had a chance to get in the Parliament because they are living in a very far province from Phnom Penh,” said Choy Veasna, the principal of O’rang school in Mondulkiri. He said the journey by bus on the bumpy road to Phnom Penh was long and exhausting for his students, but they enjoyed the chance to hear directly from some of the lawmakers during their visit.

During the tour, the young visitors had the opportunity to meet and receive briefings from some members of the National Assembly and Senate.

Her Excellency Ho Naun, a National Assembly’s committee chairwoman, spoke to them about the need to have greater women’s participation in the country’s decision-making processes. She encouraged female students to study hard to become leaders in the future.

“My students, especially the girls, felt very encouraged by H. E. Ho Naun’s words,” said Ms. Heng Touch, a teacher from Sandan school in Kratie. She said she would like to see such a programme made available to all the students in Cambodia so that they can garner a better knowledge and experience about the institution.

Previously the Parliament has been incorrectly perceived as an exclusive venue for elected representatives and off-limits to everyday Cambodians. The outreach programme is also designed to help dispel such a notion and to make the Parliament buildings more accessible to all people. It is hoped that the initiative will contribute to Cambodia Millennium Development Goals of universal primary education and gender equality and empowerment by encouraging children, especially girls, to remain in school and exposing them to Cambodian role models including women Members of Parliament.