The German liberal Friedrich-Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) celebrated last year its 50 years of International Work in Germany. In Phnom Penh, we have celebrated this event in conjunction with “Meet and Greet” on 17 March 2014, at Meta House. It was the opportunity to say farewell to our outgoing Project Director for Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia, Ms. Katrin Bannach, and to welcome our new Project Director, Mr. Hans-Georg Jonek, who is currently based in Vietnam and is responsible for Vietnam and Cambodia, from January 2014 onwards.
The German Ambassador gave his welcoming speech
More than eighty distinguished guests representing partners and civil society organizations, German experts, IAF Alumni and friends of FNF participated fully in this special event. H.E. Joachim BARON VON MARSCHALL delivered his welcoming speech addressing the liberal values and individual freedom. Dr. Lao Mong Hay, Political Analyst, reaffirmed that Cambodia has experienced a lot of change, especially before and after the July 2013 general election. “Cambodians have become more and more real citizens”, stressed Dr. Lao. Dr. Rainer Adam, FNF Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia Office, thanked all distinguished guests for their time to come and our partners for excellent cooperation in the past years and ensured that FNF will continue to support the democratization process in Cambodia.
Welcoming our guests
“It was nice celebration and very simple that we can easily make a contact and share what we are doing to friends who are working in the similar fields and others eager to know more about freedom and governance etc.”, said one participant. Another participant put it this way: “It is always a pleasure for me to attend the events organized by the FNF. I enjoyed also meeting young people, after the official function”.