Photo: CIPE Staff
This year Heritage Foundation ranked Cambodia as 112th or “mostly unfree” in its 2016 Index of Economic Freedom. Though Cambodia’s management of public finances and trade have become notably more open and transparent, deep institutional and systemic challenges remain, in part due to weak property rights, pervasive corruption, and burdensome bureaucracy.
On the upside, Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net Index ranks Cambodia at 48th, partly free in regard to Internet freedom. Where traditional media is rigorously regulated, accessible social media and ICT apps present an opportunity for educating, advocating, and advancing positive reforms in Cambodia and the region more broadly.
CIPE, in tandem with Panoply Digital, a U.K.-based ICT for Development consulting firm, sought to seize this opportunity and advance the work of two partner organizations based in Cambodia. In its second training workshop in a series, CIPE and Panoply Digital presented tools for online research, professional development/open learning, communications, and online training courses to Silaka and the Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations (CAMFEBA).
The tools and strategies outlined in this workshop are detailed in this month’s Economic Reform Feature Service article. In addition, CIPE has created a platform compiling resources for advocacy as well as membership development and services, financial management, and organizational management.
Stephanie Bandyk is a Program Assistant for Global Programs at CIPE.
