Education Ministry urges the Kingdom’s youth to volunteer
THE va lue of volunteering work is underestimated by Cambodia’s youth, according to Sean Borat, secretar y of state at t he Ministr y of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS).
More than 33 per cent of Cambodians are aged bet ween 15 and 30 years old. However, only a small number appreciate t he importance of volunteering work in Cambodia and around the world.
The United Nations (UN), the Education Ministr y and volunteers themselves consider voluteering work to be highly va luable for young people. Volunteers help improve qualit y of life for ot hers. They a lso gain va luable experience and develop new sk i l ls.
Borat was speaking at the eighth National Forum on Volunteerism on Wednesday – Internationa l Volunteer Day 2018 – under the theme “Volunteers build resi lient communities” at t he Institute of Technolog y of Cambodia (ITC).
He said volunteering work is not only important for indiv idua ls but it is an instrinsic part of Cambodian societ y and contributes to t he global community.
He promised that the youth department of the MoEYS will continue to cooperate with the UN and other internationa l organsiations to promote volunteering work in Camboida.
“Volunteering work belongs to a ll nationa ls across the world, to work to improve oneself, family, societ y and community. Volunteering work contributes to societ y and v ice versa,” he added.
In a her key note speech at the ITC, UN Resident Coordinator Pauline Tamesis said: “The fifth of December is a specia l day for volunteers and volunteering organisations worldwide as t his is the day we celebrate your efforts, share your va lues, and showcase your contributions to community cohesion and development.”
“The 2018 Internationa l Volunteer Day in Cambodia is more significant than in the past because t his year we celebrate especia lly t he efforts of Cambodian volunteers in communities who, more than ever through their dedicated hard work, are fast becoming part of the solutions for development in t he countr y,” she added.
Volunteerism is now globa lly recognised as a powerful contribution to peace and development. Latest studies indicate t hat t he global vol- unteer workforce is equivalent to 109 million f ull-time workers.
“Think about it! ” Tamesis said. “In 2018, t he size of t he entire US labour force reached 160 million people. So t he globa l volunteer workforce is significant and matches t he size of major globa l industries.”
Ear Vanar y, a fourth year universit y student at ITC and a volunteer who participated at t he Internationa l Volunteer Day event, told The Post t hat she often volunteers with NGOs and the community.
“More than 33 per cent of Cambodians are still in t heir study years. However, only a minor percentage participate in volunteering work, ” Vanar y said.
She added t hat the work offers many benefits: “Volunteer work helps make me a leader, helps me to work wit hin a team, to solve solutions and aquire more sk i l ls.”
Srun Srorn, president of Cam-Asean Youth’s Future, said that more people are participating in government socia l work but not enough young people are volunteering in ot her key areas.
“The number of volunteering youth is limited because we don’t have [a strateg y] to choose young people to participate and they don’t k now where find volunteering work, ” he said.
He said t he Ministr y of Education’s chief method for sourcing volunteers is through t he Cambodian scouts programme.
“Civ il societ y doesn’t have mechanism to offer volunteering work to young people yet, like Ministr y of Education, and cannot prov ide va lue to volunteering work, ” he added.