“Tedx Phnom Penh 2011” event in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

If you already know the famous TED conference series, think of the TEDx programme as its younger brother. As with TED, the emphasis is on spreading valuable ideas and bringing people together to engage in dialogue on pressing issues, but TEDx events are planned independently and at the local level. 

The 2011 TEDx event was organized in October in Cambodia, the country with the highest development rate in South-East Asia in the last five years. This may sound impressive, but it needs to be kept in mind that the Khmer Rouge regime destroyed large parts of the country and so it is rebuilding from a low base. It is also significant that Cambodia has the highest number of NGOs in the world. This has resulted in an expanding social business sector with its very own advertising industry. 

On my arrival, I was initially surprised at the size of the community of tech and freelance professionals – a state of affairs which reminded me a bit of Silicone Valley. But these professionals were only responding to a demand: NGOs founded in recent years needed promotion in order to receive donations. You can now find multimedia companies in Phnom Penh dedicated only to NGO customers.

TEDx Phnom Penh was hosted by a team of representatives from the NGO and private sector. The event combined live speakers with TED video screenings, and a series of discussion workshops were organized over the course of a day. In order to allow access to more participants and local students, a live broadcast of the event was organized for Zaman University. Discussion groups, live performances and workshops were also held at the university. 

From a talk about graffiti by local artists to another about fair trade coffee by a local businessman, this TEDx event tried to capture the great range and diversity of local projects. 

I was happy to see how engaged and inspired the Zaman University students were after watching all the videos and participating in the debates and workshops. It was encouraging to see people who have the will to reinvent themselves and create innovative projects.