TEDxPhnomPenh is taking place today at Northbridge International School (Cambodia). I’m here to cover the day-long event.

TED speaker and fellow Sophal Ear wrote in an email saying that:

I’m absolutely delighted that TEDxPP is taking place! TED is about ideas worth spreading and Cambodia has many wonderful ideas worth spreading and sharing. I believe that Cambodian thought leaders and visionaries can come together at TEDxPP not just as speakers but as audience members who can absorb ideas from one another for a better Cambodia.

Of the speakers lined-up, obviously, I am especially proud of each and everyone in the Cambodian contingent (Kung Nai, Sithen Sum, Thet Sambath, Kounila Keo, Channe Suy, Theary Seng, and Phloeun Prim) because TEDxPP is a wonderful platform for them to launch ideas worth spreading. Thet Sambath’s Enemies of the People has been described as cathartic to Cambodian-Americans who have seen it. Kounila Keo’s Blue Lady Blog is at the vanguard of social media in Cambodia; you can find her on Facebook 24/7! I think the legend of TEDxPP will spread and whoever should have been there will have a chance at the next TEDx taking place in Cambodia. There’s no doubt in my mind, it’s the hottest ticket in Cambodia right now.

TEDxPhnomPenh
February 5th, 2011
10:15 – Hello everyone! I’m here to do liveblogging TEDxPP here throughout the day.
10:19 – Just started liveblogging #TEDxPP. Sitting next to an EZECOM technical guy.
10:23 – Not as many as registered attendees are showing up this morning. It’s less than a hundred people here.
10:25 – Coffee break now. Stay tuned.
10:34 – The second session of this morning is just a few minutes away.
10:35 – Thet Sambath and Rob Lemkin are taking the stage to present Enemies of the People Video.
10:38 – In an email interview I’ve done recently, TED speaker Sophal Ear wrote that “Thet Sambath’s Enemies of the People has been described as cathartic to Cambodian-Americans who have seen it.”
10:49 – I’m collecting all the presentations from the speakers. Got the first one from the first speaker, Sithen Sum.
10:59 – Chapei Master Kong Nai made a great show this morning to kick off the first TEDxPP in Cambodia.
11:02 – People are now getting back in conference hall. The second session is about to start.
11:04 – A Cambodian organizer, Rithy Thul, said about 120 people are now at TEDxPP this morning. 150 tickets were given away.
11:06 – Rob Lemkin, a co-producer of the Enemy of the People, now appears on screen.
11:08 – I met investigative journalist Thet Sambath briefly this morning. He looks cheerful. Not sure yet if he will be on stage presenting Enemy of the People he co-produced with Rob Lemkin.
11:11 – It’s as if people outside Cambodia are having difficulties watching live-video from #TEDxPP.
11:18 – Thet Sambath sits next to Kounila Keo, another speaker who will take the stage in an hour or so.
11:19 – “Perpetrators have had nightmare, as you’ve seen in the film [Enemy of the People],” said Rob Lemkin.
11:19 – Thet Sambath is taking the stage now.
11:20 Moderator Vannak starts a conversation with Thet Sambath.
11:22 – Thet Sambath began his documentary film Enemy of the People since 2011 (while in 1998 he started his research) at the time he was working for The Cambodia Daily. He’s currently with another English language paper, The Phnom Penh Post.
11:23 – I hope that from this film, it can help Cambodia’s new generation and researchers in finding the truth of why the Khmer Rouge killed its own people, says Thet Sambath.
11:23 – The first film, we call it Enemy of the People. And now we’re working on the second film, says Thet Sambath.
11:26 – Thet Sambath says confessions by top Khmer Rouge leaders are important for young Cambodians to building the nation’s future.
11:30 – Romi Grossberg’s Tiny Toones is now on the large screen.
11:34 – Romi Grossberg, General Manager at Tiny Toones, is now speaking.
11:38 – After introducing Tiny Toones, now performance by the street kids.
11:40 – Probably this performance is one of the most creative ways to tell the story of Cambodia’s street children.
11:42 – With pop music and Hip-Hop dance, the performance excites the audience a lot.
11:49 – Keo Kounila, who will be speaking next, says she’s moved by Tiny Toone’s performance.
11:51 – Oh, wow. Sophal Ear’s TEDtalk is now on screen at TEDxPP.
11:56 – “I’m absolutely delighted that TEDxPP is taking place!,” wrote Sophal Ear, TED speaker and fellow.
11:56 – “TED is about ideas worth spreading and Cambodia has many wonderful ideas worth spreading and sharing,” wrote Sophal Ear.
11:57 – Keo Kounila is taking the stage now.
11:57 – “The New Generation of Cambodia” is Kounila’s today topic.
12:01 – Fascinating talk by Keo Kounila, who also asks: who’s the first Cambodia’s blogger?
12:03 – You can visit Kounila’s blog at http://blueladyblog.com/
12:05 – Kounila’s mother is also here as her audience.
12:07 – “Blogging gives me new knowledges and perspectives,” says Kounila.
12:08 – “I also meet with like-minded friends from people from other parts of the world,” says Kounila.
12:08 – “Where is my freedom,” asked blogger Kounila.
12:11 – Kounila asks the audience to blog about “yourself, your community, and your country.”
12:17 – Lunch break now.
1:27 – I’m back from lunch break. Liveblogging again this afternoon before the end of the day.
1:37 – Geek and entrepreneur Chris Brown talks about starting a business in Cambodia.
1:39 – Lean startups by Chris Brown. Execution over ideas.
1:40 – Ideas are worthless until you can execute them.
1:41 – Why people keep their ideas secret?
1:44 – When a great team meets a great market, something special happens, says Chris Brown.
1:51 – Fail fast, and fail often, says Chris Brown.
1:53 – Chris Brown tells how Bill Gates found Microsoft through reading an article in a technology magazine.
1:54 – Instead of focusing on the product, you should focus on how to reduce the rate of failure: Chris Brown.
1:56 – Suy Channe on building the future of Cambodia starts with sharing.
1:57 – Channe recounts her culture shock in India, where she earned her Master degree in Computer Science.
1:58 – Channe asks: “Who can be best to tell the local needs?”
1:59 – Teaching people to fish can be easy. But sustainable development requires a new way of thinking.
2:00 – Channe joined InSTEDD lab in 2008 to help overseeing its software product development.
2:03 – InSTEDD, funded by Google, has been developing a low-cost, yet effective communication tools for health workers in Cambodia.
2:04 – Channe: Having international experts flying into Cambodia to help solve problem is effective. But what happens when they return.
2:05 – Knowledge sharing can be done through independent groups.
2:06 – ShareVision was founded by Channe and her colleagues to help bridging the knowledge gaps among university students who’ve not exposed to workplace.
2:06 – Sharing knowledge among professionals can be faster than learning at schools.
2:08 – Before you throw your money or technology to communities in Cambodia, you need build and develop their capacity.
2:09 – Channe: are you willing to take as little as one hour of time to pass on to share your knowledge to the new generation?
2:13 – A TEDtalk video is on show now.
2:15 – ‘Extreme lifestyle experiment’ by Colin Wright.
2:28 – Colin Wright’s site is here at http://exilelifestyle.com/
2:31 – Daniela Ruby Papi teaches the audience how to count in Khmer language in an easy, fun way.
2:41 – Group discussion on leadership now, and I’m taking a break.
3:17 – I’ve just overheard that Theary Seng, the speaker for this afternoon, is landing Phnom Penh from a Norway trip. That’s why she’s not been seen around.
3:18 – The afternoon break has just come to an end. The last session of the day is about to begin.
3:20 – Chris Noble on “From Little Things, Big Things Grow”.
3:20 – Chris asks: what does it take to make a difference?
3:24 – Chris introduces the audience to leading global travel insurance company WorldNomads.
3:26 – Chris is also a co-founder of http://www.footprintnetwork.org/
3:33 Chris: small is the new big.
3:36 – Probably another interesting thing at TEDxPP is to be able to watch some TEDTalk videos selected by the organizer.
3:39 – William Kamkwamba on ‘building a windmill’ is now on show at TEDxPP: http://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_on_building_a_windmill.html
3:39 – William says: trust yourself, and don’t give up.
3:40 – Theary Seng is now at TEDxPP.
3:46 – Theary Seng is now on stage. Clapping..
3:53 – Theary Seng gives an overview of the Extraordinary Chamber of the Court of Cambodia( (ECCC).
3:56 – Theary Seng quotes this: “Justice delayed is justice denied”
3:57 – Theary Seng: ECCC is both a court of law and a court of public opinion (the people’s court).
4:03 – Interestingly, Theary Seng’s concluded her reciting a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King.
4:08 – The last speaker for TEDxPP today Phloeun Prim, who’s now on stage recounting his childhood and how his visit to Cambodia after leaving with his parents as refugees.
4:09 – Phloeun Prim felt completely hunger for reconnecting with his own culture back home in Cambodia, after he was raised for some years in Canada.
4:11 – Phloeun Prim takes a different approach in telling his audience on how arts can transform a nation.
4:11 – What I believe is our destiny is in our hands.
4:12 – Cambodians are very artistic, because it’s their way of life.
4:14 – Phloeun Prim has witnessed how the arts have impacted in the society in the last few years. He gives an example of an art master, who teaches some kids in her village.
4:15 – Phloeun Prim: we’re here to create a movement, and everyone in this room is part of this movement.
4:18 – As TEDxPP is almost coming to an end, two Cambodian artists are taking the stage. The art master from Kampong Speu chants (Smot) her way for the audience.
4:19 – Thanks you indeed for following my liveblog for the day.

Photos:

Keo Kounila talks about how blogging has changed her life.

Live Painter and Illustrator Keeda Oikawa’s painting work of TEDxPhnomPenh.