Tag - Cambodia

Reputation with NOKIA Symbian^3 N8 & C7

October 30, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
Inform

PRESS RELEASE

Phnom Penh, 28 October 2010

Since the official opening of its representative office in Phnom Penh last July, Nokia International OY (Cambodia) has continued to demonstrate its commitment to deliver new
experiences and knowledge by bringing in the latest advanced range of devices and solutions.

The two latest smartphones, named Nokia N8 and C7 were launched today to more than 40 media representatives, bloggers and local dealers. N8 and C7 are a powerful combination of internet, video, photos, music with Symbian operating system. “We understand the mobile phone customers’ needs in Cambodia and we aim to bring the latest innovation and technology to them. The launch of N8 and C7 devices today allows Nokia to deliver greater value and relevance towards the hi-end segment of the Cambodian consumers”, said William Hamilton-Whyte, General Manager of Nokia Indochina. On that occasion, local media, bloogers and dealers had hands on experience of the N8 & C7 with internet, photo and video editing features. “Our commitment is to bring real value and relevance in all of the markets where Nokia is present. This remains the goal and the promise of the Nokia brand that is to connect people in newer and better ways,” added William Hamilton-Whyte.

 

Nokia C7

Nokia C7 / photo provided

With a population of 14 million, Cambodia has nearly 4 million mobile users, representing 26 percent of the population, according to the United Nations Development Program’s 2009 report, “Cambodia Country Competitiveness”. Beyond that, mobile phones have had a great impact on mobilizations and collective actions, during the biggest events in Cambodia for an example. The people use SMS text messaging for blessing, sharing latest news, nice video, photos or music. They satyed close to their friends and families, connected to the world. Talking with the latest mobile phone is the young Cambodian generation’s stylist.

“Cambodian market is on the move with 9 active telecommunications providers. Nokia N8 & C7 are the first Nokia smartphone based on the Symbian^3 software, and we believe it is a great devices for people in Cambodia who want to create amazing content, connect to their favourite social networks and be entertained with the latest on demand Web TV programme and Ovi Store apps,” commented Mohammed (Md.) Mesbahuddin, Business Development Manager for Nokia Cambodia and Laos.

Nokia N8

Nokia N8 / photo provided

The Nokia N8 has been designed with a 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash and a large sensor that rivals those found in compact digital cameras. Additionally, the Nokia N8 offers the ability to make HD-quality videos and edit them with an intuitive built-in editing suite. Doubling as a portable entertainment center, you can enjoy HD-quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound by plugging into their home theatre system. Not just a phone, N8 enables access to Web TV services that deliver programs, news and entertainment from channels like CNN, E! Entertainment, Paramount and National Geographic. You can update your status, share location and photos, and view live feeds from Facebook and Twitter in a single app directly on the home screen. Calendar events from social networks can also be transferred to the device calendar. Available from November 2010 at a retailed price of US$500 plus, Nokia N8 is a 3G phone which is available in five colors such as dark grey, silver white, green, blue and orange.

The Nokia C7 is a beautifully crafted smartphone with excellent social networking and sharing capabilities. The 3.5 inch full-touch AMOLED display is ideal for getting live updates from Facebook and Twitter directly to the home screen via the dedicated Social Client. It also enables easy messaging through many popular email accounts including Ovi, as well as quick access to the latest apps from Ovi Store, millions of tracks through Ovi Music and free voiceguided navigation with Ovi Maps. The Nokia C7 will be available in black, metal and brown at an estimated retail price of US$450 plus.

About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

Media enquiries
Sokun Y
Tel. +855 77 555 689
Email: ext-sokun.y@nokia.com
Noy Chum
Tel. +855 12 714 211
Email: noy@phibious.com

Opening ceremony of a three-day seminar on TVET

October 25, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
LIVE Blogging

I’ve Just returned from joining the opening ceremony of a three-day seminar and exhibition on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Cambodia.

Currently, I have not much to writ because I arrived when the opening ceremony end. Luckily, I met some journalists whose faces are familiar to me because of several meetings earlier. Talking and sharing to each other is what journalist as me like, so at least I got some information about the event.

I decided not to write much until a later post, so now please enjoy some photos including one short video clip of some electronic and technical instruments created by students from different Universities, vocational training centers and organizations. All the instruments, which most of them look strange and awesome to me, are showing for the whole three-day seminar. Enjoy!!!

[slideshow] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k3t8bb-Lt4&hl=en&fs=1]

By: Dara Saoyuth
25/10/2010

Closing ceremony of the 1st annual CIFF

October 24, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
LIVE Blogging

I had spent around two hours joining the closing ceremony of the 1st Cambodia International Film Festival (CIFF) at Chaktomuk Theatre and I was lucky to bring my own camera with me tonight to shoot some photos for my blog visitors. SO don’t forget to scroll your mouse pointer down to see those photos including one short video clip.

At the spot, there was a presence of  HE Him Chhey Em, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, government officials, famous film directors, actors, celebrities, and hundreds of Cambodian and foreign audiences.

After the end of closing ceremony, there was also a concert outside the hall by The Cambodian Space Project (below, you can watch a short video clip I took tonight).

This year is marked the 1st annual Cambodia International Film Festival, which was opened Wednesday, 20 October, at Chaktomuk Theatre and had been closed just a few hours ago.

During the festival, more than 100 international and Khmer productions were screened at six venues throughout Phnom Penh, such as Lux Cinema, Chenla Theatre, Bophana Center and Le Cinema at Centre Culturel Français (CCF); public outdoor screenings are at Golden Sorya Market and Diamond Island.

[slideshow] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GucYycZUY0&hl=en&fs=1]

by: Dara Saoyuth
24/10/2010
Reference: CIFF leaflet

Saoyuth gives voice to BarCamp Phnom Penh 2010

October 24, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
Inform

Below is the article written by Tharum Bun from VOA news on BarCamp Phnom Penh 2010. I’ve also joint the two-day event and I was interviewed by him on the first day of the event. Cheers,

Technology is playing a much greater role in the lives and businesses of Cambodians. In response, some 800 tech enthusiasts gathered at a conference in September in an event that has grown steadily over the years.

The two-day event, called BarCamp, brought togehter experts and novices alike, who shared information on a range of topics, from information on applications for computers and mobile devices to access of human rights information.

“The social media of this Internet generation is modern and enables us to publicize information about human rights,” Chor Chanthida, a project officer for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, told VOA Khmer at the conference. “Old media like radio, TV or print newspapers can be controlled by someone in power, or not aired or broadcast freely. But over the Internet, we can publish news for the public. So that’s the best means to advocacy and to post breaking news on human rights issues, in particular.”

This BarCamp was Cambodia’s third annual gathering, but it has seen a doubling in attendance since 2008. The idea, a free exchange of information, originated with tech fans in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2005 and has since become an international network of events.

“There are many participants and they are keen to share,” said Dara Saoyuth, a student at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. “Our break-out session rooms are not enough to accomodate them.”

Dara Saoyuth attended a session on time management, which, though short, was informative.

“What I’m impressed by is that the presenters are willing to share and are open,” he said. “They are experts, and they can actually make money offering training, but they want to share their skills with young people for free. And even though it’s free, they do their best to explain and help answer questions from the audience.”

Be Chantra, a lead organizer for this year’s BarCamp, said he hoped participants learned something new from presenters and more about Cambodia’s software industry.

You can also view the original post by CLICKING HERE
Written by Tharum Bun

KON appears on 7D of the Phnom Penh Post newspaper

October 22, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
Inform

An article about the magazine, KON: The Cinema of Cambodia, appears on SEVENDAYS (7D) issue 63 published on October 22, 2010. Though it’s a week after the magazine launching, still, I feel happy to see more and more people start to write about it.

Let’s check the original article below:

KON Magazine Cover

KON Magazine Cover

As Cambodian film seeks revival, a new generation takes in its varied past. Students from the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) recently released their magazine KON: The Cinema of Cambodia, a collection of 16 articles spanning the 15-year “Golden Age” of the 1960s-70s, the propaganda films of the Khmer Rouge and the decline of Cambodian film, as well as profiles of notable filmmakers and actors.

At an event at Meta House last Friday that included clips from wide swathe of Cambodian films, Hong Channpheaktra, one of the student designers, said that he was inspired by what he learned from past filmmakers. “We need to be creative, our generation,” he said. “We can do that, too. We have to make [films] as great as the past.”

Tilman Baumgärtel, a visiting professor at the RUPP and supervisor for the project, said that he wanted to give students “something to identify with in a positive way – not always on the Khmer Rouge or poverty”.

Hong Channsopheaktra, who has written for the Post’s youth magazine LIFT, said that he was most taken aback by “the techniques of the producers” of the 1960s and 70s. His favourite film of that period, when about 400 films were made and Phnom Penh boasted 30 cinemas, was Thida Sok Pous (Snake Girl). Dy Saveth, who played the starring role, had to wear a wig made of real snakes in the film. “Once, a snake bit me when I pulled its tail,” she said in a profile of her in KON. “I later found its tooth in my face.”

Baumgärtel, a film scholar by training, said the “ingenuity” of filmmakers of that period in making fantasy films – based often on Khmer folk tales and myths – “with quite limited means was impressive to me”. KON includes details of some of the low-cost techniques of director Ly Bun Yim who created an earthquake, a flying pig, a giant face, and other effects.

But even if it’s not the magazine’s focus, it would be difficult to skip over the Khmer Rouge period, and an article in KON discusses the 78 propaganda documentaries made with Chinese support.

Director Yvon Hem, who directed, among others, the first Cambodian film after the Khmer Rouge, Sror Morl Anthaakal (Shadow of Darkness) in 1987, attended KON’s release. He said he was proud that these young people would replace his generation of filmmakers, and urged them to make films about contemporary Cambodia that would make foreign audiences curious about the country. “That’s success in film,” he said. “Put a question in it.”

KON is available at Monument Books for $1.50.

Written by: Thomas Miller
Published on 7DAYS (Issue 63, October 22, 2010), The Phnom Penh Post

Seminar on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

October 20, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
Inform

The Centre Kram Ngoy (CKN) is a technical and vocational training center in the field of electricity, electronics, industrial maintenance, rural electricity, renewable Energy, and so on. It has been operating in Cambodia since 1998. A three-day seminar on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) will be held at the center on 25-27 October 2010.

You may interested in the workshop, so I’d like to post the original press release from the CKN below:

 

Seminar on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Cambodia:

Access and Relevance

On 25-27 October 2010, at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Phnom Penh (Norodom Blvd, corner Street Suramarit)

The “Centre Kram Ngoy” (CKN), with the support of UNESCO and of ILO, and in close cooperation of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training organizes a seminar-exhibition 25-27 October 2010, Phnom Penh. The seminar-exhibition will gather representatives from the government ministries, schools, International Organizations, NGOs, local associations, and private enterprises, to share information and experience, aiming at raising the awareness of the general public, to promote access and relevance in TVET among the youth.

It is widely recognized that the TVET in Cambodia is still not connecting with and meeting the demands of the labor market needed for a competitive economy.

This seminar aims at providing a platform for sharing good practices, information and experiences in order to motivate the youth and other members of Cambodian society for TVET as well as lay the foundations for better coordination between stakeholders.

We are convinced that TVET can demonstrate its value for the development of Cambodia if a student who is well prepared for the world of work, both in terms of general knowledge and at least one skill from a technical and vocational training program, can find a proper job or has the ability for self employment.

Centre Kram Ngoy*

#58, 318th street, Sankat Tuol Svay Prey II

(Olympic quarter) Phnom Penh

Phone: 023 987 843

Email: ptm.ckn@online.com.kh


Exhibition Project with HEINRICH BOELL FOUNDATION

October 20, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
Inform

There is an exhibition with female artists from Cambodia that opens on Friday, October 22, 2010 at Sovannah Shopping Mall.(ផ្សារទំនើបសុវណ្ណា) I received the information about the event from my professor and I really interested in it. You may also interested in that event as well so that I put the original press release below for you:

Artist Call

Exhibition Project with

HEINRICH BOELL FOUNDATION

អេ! បងស្រីទៅណានឹង?
HEY SISTER, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!

Cambodian women artists create art works

around the theme of Women politics in Cambodia

THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IS THE HISTORY OF MAN
“… because man has defined the image of women for both man and women…”
THE FUTURE OF WOMEN WILL BE THE HISTORY OF WOMEN
(from “WOMEN’S ART: A MANIFESTO”)

1          RATIONALE FOR THE ART PROJECT

Men create and control the social and communication media such as science and art, word and image (cultural inherited or from present days), fashion and architecture, social transportation and the division of labor. Men have projected their image of women onto those media, and those patterns reflect on women. Making believe that those media definition of women space – bodily, emotionally and mentally – are reality. Women did not yet come themselves, conquering a women space, because they have not yet had a chance to speak insofar they had limited access to those media. It will be time that women use art as a means of expression as to influence the consciousness of all of humans.

So far the contemporary arts in Cambodia have been created mainly by men. Though, before and after the Khmer Rouge period women writers, visual and performing artists as well as choreographer in small numbers approached the public awareness.

The men deal with the subject of life, with emotions filtered through a most of the time male view. The new values, women artists can create by adding to, modifying men values about life, can lead to a women’s liberation. What art can give to women and women can give to art, are the transfer of a specific situation of women to the artistic context set up signs and signals which provides new artistic expressions and messages, and change on the other hand the situation of women. Especially in this very young and fragile Cambodian art scene, in which already women are pushed aside and leaving many times their artistic career for expected welfare of the family.

The work of the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) is addressing issues of gender inequalities and has for many years supported artistic expressions of those issues in Germany and worldwide. In Cambodia, HBF is working to empower women to break through gender stereotypes that assign them passive roles and become more active and visible in the public sphere. Since this means to also challenge overall social norms, it is met with strong resistance, which often manifests itself in calls for the protection of “Khmer culture” against the influence of the “Western or modern world”. Women’s behavior, their bodies and their sexuality become central elements in debates on culture and its preservation, often being accused of transgressing too far from traditional social norms. But what role do such norms play in the private and public lives of Cambodian women today? Hey Sister, where are you going? will shed light on this question by providing the space for female Cambodian artists to reflect, discuss, and express their ideas and experiences in a joint exhibition that shall inspire Cambodian women to do the same.

2          CONCEPT

The concept will be based on the outcome, feelings, stories created, memorized during the workshop series. To explore women artists’ understanding and perception of space, where they reside, struggle and strive to realize their dreams. It embraces their psychological, personal, and private individual spaces as well as the sociopolitical and cultural realms that affect and influence their existence as artists and women. This concept will be influenced by the workshop and individual reflection on it.

Three spaces:

* OUTSIDE SPACE OF WOMEN
Social norms, rules and expectations
Definition of others and myself by gender, age, social status, education, race.
How does society (man and women) see us as women?
* SILENCE AND INVISIBLE SPACE or MIDDLE SPACE
Social space, relationships and their power struggle.
How do we see each other as women – from women to women?
How do I define or restrict myself?
* INNER SPACE
Inner world of female artists: Flow of imagination, fluidity of thoughts, anxieties.
The inner personal reflection.
How do I see myself – also independent of my role as women?

3          REALIZATION

Ten or more female artists are exploring during a workshop series, from HBF conducted and artistically supervised by the curator, the topic of gender politics in Cambodia, their own placement within and their defined space. During the workshop the artists will use artistic familiar method (photography, performing art, painting, sculpture or drawing) to explore the topic. It can be that the workshop is based on the HBF commissioned survey “Gender and women’s politics in Cambodia” but should be held by an expert of Gender politics. The workshop will enhance the “artistic language” of those selected women artists to be the artistic “megaphone” of their Cambodian “sisters”. The findings of the workshop will be the motor for the creation of works. The exhibition is planned to be opened October 22, 2010 in a place easy, common and comfortable to access for Cambodian women. The idea is to have it in one of Phnom Penh’s new shopping malls.

Hope to see all of you there,
Cheers,
Saoyuth

KON Magazine Launching

October 13, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
Inform, LIVE Blogging
KON Magazine cover

KON Magazine cover

KON (in Khmer: The Cinema of Cambodia) Magazine was made by Department of Media and Communication‘s student batch 8 with initiation from Dr. Tilman Baumgärtel. The magazine is the final project of sophomore students in 2010. It has 28 pages consisting a wide range of news about cinema of Cambodia.

Students talked to films producers, actors, and people both in the golden age as well as today.

Now this magazine is completely done and published for the public who are interested to know about the history and situation of cinema in Cambodia.

We will launch our magazine at Meta House on the October 15, 2010. At that day, we will screen 9 video clip made in the past to audience. There will be filmmakers and actors in the past joining the event.

The admission is free, so don’t forget to join us to get a free KON Magazine.

Below is the information of people and institution that are in charge with the project:

Department of Media and Communication (DMC)
Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP)
Tel : (855) 23 884 408
Fax: (855) 23 884 408
Email: dmc@dmc-cci.edu.kh

Supervisor:
Dr. Tilman Baumgärtel
Design Supervisor:
Christine Schmutzler
Magazine Designers:
Dara Saoyuth, Hong Channpheaktra, Lang Mesa, Vorn Makara
Writers and Editors:
Khut Sornnimul, Kim Samath, Koam Tivea, Mak Kuleka
Noy Kimhong,Sun Narin,Suy Heimkhemra
Photo Editors:
Nou Uddom, Tang Khyhay, Veng Rachana
Researchers:
Lay Rattana, Ly Youy, Ngo Menghourng, Sok Leng, Sun Mesa, Tet Chan
Cover Illustration:
Lim Keav
Printed with the kindly support of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stifung, Phnom Penh
Printed by VS Vann Sophea Printing House, Phnom Penh, 2010

What’s New “The Launch of Cambodian First Space Mission”

October 12, 2010
Dara Saoyuth
LIFT, Personal Interest/Experience

I had a memorable weekend as I joined a group of tech whizzes and aeronautical enthusiasts for the launch of a one-of-a-kind Cambodian spacecraft. Maybe we didn’t make it to space, but the launch of “The Sun” was absolutely awesome.

[slideshow]

You may have already heard about the quasi-spacecraft that flew to 30 kilometres above Cambodia last weekend, in what was deemed “Cambodia’s first space mission”, so rather than risk boring you by retelling the news, I’ll let you know what it was like be part of the awe-inspiring aeronautical action.

I woke up early Saturday, packed my bags and headed to meet the organisers of the launch, who invited Lift to come along for the day-long adventure. On the way there, my head was filled with visions of me jumping aboard a spaceship and shooting through the atmosphere with an expert crew before landing on earth and returning home for dinner, but when I arrived at our meeting point, I found some unidentifiable equipment laid out next to a folded tarp and some floatable pool toys. Apparently this wasn’t going to be the type of space mission I had in mind.

But, nonetheless, my excitement over the day ahead began to brew as Eduardo Jezierski, the leader of the project and a chief technical adviser for the NGO InSTEDD, projected images of mines and unexploded ordnances on the wall and told us what to do if we ran across them in our search for the device, essentially made of balloons, tin foil, flip-flops and two cameras to capture sights normally seen only through satellites.

Our crew set out in four vehicles, each with five or six people, at six o’clock in the morning. The adventure began as Jezierski, our fearless leader, announced that we would travel as “convoy” behind the lead car, equipped with antennae tuned to show the way to the launch pad.

I was the youngest person in our convoy, but I had no trouble connecting with the other participants, from varying places and background, united in our desire to be part of an exciting and memorable event. After an hour of driving I looked out the window and saw the familiar scene of rice fields and dikes spread out over the countryside. As we came to a halt I realised this bland scenery was about to be brought to life by the launch of the humble spaceship named Preah Atit (The Sun).

I had launched balloons into space in the past, usually by accident as they slipped out of my hand and floated into the sky. But for this glorified balloon, attached to a lightweight box, we had to first prepare equipment and calculate where the craft was likely to land.

After preparations were complete we began the countdown from 10 and Cambodia’s cosmic creation began the ascent toward its flaming namesake, becoming smaller and smaller until it disappeared from our earthly sight.
Although we temporarily lost contact with The Sun, the onboard camera promised to capture everything we missed (check it out at www.Phnompenhpost.com). After more than an hour we finally reestablished visual contact and watched intently as the device returned to earth, with nearly two hours of priceless footage on board.

We knew that the helium-powered ship along with two cameras, securely fastened before take-off, were now stranded somewhere within about 100 kilometres of our launching pad.

Despite our excitement over the pending search and rescue mission, the crew in our car was running extremely low on energy, having hoped for a celebratory breakfast after a successful launch, and agreed that food was urgent.

On cue, I pulled two baguettes out of my back pack, split them among my famished friends and we set off to find the fallen craft. “Chasing and finding The Sun is like looking for a needle in the ocean,” said one of my compatriots as our driver, guided by a Global Positioning System and printed map of Cambodia, headed towards the approximate point of landing.

For some reason, we soon lost the signal from The Sun and stopped for lunch while Jezierski worked out a new estimate for the landing location as his tech-savvy troops tried to connect to the internet for consultation.

After a short delay, our new coordinates were passed around and we rolled along for nearly three hours. The drivers drove like men on a mission as main roads led to smaller roads, which led to dirt paths until it seemed like we were forging out own path through the countryside. Even so, we soon realised that our vehicles could only take us so far and we stopped the convoy and set out on foot to find the fallen “Sun”.

A frightening snake and flesh-eating ants proved to be minor obstacles as we scoured the earth’s surface for our elusive spaceship. After 10 minutes we heard shouts that were immediately recognisable as signals of success.

After taking a group photo we returned to where our cars were parked and wasted little time in taking a memory card out of one of the cameras and gathering around to watch a clip of “The Sun’s” voyage on a laptop.

Given my high expectations for the trip, I am still a bit disappointed that I spent the day stuck on earth, but it is an experience I’ll never forget, and at least I can use the videos we helped capture to prepare for the next Cambodian space mission, when I will surely be sitting alongside the cameras as I shoot toward the sun.

by: Dara Saoyuth
This article was published on Lift, Issue 39, October 6, 2010
You can also read the article on Phnom Penh Post website