Phnom Penh, 25 May 2022: As the chair of ASEAN, under the theme ‘ASEAN A.C.T: Addressing Challenges Together’, Cambodia has chosen its crucial priority issues to focus on this year amidst various ongoing global challenges. In light of this, together with Khmer Times, ERIA gathered Cambodian journalists from various media platforms for a one-day workshop at Sunway Hotel, Phnom Penh. ‘This workshop was aimed to increase the overall capacity of the local journalists to understand and report on these issues in a comprehensive manner,’ stated T Mohan editor-in-chief of Khmer Times in his opening remarks.

ERIA’s president, Prof Hidetoshi Nishimura expressed his hope for the local journalists to cover more ASEAN stories as the region has been gaining an increasingly high profile on the global stage due to the fast-changing strategic landscape.  

This workshop was also graced by the presence of H.E. Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Information of the Kingdom of Cambodia, who stressed the importance of media outlets during this chairmanship. ‘Cambodian media outlets also serve as a medium to get the Cambodian people to be connected with ASEAN people, and the people throughout the globe,' he articulated.

In the second session, special lectures were delivered by ERIA’s Senior Energy Economist, Dr Han Phoumin on ‘Energy Transitions Towards Net-Zero Emission in ASEAN’ and ERIA’s Economist, Dr Keita Oikawa on ‘Comprehensive Asia Development Plan 3.0’, which is aimed at strengthening and integrating regional economies to compete with the rest of the world in the post-pandemic era.

Towards the end of the day, participants also had the opportunity to learn from Mr Kavi Chongkittavorn, ERIA’s Senior Communication Advisor, and also a distinguished journalist for decades. Mr Kavi shared his insights, experiences, and his profound wish for the new generation of journalists to be proud of their ASEAN identity and promote it through their writings. He then started a group discussion for the participants to brainstorm various important topics that are worth further exploration .

This one-day workshop was closed by Mr Koji Hachiyama, ERIA’s Chief Operating Officer, who gave his closing remarks via videoconference from Jakarta.

Media Coverage: 

1. ‘Cambodian Media Plays Important Role In Promoting ASEAN Vision And Goals’ on 25 May 2022
2. ‘Information Minister Presides Over The Opening Of ERIA-Khmer Times Event’ on 25 May 2022
3. ‘Journalists sharpen their pen at ERIA-Khmer Times workshop’ by Khmer Times on 26 May 2022
4. ‘Cambodian media plays important role in promoting ASEAN vision and goals’ by Khmer Times on 26 May 2022
5. ‘Rising energy demand, climate goals pose big challenge for Asean’ by Khmer Times on 31 May 2022