Yesterday I attended the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia’s 32nd annual general meeting. It was an all day event and I was able to attend in person for the first time in a long time. The CCC is Cambodia’s oldest and largest NGO networking group. MCC was a founder member of the CCC back in 1990, as the international isolation of Cambodia was coming to end in the lead up to the Paris Peace Agreement.

The theme of the meeting was Partnership for Sustainable Development beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. This is timely as, after two years of significant disruption due to COVID-19, there is room for optimism that Cambodia is turning the corner from pandemic to endemic. Cambodia’s high vaccination rate (as of March 2022 – 88.3% fully vaccinated, 52.4% booster given) and recent weathering of an Omicron surge preview a return to stability.

The meeting included a traditional dance performance conducted by one of the CCC’s member organizations. Charlotte would have liked to be have been in attendance for this part.

I’m grateful that MCC asks its personnel to learn the local language and supports us in doing so. I was one of the only Westerners present who was able to listen to the meeting without relying on a interpreter.

Sandra, from American Friends Service Committee, with the rest of the CCC’s current Executive Committee. AFSC was another founding member of the CCC and, like MCC, was one of the few international NGOs active in Cambodia during the 1980s.

Panel discussion on internet freedom and cybersecurity. Cambodia is currently implementing a ‘Great Firewall of China’ style National Internet Gateway.

I had to leave the meeting early in order to meet the Director of one of our partners, Peace Bridges, to sign their MoU for the new fiscal year. So I made it back to the office just in time to see our newest finance staff helping with the financial audit working out some figures on the calculator.