The Final CONTESSA Conference in Cambodia

The project terminated in November 2022. A lead-up to this was the final programme closing conference hosted by UC, which included presentations by some of the major participants in the project: unfortunately Dr. Sandra Hummel from the University of Graz could not attend because of SARS-2 infection. After welcoming remarks by Dr. Kao Kim Hourn (President of The University of Cambodia), there were presentations by Mr. Bryan Fornari (Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation); representatives from PUC and UC who were actively involved in getting the project off the ground; and representatives from MoEYS and one of their regional Teacher-Training Centres, who outlined the potential future benefits for the educational sector in Cambodia based on what they have seen of the output and its strategy for implementation once problems of the Khmer translations have been resolved.

• Thus Dr. Nith Bunlay (Deputy Director-General of Higher Education Department, MoEYS) noted that the CONTESSA project fits in well with MoEYS‘ Vision 2030 and 2050 and the drive towards emphasising the quality rather than the quantity of graduating students: those who will help to further boost Cambodia’s growth and development.

The conference was well-attended, with an audience of more than 100 attendees. The universal feedback was that the Conference had attracted a lot of interested individuals and parties, and had promoted further understanding of the aims of the project as a sustainable product of the EU Erasmus+ initiative.

The reach of the Conference was also expanded by coverage on SEA-TV in Khmer and English.