Community Youth Voice

1. Community Youth Voice How can youth in rural areas be empowered to amplify their voice and collaborate to address their issues.

2. Summary of the Problem • Young people are the future for Cambodia, and have the opportunity to lead the country forward from the problems of today • 60% of Cambodia’s population is 18 years or younger • 75% of the population lives in rural areas • Clearly rural youth are critically important to the future of the country

3. Challenges facing young people in Cambodia • Rural challenges affecting youth highlighted by Government and NGOs include: • Domestic violence • Sexual abuse • Alcohol and drugs • Unsafe migration • Poor quality of education systems • This is accompanied by a lack of information to help young people make good decisions for their lives

4. There is hope • In some cases young people have become empowered, forming youth clubs through which they can work together to increase their opportunities and raise their voice about issues they face • But currently their voice is restricted to their local community which limits their influence and opportunity to connect with other young people

5. Technology challenges in rural areas • Patchy internet access / low speed • Poor IT infrastructure • Low technology literacy • Low incomes / high cost of internet access • Many young people know only Khmer

6. Key question • How can we use technology to empower youth in rural areas to collaborate more widely and amplify their voice to more effectively address the issues they face?

7. Our Solution • Community Youth Voice – a Social Aggregator Application designed for remote rural areas • User profile incorporating social media feeds • Membership of groups • Offline application • Supports multiple channels for access: email, SMS and the Web • Commune internet access point • Internet • Shared computer

8. How it works • Youth groups encourage members to set up user profiles and join their group • Groups and individuals would be able to post messages via social media streams about: • Issues they are facing • Sharing of solutions to problems • Events and Competitions • Requests for help • Opportunities (e.g. jobs, scholarships etc) • An offline option is available to enable groups to use the technology wherever they meet

9. Innovations • Overcomes the barrier of limited internet / technology access • Young people able to use their existing ways of communicating to interact with the system, e.g. cell phones, email • Encourages group activity which leads to shared learning – the group itself is building the capacity of its members • Compatible with Khmer language

10. Action Plan • Identify technology solution partners • Find passionate project sponsor(s) • Develop and implement a pilot • Identify suitable communities and youth groups • Explore together the possibilities of being able to communicate and network with other groups – develop solution requirements • Develop the pilot technology • Help youth groups implement their plan for using social media to support their goals • Evaluate feedback from community and other stakeholders • Develop plan for scale-out