Young Phnom-Penhers Learn about Social Accountability

On June 9 and 10, our Oxfam-funded project called "Citizens' Voices and Actions in Social Accountability" made one more step towards the goal of  familiarising Phnom Penh residents with their right to participate in local decision making processes. Ten young people from the Capital joined our two day training on the structure and specific responsibilities of the local administration, as well as on the opportunities ordinary citizens have if they want to get involved. Using dynamic and interactive methods, our experienced trainers Sovanny Hong and Chhunneat Tak managed to bring complex topics such as the role and duties of various local officials closer to the audience. 

The issue of social accountability proved to be especially interesting for the participants when the discussion focused on concrete social service providers such as public schools and health centres in their districts. The idea that feedback is essential for any future improvement of these services turned out to be one of the conclusions of the training, and we are almost certain that these ten young people who have a lot of useful recommendations now know how to send their proposals to the local authorities in charge.