In August we organised the 6th summer school in Cambodia at Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Phnom Penh. The summer school is the integral part of the development projects supported by Czech Development Agency (CDA).
The project manager at CZU is Petra Chaloupková (FTA , DED). The summer school was mainly focusing on soft skills. Students practised in small teams many skills: communication, critical thinking, negotiation, responsibility, presentation skills, listening, focusing on the long term impact, creation of some PR and communication materials, photography and video taking. Learning activities were supported by local colleagues (Sok Kimchhin a Raksmey Phoeurk). Within their assignment the students set up the organisation called SUMORUA - "Sustainable Movement of RUA". They designed a real project based on the real needs they identified. Under the Sumorua, students organised the "Action day". They invited other students and also representatives of another initiative called "Green bottles" that is based at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. They also worked closely with the Youth for Environment group that is based in the centre of languages at RUA. The action day started with presentations and discussions about the possible improvements of trash management, hygiene and sanitation. This discussion was supported by the RUA representatives (Nguong Samnang). Later that day they went out and in small groups and collected garbage, mainly plastics, at the RUA campus. They also distributed the soap and the hygiene supplements at toilets. Students also had a nice practical training at the Faculty of Agroindustry (Rithy Chhrun) and tried soap production. Using the special gel and the UV light, they also tested the direct effect of soap on reducing the number of bacteria when properly washing their hands. Among other activities we also visited the Sothy's pepper farm in Kampot. We used the world-famous pepper to demonstrate the sustainable principles of small scale organic farming.
Integral part of the summer school is informal closing ceremony when students prepare a lunch together mixing elements of the European and Asian cuisine :).
You can find all photos from Summer School on Faculty Facebook HERE.
In Behalf of organizer Miloslav Petrtýl a Petra Brtníková