The event was supported by ECPAT Sweden and was part of the global Safer Internet Day (SID) campaign, promoted by the INHOPE network and supported by the European Commission.

Credit: APLE Cambodia

Seila Samleang, APLE's Executive Director, welcomed close to 600 attendants from public and private schools in Phnom Penh, government officials, youth and various NGO staff members, and briefly explained the background of the event: "Safer Internet Day was initially celebrated in only 14 countries within the European Union and Australia back in 2004. In 2019, over 150 countries joined the global campaign". Seila Samleang thanked the attendants and the government officials for their demonstrated commitment and called upon all stakeholders to join forces to protect children online.

Credit: APLE Cambodia

Her Excellency Chou Bun Eng, State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and Permanent Vice Chairperson of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking, talked to attendants about online safety and encouraged the safe use of the internet. Sithorn Chumno and Som Vichyini, child representatives, spoke about the importance of being good citizens and of using the internet the right way: to share information and learn while being responsible and cautious of potentially harmful individuals that hide behind screens.

The participants enjoyed an entire morning of learning how to keep themselves safe online by playing games, painting their faces, taking pictures and uploading them to their social media using the hashtag #SID2020.

For more information, visit the profile page of APLE Cambodia, the Cambodian SID Committee.