ACTIVITIES AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF ASIA RESEARCH CENTER IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF CAMBODIA
First of all, on behalf of Asia Research Center in the Royal Academy of Cambodia, I would like to express my sincerely thanks to the Asia Research Center, at Hanoi National University of Vietnam and President of the University, especially to the Organizing Committee for their kind invitation, which enable me to be here in the 4th ARC Directors' Workshop. I also wish to take this opportunity to thank Professor Dr. Kim Jae Youl, President of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies for his valuable support in organizing this workshop.
I-Introduction:
The Royal Academy was created by a royal decree of August 25, 1965 and placed under the Office of the Council of Ministers. But it could not start its functioning up to 1975. In May 1999, the Royal Academy was recreated and composed of four institutes. With the integration of the Institute of National Language in December 1999, the Royal Academy was renamed the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC). Right now, the Royal Academy of Cambodia has six institutions.
The RAC is a public institution with a cultural and scientific mandate, managerial and financial autonomy and the status of state secretariat under the Office of the Council of Ministers. The RAC has the missions to moral support, to guide, manage and expand research activities on all fields of study in Cambodia and establish cooperative relations with national and international research institutions.
On December 11, 2004, the Royal Academy of Cambodia had signed agreement with the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS) forward to create the Asia Research Center in order to Share the understanding that academic development and mutual understanding among
Asian nations are necessary for developing the potential for growth in Asia, to bring about mutually beneficial and balanced development in Asia, and, ultimately, contributing to improving mankind in the future, acknowledging that support to conducting research of promising Asian scholars and promoting international cooperation and exchange among Asian scholars should be encouraged for the academic advancement in Asia, and achieving toward the above mentioned goals of the academic advancement, enhanced mutual understanding, and common prosperity in Asia.
II. Activities of Asia Research Center in Royal Academy of Cambodia:
After the Asia Research Center (ARC) established in Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC), the center has provided financial to support to Cambodian Scholars' research activities and promote international cooperation and exchange amongst Asian scholars. Through this support here was a desire to encourage for the academic advancement, and enhance mutual understandings and reach a common prosperity in Asia.
Up to 2006, the Center has approved and supported 18 Domestic Research Projects, 6 National Conferences, 2 International Conferences, 4 Publications of research results in various disciplinary and inter-disciplinary fields and 10 Scholarship International Exchange Fellowship (See further in Annex 2-3).
As for the annual budget, the Center uses approximately 20% for ISEF program implementation, 30% for International Conferences, 42% for support of research activities and 7% for administrative expenditure.
1. Domestic Research Grants
Over the last 2 years of the effort, and hard work, the Center has established and accomplished procedures for organizing and managing the implementation of its grant research projects and academic activities.
Now, I would like to introduce about the Center's current procedure for organizing and managing the implementation of grant research projects.
-Procedure for organizing and managing the implementation of the grant research projects:
a) Selection procedure
Every year, all applications research project will be put to the Board Trustees and Scientific Council Centersโ€™ to select and provide the granted.
In the year of 2005, the Center had provided its grants to 9 research projects, but right now those research projects were finished their research works, then, in the year 2006 we have provided grant to other 9 projects and those project are preceding the research up to now (See further in Annex 3).
2. Academic Conferences
Every year the center has provided its budget to run both National and International Conferences. Among those for the National Conference is received yearly 3 and International Conference is received yearly one (See further in Annex 2).
3. The International Scholarship Exchange Fellowship (ISEF)
Since its establishment, the Center has selected and sent ten (10) Cambodian Scholars to
Korea to conduct their proposed research in leading universities and research institutions, among those, some of them for one year and other just for six months under the International Scholarship Exchange Fellowship (ISEF) Program (See further in Annex 2).
4. Publication
In the case of publications, the Center gives its fund to publish four (4) research works (See further in Annex 3).
5. Other Activities
Beside the above activities, the center has implemented other activities such as:
5-1-Preparation an extraordinary Work-Shop:
On the June 09, 2005, the center has an honor to prepare an extraordinary workshop at the Royal Academy of Cambodia presided over by Prof. Dr. Kim Jae Youl, the President of the Korean Foundation for Advanced Studies on the topic of "What are Asia Values in 21st Century "
5-2-Opening Ceremony for the Royal Academy Library:
Under the financial support of Korean Foundation for Advanced Studies, the center has provided its fund to the Royal Academy of Cambodia in the purpose of building a library for the all researchers and scholars to research.
5-3-Preah Khan Research Project:
Beside the yearly extraordinary research projects, the center has its extraordinary research project for ten years titled "The Preah Khann Kampong Svay Project". This project is most necessary for Cambodia.
For this work the center has completing the following works on:
a)- Data Collection:
-Geography, History, Natural Environment, etc.
-Temple collection, ancient roads, bridges, water-dam, etc.
-Situation of the people community, Culture, Tradition, Economics and road condition in the zone.
b)- Other activity in the location:
The researcher teams had continued to help the people community as the following:
-To dig the pump-well, building the kodi (monk-house), salachhann, providing gift to the poverty people, education, sanitary and health, etc.
-To cause the people to understand about the study and educational field, cultural activities and social work, etc.
-To educate and encourage the people to prevent and also protection all cultural heritages and environ-ment in the zone and learn them to know how to report and resist to the devious man who always destroying environment and temples.
c)- Study and proposed other projects that is a perspective in conservation and development the zone:
-Had run project to repair amount serious damage dams and build three water gates (as the primary project in the testing stage).
-Preparation to propose the project of conservation and development the zone for
ten years (Basic Plan):
+Preparation to create a national committee for โ€œSafeguarding of Preah Khan Kampong Svay zoneโ€ to precede the work in judicially.
+Preparing qualification to localization the zone to be a national heritage in the next three years (primary stage).
+Preparing qualification to localization the zone to be a world heritage on culture and environment in the next ten years. This is a basic and principle strategy in conserving and developing zone.
The duration of โ€œreah Khann Kampong Svay Projectโ€ is ten years, started from 2006 up to 2015 under the support of KFAS. For the first year of this work we have finished on:
(1)-Data collection
(2)-Construction three water gates
(3)-Repair some damaged parts of the dam in order to save a number of temples and to block water for the people to use and sprinkle their crops.
We also have completed the relevant works for the projects in order to preservation and development the zone and community as following:
-Project research on protection the forest and Ecological system in the area.
-Project research on conservation and repairing ancient temples, roads, bridges, dams and ancient water basin.
- Project research on constructing and preparing Museum in the area.
- Project research on reconstruction roads, bridges and infrastructure in the area.
- Project research on developing community in the area on the sector:
+Education, Culture, Social work, Economic, Agriculture, Land Urban, Environ-mental prevention, etc.
+Tourism action: Potentials and Development in order to reach the management of โ€œCivilizing Communityโ€ in the area.
We also have started to carry out the field research, management and implement the project by cooperation with authorities of the commune, district, province and related ministries to prepare a master plan in order to ask the support from Royal Government of Cambodia and especially continuing the cooperate and support from foreigners related to the project.
III-Contributions:
With the supporting budgets from the KFAS and also valuable advising from Prof Dr. Kim Jae Youl, President of KFAS including our hard working and providing fund, we reach several positive gains:
1-Domestic Research Grants
With the Domestic Research Grants, several Cambodian Scholars have an opportunity to run their proposed project in various fields, and then those research result are provided its useful to develop the country.
2-Academic Conferences
With the Academic Conferences, especially the International Conference we have collected and provide the good occasion to several Scholars from various countries in South East Asia and the world to join the meeting, present their papers, sharing their knowledge, learn
each other from their experiences and cooperation on the research works, especially to promote the cultural value of South East Asia.
3-The International Scholarship Exchange Fellowship (ISEF)
The same to other, it can provide the values occasion to Cambodian Scholars to conduct their research activities in Korea to exchange their knowledge on the research field and sharing experience of their life and work.
4-Publication:
In the case of publications, we have received a number of works which are carried out by the qualified researcher and those works are provided to the country in order to help country to be developed.
5-Preah Khann Kampong Svay Project:
With this necessary project could be help several thousand people who are living in the zone to have an occasion to develop their living, especially would be provided the occasion of competition with other people in the countrywide. Moreover, it can prepare this zone to be come a qualification zone in order to localize the zone of Preah Khan Kampong Svay to become โ€œthe World Heritage on the Culture and Environmentโ€ and preparing strategy to develop people community in the zone to become a โ€œCivilizing Communityโ€ and to make the connection to develop the tourism potential better and development.
IV. Conclusion
With a view to contributing to the promotion of research and training activities thus making a worthy contribution to socio-economic development in Cambodia, our Center very much wishes to cooperate with other Asia Research Centers to conduct other activities so as to create favorable conditions for Cambodian Scientists to exchange views and ideas with their colleagues in Asia. We believe that such activities will surely contribute to the sustainable development of our countries and to the prosperity in Asia thus helping to realize the noblest aims of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies.
Through this Workshop, we do hope that we will learn much from other Asia Research Centers so that we can conduct our Center's activities more effectively.
Finally, I am really thanks to the Prof. Dr. Kim Jae Youl, President of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies for the value financial support on this workshop, to the Hanoi National University and also the organizing committee of the 4th ARC Director's workshop.
Thank you very much for your kind attention!
SUM CHHUM BUN
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