Happy Khmer New Year 2020!

Within this year 2020, Khmer New Year 2020 is going to be celebrated on Tuesday, April 14 to Thursday, 16 April 2020.

These three days called:

• Maha Songkran for the first day
• Virak Wanabat for the second day, and
• Virak Loeurng Sak for the final day.

Based on our beliefs, the Angel of the Pig 2019 shall transfer her duties to the Angel of the Rat 2020 celebrating on April 14, 2019. "The 2nd angel (Koreak Tevy) of the daughter of God (Kabel Mohaprom) who is a new angel to continue watching our country. She wears an aromatic flower Ankeabos tucked behind her ear and pearls around her neck. And drinks oil, carries a sword with her right hand and a cane with her left hand. Koreak Tevy rides the tiger."

To take this wonderful chance, I would like to say Happy Khmer New Year 2020 to all Cambodian people and the rest of the world and wish you all the best for the upcoming Cambodian New Year 2020 to all my friends, colleague, families, beloved readers, and people around the world. Please, the Year of the Rat's angel wishes all be blessed with a peaceful and prosperous living for the whole year.

See Also: Khmer New Year 2019

Within these three-day holidays, wish you all stay home and stay safe 🙏

Rikreay Chhnam Thmei! Have a wonderful safety and healthy!

Please let me know, and let share me your message or idea below.

Happy Khmer New Year 2020!

COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports in Cambodia

In order to help the public health officials combat COVID-19, Google had published #COVID19 Community Mobility Reports  in 130+ countries which provide insights that could help them understand the impact of response strategies, like social distancing measures, to slow the rate of transmission.

What those data created from?

The insights in these reports are created with aggregated, anonymized sets of data from users who have turned on the Location History setting. People who have Location History turned on can choose to turn it off at any time from their Google Account and can always delete Location History data directly from their Timeline.

These reports show how visits and length of stay at different places change compared to a baseline. Google calculates these changes using the same kind of aggregated and anonymized data used to show popular times for places in Google Maps. Changes for each day are compared to a baseline value for that day of the week:

• The baseline is the median value, for the corresponding day of the week, during the 5- week period Jan 3–Feb 6, 2020.
• The reports show trends over several weeks with the most recent data representing approximately 2-3 days ago—this is how long it takes to produce the reports. 

 What data is included in the calculation depends on user settings, connectivity, and whether it meets our privacy threshold. If the privacy threshold isn’t met (when somewhere isn’t busy enough to ensure anonymity) we don’t show a change for the day. We include categories that are useful to social distancing efforts as well as access to essential services. We calculate these insights based on data from users who have opted-in to Location History for their Google Account, so the data represents a sample of our users. As with all samples, this may or may not represent the exact behavior of a wider population.

See Also: [Map] Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases in Cambodia

The chart movement trends over time by geography, across different high-level categories of places such as:

• Retail and Recreation: Mobility trends for places like restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, theme parks, museums, libraries, and movie theaters.
• Groceries and pharmacies: Mobility trends for places like grocery markets, food warehouses, farmers markets, specialty food shops, drug stores, and pharmacies.
• Parks: Mobility trends for places like national parks, public beaches, marinas, dog parks, plazas, and public gardens.
• Transit stations: Mobility trends for places like public transport hubs such as subway, bus, and train stations.
• Workplaces: Mobility trends for places of work.
• Residential: Mobility trends for places of residence.

The below is COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports in Cambodia:

To me, I think these insights are very useful for the government. It will add to other public health information that will help people and communities stay healthy and safe. You also can find your country's community mobility report on this official site.

We've published an early release of our #COVID19 Community Mobility Reports in 130+ countries which provide insights that could help public health officials understand the impact of response strategies such as social distancing: https://t.co/Stfk3KOmjG https://t.co/9lCkaglvRF

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) April 3, 2020

Learn more about these reports, please read on The Keyword post.

COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports in Cambodia

Map: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases in Cambodia

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

How could I keep an eye on the latest update about this case in Cambodia? What reliable sources could I trust?

Here is the list of sources I trusted:

• Ministry of Health [Website | Facebook Page]
• Communicable Disease Control Department [Website | Facebook Page | COVID-19 Map (Khmer language)]

Or check out this very useful interactive map below which is updated by Open Development Cambodia:

Any concerns related to this disease, free call to 115 (in Cambodia).

You also can check on this website, https://www.khcovid19.com/ - which is created and volunteered input by a group of Cambodian (Khmer language only).

See Also: COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports in Cambodia

The sudden and near-constant stream of news reports about an outbreak can cause anyone to feel worried. Get the FACTS; not the rumors and misinformation. Facts can help to minimize fears. - WHO

For other countries to look for, I recommend these global sources:

• Coronavirus on WHO [Website | Facebook Page]
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) on CDC website
• COVID-19 Alert thru Google Search keyword "Coronavirus"
• COVID-19 Statistics Map by Google
• COVID-19 Tracker Map on Bing Search Engine

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Map: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases in Cambodia

Let's Experience Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival 2018

Have you ever joined Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival previous years? If ever, what were your best experiences and if never, will you participate this year?

Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival, formerly called CJCC Festival, is conducted once a year taking around three days and four nights in cooperation with Embassy of Japan in Cambodia,  Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center, and Japan Foundation Asia Center. It is the biggest event which was conducted to celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of CJCC.

It is the combination of CJCC festival and Japan week festival of the Embassy of Japan in the purpose to introduce Japanese traditional and modern culture in Cambodia and promote cultural exchange between the two nations. During these three days, there are various kinds of events including culture related program, Japanese language related seminar, exhibition, and special shows, etc. There were around 21,000 people estimated to join in the event last year.

SEE ALSO: How to Register Your Business Online in Cambodia

So, this year, Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival 2018, will be held on February 22-25, 2018 at Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center. The theme of #KizunaFestival2018 is “Beat of Japan”.

The 7th Kizuna Festival, and also The 65th Anniversary of of Diplomatic Relations between Japan & Cambodia.

Take a look at some photos preparing for the event:

The various cultural events and exhibitions will be organized during the festival as in the following:

• Performances (by Japanese and Cambodian Artists)
• Japanese and Cambodian Cultural Related Events (Ikebana, Origami & Calligraphy)
• Japan-Cambodia Quiz Game
• BATIC-HOLIC Concert
• CJCC-Japanese Speech Contest
• Japanese & Khmer Martial Art
• Yukata Contest in Cambodia 2018
•  #IAmOriginal Station with POPUP: Mini Concert
• Let’s Cook Khmer Food and Dessert (Num Kreab and Num Kruok)
• Let’s Cook Japanese Food and Dessert (Onigiri, Sushi Roll & Chocolate Mochi)
• Experiencing Yukata Wearing Session
• Match Flag Project
• Worldship Orchestra Concert with Angkor Youth Orchestra
• Udon Master Class by Marugame Udon
• Japanese Movie Show (A Tale of Samurai Cooking, ROBO-G, Nobody to Watch Over Me, Always-Sunset on Third Street-3 & THERMAE ROMAE)
• Study Tour Culture and Education Exchange Program
• Cosplay Show
•  Study-in-Japan Information Corner 
• Workshop, Exhibition, Lectures, and Others

If you need to know the detailed program, please check it out here.

Watch: Highlighted video of Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival 2017



Let's go to experience Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival 2018 together. Hope to see you at the event! For more details, check out the official Facebook page.

Let's Experience Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival 2018

The First Martial Arts Stunt Team In Cambodia

A group photo after Jailbreak movie training on May 21, 2016. Source: Cambodian Stunt Team's Facebook Page

Cambodia has become a part of film spot interested by the foreign filmmakers?. If you used to watch 'TRANSFORMERS 3 : Dark side of the moon', you would notice that part of the movie was shot at Angkor temple. Not only this foreign movie but also other ones such as Lara Croft : Tomb Raider, Almayer's Folly, Same Same But Different, The Sea Wall, City of Ghosts, Holy Lola, Two Brothers, R Point etc., according to The Cambodia Film Commission.
Recently, the number of local films have been produced more and more, and in those there is also action movie category, and I think that the action films gaining more popular nationwide among other categories but it still faced some challenges on finding the stunt team to support.

SEE ALSO: The Cambodian Action Movie 'Jailbreak' You Should Watch

Seeing this opportunity, a group of Bokator team has created a professional Bokator stunt team, Cambodian Stunt Team, whose already filmed in several movies in Cambodia. They come from many Bokator training schools  - with the main purpose is very simple, they just want to change and improve action film in Cambodia.

Let’s have a look how good they are. You can watch the video below:



Are you interested in joining their team or hiring for your project? Please keep in touch with them on the official Facebook page.

The First Martial Arts Stunt Team In Cambodia

SunFair - The First Flea Market in Cambodia

Are you looking for a place or a space to sell your used materials? Do you want to buy second-hand materials? Do you want to make donation through giving away of your used stuff to the community?

What you are looking for, now you can do it. Join the first flea market, SunFair, in Cambodia on August 7, 2016 (every Sunday) from 8:00 am to 12 pm at Olympic Stadium.

SunFair is a modified flea market where you can enjoy selling or buying many kinds of goods. The goods include used stuff sold with reasonable prices, Khmer products, Organic vegetable/fruits, and it also includes education such as First aid help (CPR), Right way of brushing the teeth, Japanese 5S implementation, and along with the entertainment such as Khmer traditional music, Various musical instrument played by different groups of students, and Children playground etc.

Original term: Flea Market (or swap meet) is a type of bazaar that rents space to people who want to sell or barter merchandise. Used goods, low-quality items, and high-quality items such as collectibles and antiques are commonly sold. - Wikipedia

SEE ALSO: The Top 10 Cambodian Websites

The event is organized by Mottainai Club Cambodia, and the income will go to: 5% for Akihge Project, 5% for Kantha Bopha Hospital, 25%  for Eang Foundation, 25% for Olympic Stadium committee, and the left for organizers.

Are you ready to clean up your used stuff? Let's join this first ever flea market in Phnom Penh in order to get some profit and have a chance to contribute to the community.

SunFair - The First Flea Market in Cambodia

The Top 10 Cambodian Websites

With the increasing number of internet users year by year especially on mobile phones, Cambodian presently are willing to know more about the world through online medias beside relying on the traditional ways, televisions, and radios. So, the website is playing more important role in delivering this kind of news to them.

You will ask for what are the top 10 websites in Cambodia?

If you want to find the 10 most popular websites in Cambodia, the top 4 go to foreign sites (#1 Facebook, #2 Youtube, #3 Google, #4 Google.com.kh - domain name in Khmer). Here, I would like to share only the list consists of top 10 websites that belong to Cambodian companies, collected data from Alexa (rank), SimilarWeb (traffic overview), Google PageSpeed (page speed for website), and Facebook (number of fans).

Note: All the websites are available in Khmer language and in news portal (8 sites mostly focus on entertainment,  1 site converts from the paper-based news, and another one specifies on health news).

The Top 10 Most Viewed Cambodian Websites

1. Sabay.com.kh

Sabay Digital Corporation is a leading digital media and entertainment group in Cambodia which formerly known as CIDC Information Technology was formed in 2007. Of course, young Cambodian will know this company by brand name 'Sabay' on its entertainment contents (Sabay News and Sabay Leng or Sabay Games, I could say that). Most traffic sources come from sharing on social medias, I think this reason why recently Sabay News portal has extended the channel to spread news on different categories using Facebook pages (Sabay News Entertainment, Sabay News Technology, Sabay News Social, and Sabay News Sport).

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 2 million on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 75.92%, Vietnam 17.64%, USA 1.99%, Thailand 0.93%, and South Korea 0.70% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 41.82%, Direct 35.82%, Referrals 12.79%, and Search 9.06%
• Page speed: 40/100 on mobile and 57/100 on desktop (tested on Sabay News, May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 698K (# of likes, May 2016)

2. Khmerload.com

Khmerload was established in late 2011 by  a group of young Cambodians who believe in the role of Information Technology in advancing the society. For me, I think this website firstly gained popularity through spreading the hot sexy news, so-called 'Bekthlay' in Khmer language, on social media, Facebook. Since the visitors and popularity had gained enough, it gets the stand for business oriented such today.

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 3.8 million on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 75.20%, Vietnam 20.02%, Hong Kong 1.12%, Canada 0.85%, and USA 0.82% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 43.77%, Direct 35.69%, Referrals 13.84%, and Search 5.06%
• Page speed: 55/100 on mobile and 63/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 886K (# of likes, May 2016, the page was verified by Facebook)

SEE: Mobile Phones and Internet in Cambodia 2015 [INFOGRAPHIC]

3. Freshnewsasia.com

Fresh News was founded in May 2012 by a group of the expert from news and IT sectors. The initial idea was to send the most breaking news to people by the smart devices, and then the company introduced the first version of Android app in May 2014, and later they have been launched web version in early of 2015. Most of the contents focus on social issues.

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 400.80K on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 72.06%, Vietnam 20.43%, USA 2.62%, French 1.00%, and South Korea 0.93% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 60.75%, Direct 31.77%, Referrals 4.46%, and Search 2.71%
• Page speed: 63/100 on mobile and 51/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 551K (# of likes, May 2016)

4. Kohsantepheapdaily.com.kh

Koh Santepheap Daily is an online news portal of Koh Santepheap Newspaper which is one of the popular Cambodian newspapers for a decade ago. The contents focus on breaking, national, world, sport and business updates featured from its newspaper.

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 761.90K on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 70.65%, Vietnam 18.87%, Australia 2.68%, French 2.46%, and USA 2.20% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 63.90%, Direct 19.78%, Referrals 11.70%, and Search 3.93%)
• Page speed: 56/100 on mobile, and 70/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 1,241K (# of likes, May 2016 , the page was verified by Facebook)

SEE: Inflation rate in Cambodia 2020

5. Khmeread.com

Khmeread is a website that created by a youth team who has experienced in IT, reporter,  and translation fields with the aim to disseminate general knowledge. The contents focus on society, sport,  entertainment, lifestyle, health, and technology. For me, I think most of the news quoting from foreign websites.

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 415.70K on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 67.67%, Vietnam 25.35%, USA 1.73%, South Korea 1.01%, and French 0.96% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 91.70%, Direct 5.99%, Referrals 1.29%, and Search 0.83%
• Page speed: 66/100 on mobile and 79/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 72K (# of likes, May 2016)

6. Khmerscoop.com

Khmerscoop is a new website that focuses on health, successful path, social & lifestyle, and entertainment but some contents get from foreign websites and Sabay News.

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 81.80K on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 68.07%, Vietnam 22.42%, USA 3.96%, French 1.92%, and India 1.30% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 91.70%, Direct 5.99%, Referrals 1.29%, and Search 0.83%
• Page speed: 50/100 on mobile and 60/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 82K (# of likes, May 2016)

SEE: How to Register Your Business Online in Cambodia

7. Health.com.kh

Health is a popular online health website in Cambodia that created and run by a group of from-abroad-educated Cambodian doctors with high commitment to make Cambodian healthier and help medical field better than today. The contents focus on the woman, man and child's health, sexual health, general disease, first aid, health recovery, and medicines.  

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 221.70K on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 76.20%, Vietnam 17.26%, USA 1.46%, South Korea 1.09%, and France 0.92% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 87.56%, Search 5.51%, Direct 5.07%, and Referrals 1.67% 
• Page speed: 33/100 on mobile and 9/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 237K (# of likes, May 2016)

8. Khmer-note.com

Khmer-Note is an online news which was founded on September 9, 2012, focusing on national news, knowledge, entertainment, technology, sport, and social life.

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 141.40K on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 70.45%, Vietnam 22.65%, USA 1.98%, Philippines 0.55%, and South Korea 0.52% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 88.17%, Direct 9.22%, Referrals 1.37%, and Search 1.05% 
• Page speed: 72/100 on mobile and 54/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 697K (# of likes, May 2016)

9. Khmer-press.com

Khmer-press is an online news portal that was founded on August 9, 2014, with the contents focusing on knowledge, social life, health, love, technology, and sport.

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 156.20K on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 70.64%, Vietnam 24.37%, USA 0.90%, Thailand 0.55%, and France 0.46% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 88.17%, Direct 9.22%, Referrals 1.37%, and Search 1.05% 
• Page speed: 48/100 on mobile and 42/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 441K (# of likes, May 2016)

SEE: 100 Best Quotes from Brilliant Business Leaders [Infographic]

10. Vow-news.com

Village of Wonder is an online news website providing knowledge about health, technology, education, architecture, and celebrity. The contents, some get from foreign websites and Sabay News.

Here is a brief statistics:

• Total visits: 168.60K on desktop & mobile web in April 2016
• Traffic by countries (top 5): Cambodia 68.66%, Vietnam 21.74%, France 4.03%, USA 2.43%, and Philippines 1.31% on desktop in the last 3 months (Feb - Apr, 2016)
• Traffic sources (top 5): Social 87.16%, Direct 5.64%, Search 3.68%, and Referrals 3.38% 
• Page speed: 54/100 on mobile and 63/100 on desktop (May 2016)
• Facebook fan: 128K (# of likes, May 2016)

If you wish to read these websites in English or other languages, you can use Google Translate for help.

In conclusion, most visitors of all the top 10 websites above come from Cambodia and Vietnam through social media, Facebook is the main source. I hope that the list of websites with some data statistics will be a useful guide for one of your clues on the digital marketing strategy.

Do you know other top websites in Cambodia / top sites in Cambodia? If so, please share it in the comments.

The Top 10 Cambodian Websites

How to Register Your Business Online in Cambodia

Starting on January 4, 2016, every businessman and trade companies that have established their headquarters, branches, representative offices, affiliates or agents based in the Kingdom of Cambodia are obligated to register their businesses through the Ministry of Commerce’s automated business registration system from anywhere via this website: businessregistration.moc.gov.kh.

The Commerce Ministry also announced to all 42,000 companies that currently registered to do business in Cambodia would be required to re-register online before March 31 or pay a fine.

What is the ease of doing business rank in Cambodia?

The World Bank currently ranks Cambodia 180 out of 189 countries on the ease of starting a business, and estimated in its most recent Doing Business 2016 report that it takes an average of three to four weeks to register a company with the government.

The new system as a way to make Cambodia more attractive to investors, eliminating face-to-face interactions between government officials and businesspeople and reducing the role of the brokers who previously guided applicants through the complex registration process. I am confident that Cambodia would be able to significantly improve on that score with its revamped registration process, which now takes only about an hour. It can allow a company to be created at any place with Internet, and the registrants can print the documents themselves, Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol said on The Cambodia Daily.

Fee via this online registraion?
It costs 1,720,000 riel (about $430) which companies can pay via ACLEDA bank's online payment or the online payment couldn’t function properly, customers are still able to pay the public service fee at ACELEDA BANK, CANADIA BANK, and FOREIGN TRADE BANK. Find more about the Business Registration Fee here.

SEE ALSO: Inflation rate in Cambodia 2020

How to use the system?
You can follow this video instruction below for online registration (Khmer language):



Watch the instruction in English version below:



Are you still unclear about this new system?  For more information, please contact Business Registration Department of Ministry of Commerce located at Lot 19-61, MOC Road (113B Road), turn in from Russian Blvd, Phum Teuk Thla, Sangkat Teuk Thla, Khan Sen Sok, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia (see on Google Maps) or call to 023 866 050.

SEE ALSO: Intellectual Property in Cambodia

Have something to say? COMMENT NOW!

How to Register Your Business Online in Cambodia

Cambodia to the World via GoGoCambodia

Phnom Penh: A new campaign called GoGoCambodia was announced to start implementing on the afternoon of 02 January 2016 at AEON Mall with the presence of a group of youth, successful entrepreneurs, national championships, popular football players and celebrities, and hundreds of others.
GoGoCambodia is a national campaign, initiated by a group of youth members of You & I, aiming to mobilize Cambodian pride in various sectors from education to national defense, and translate the will to a platform whereby every single Cambodian can show his/her individual pride as a Cambodian and a Cambodia’s pride at large to the international community.

SEE ALSO: Cambodia Book Fair 2015

GoGoCambodia adopts the perspective that if anyone could accomplish a task which is useful for developing and promoting national pride, others may also do well. The campaign urges all Cambodian next generations believe that the country is the best choice for their future.

Check out this video below!

GoGoCambodia
ដល់ពេលដែលយើងម្នាក់ៗ ប្រាប់ទៅកាន់ពិភពលោកទាំងមូលថា "យើងមានមោទនភាពជាខ្មែរ"#GoGoCambodiaអរគុណចំពោះម្ចាស់រូបទាំងអស់ និងភ្លេង។
Posted by GoGoCambodia on Saturday, January 2, 2016

Keep in touch with the campaign on its official Facebook page.

Cambodia to the World via GoGoCambodia

Cambodia Book Fair 2015

Main entrance of 4th Cambodia Book Fair (Hun Yuthkun / AKP).

In an effort to participate in promoting book publishing and reading in Cambodia, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts through the National Library of Cambodia are partnering with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, and the Cambodian Librarians and Documentalists Association, and the support from many other stakeholders including Sipar, Room to Read, SVA, IBBY, French Institute of Cambodia, HSL RUPP and PUC Library has annually organized the Cambodia Book Fair.

The 4th Cambodia Book Fair will take place on 11-13 December 2015 at the National Library of Cambodia with the theme of this year is “Read me today, succeed tomorrow”.

Purposes of the Fair

To raise awareness about availability of books in Khmer or other foreign languages, particularly books about Cambodia and children books.

• To support Cambodian authors/writers and illustrators
• To promote the publishing industry in Cambodia
• To foster a passion for writing among the young generation
• To nurture a love and a habit of reading among the Cambodian population across ages

SEE ALSO: Public Holidays in Cambodia 2016

Who should attend?

The book fair brings together the following groups of stakeholders in Cambodia:

• Publishers/Book stores;
• Organizations promoting literacy and education overall
• Authors/writers/illustrators
• Librarians/archivists/information specialists
• Scholars/researchers/teachers
• Students/parents/children
• Government officials
• General public

Will you join next year? Keep in touch with them on the official Facebook page!

Cambodia Book Fair 2015

Cambodia's Timelapse 1984-2012 on Google Earth Engine

Since Google started working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NASA and TIME, it has released more than a quarter-century of images of Earth taken from space, compiled for the first time into an interactive time-lapse experience. It believes this is the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public.

Built from millions of satellite images and trillions of pixels, you can explore this global, zoomable time-lapse map as part of TIME's new Timelapse project. View stunning phenomena such as the sprouting of Dubai’s artificial Palm Islands, the retreat of Alaska’s Columbia Glacier, the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon and urban growth in Las Vegas from 1984 to 2012, according to a post on the official blog. That is why I make a tour about "Cambodia's Timelapse 1984-2012 Tour on Google Earth Engine". Please check it out as the following:

Visit the global timelapse video shows changes to our planet visible from Landsat satellite imagery?

Back to the Google Earth Engine, do you know it?

Google Earth Engine is a platform for petabyte-scale scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets, both for public benefit and for business and government users.

Earth Engine stores satellite imagery, organizes it, and makes it available for the first time for global-scale data mining. The public data archive includes historical earth imagery going back more than forty years, and new imagery is collected every day. Earth Engine also provides APIs in JavaScript and Python, as well as other tools, to enable the analysis of large datasets.

SEE ALSO: Google Invites Cambodia to Love Your Language Online

How is Earth Engine different from Google Earth?

Earth Engine and Google Earth serve different purposes. Google Earth enables you to travel and learn about the world through a virtual globe. You can view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings and much more. Earth Engine, on the other hand, is a tool for analyzing geospatial information. Although Earth Engine has a data catalog, not everything available in Google Earth is available for analysis in the Earth Engine catalog. Similarly, much of the data in Earth Engine is not currently available for visualization in Google Earth.

This video introduces Earth Engine and demonstrates how it is being used to address planetary challenges. Visit more on Google Earth Engine's website!

Have something to say? COMMENT NOW!

Cambodia's Timelapse 1984-2012 on Google Earth Engine

Mobile Phones and Internet in Cambodia 2015 [INFOGRAPHIC]

According to a 2015 research study by the Open Institute and the Asia Foundation collected in September 2015 shows that Cambodia’s phone market is already saturated, with over 94% of Cambodians claiming to own their own phone, and more than 99% being reachable through some sort of phone. The proportion of citizens using more than one phone was only 13.1% while one Cambodian in four uses more than one operator. These numbers are similar to those reported in previous years.

The results show that 63.3% of Cambodians own phones with Khmer script capability. The use of such phones is more common among men (67.6%) than women (49%) and more common in urban areas (67%) than rural (61.7%).

Some 39.5% of users were found to have at least one smartphone. The ability of phones to display Khmer is more common in smartphones (78%) than in dumb phones (56.3%). The capability of smartphones users’ ability to display Khmer improved with the education level of their owner.

SEE ALSO: 5 Ways Smartphones Changed Our Lives in Cambodia

          Free Basics by Facebook Available in Cambodia

It was found that almost a third of Cambodians have access to the Internet and Facebook and that most of the people in this group have their own Facebook accounts. Smartphones are by far the most common means of accessing Facebook; only 3% of users access the social media site solely through computers while 80% access it exclusively through phones.

Internet/Facebook use has risen to become in 2015 the second most important channel for Cambodians to access information—trailing the only TV (30% vs 24%)—having surpassed radio (20%) and continuing to gain market share yearly.

To increase the rate of adoption, the development of better text-prediction and input methods for Khmer script in phones is recommended.

[Source: Research on Mobile Phones and Internet in Cambodia 2015, Open Institute]

Mobile Phones and Internet in Cambodia 2015 [INFOGRAPHIC]

Inflation rate in Cambodia 2020

Cambodia: Inflation Rate 2002 - 2020

This statistic shows the inflation rate in Cambodia from 2002 to 2015, with projections up until 2020.

Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly ~ World Bank.

SEE ALSO: 5 Ways Smartphones Changed Our Lives in Cambodia

The inflation rate in Cambodia was recorded at 3.5 percent in 2015. It averaged 5.3 percent from 2002 until 2015, in May of 2008 as a small, open economy, Cambodia is particularly sensitive to price developments in the world economy, and due to its total dependence on externally-supplied energy sources, the hike in the global oil price in the previous year and this year was having an impact on Cambodian inflation performance. Surging international food prices had also driven local prices to rise, pushing Cambodia's inflation rate to a peak of 25 percent ,and a record low of -0.7 percent in 2009. The projected average inflation rate amounted to about 3.2 percent in 2020. Check out the interactive chart here!

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Inflation rate in Cambodia 2020

5 Ways Smartphones Changed Our Lives in Cambodia

Smartphones have become a necessity nowadays. Android is the biggest and most used Operating System in the world. The open platform of Android means that anyone can get access to it and design apps for different purposes. The apps of different kinds have caused a great change in the way we behave in our personal lives. Add to it the number of online marketplaces which have recently emerged in Cambodia. People are busy in their daily lives and don’t have much spare time to run daily errands or visit shops. Online shopping takes care of that.  Apart from online shopping, Android has also changed lives of people of Cambodia through the following ways:

Get Internet Access 24/7

Internet is the need of the hour. From our social media to bank accounts, everything is now on internet. Smartphones and the arrival of 4G internet means that people have access to blazing fast internet in their pockets at all times. This means that you are connected to the world 24/7. This is a great chance for the ecommerce industry to prosper as customers can easily go online on websites like Littlefashion or Kaymu Cambodia and shop on the go.

[Related: Internet Users in Cambodia Q2 2015]

Find Places in an Instant

Google Maps have revolutionized the way we travel. Whenever we want to travel to a new place, we log onto Google Maps and see which the shortest route to the destination is. We can also see the traffic burden and easily get to one place to another. GPS in our android phones also help us in this process by giving us a live guide of the route.

Get Fit!

Apps like Google Fit, Samsung S Health, and MyFitnessPal allow users to record their calories, see the calories burnt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Smartphones have GPS and location tracking ability with which we can determine our daily caloric intake and keep a record of our dietary habits. Not only is this a motivation to stay healthy but it also allows users to stay fit. The road to a healthy lifestyle starts with such Android apps.

Weather Updates on Your Fingertips

One of the best uses of smartphones is to get access to instant weather changes. Your smartphone can instantly alert you of any changes in the weather. Any chance of rain or bad weather you may encounter can easily be known with updates directly on your phone. This means you can travel with complete peace of mind and make arrangements according to the weather.

Become a Part of the Global Village

With access to blazing fast internet on your fingertips, you can get updates from any corner of the world. You can easily communicate with your relatives and friends in different parts of the world. This also means that cellular network companies in Cambodia are increasingly under threat of lower profits as customers are using smartphone communication apps like Facebook Messenger, Line, WhatsApp and Viber.

These are some of the major positive changes Android has made to the way people spend their lives in Cambodia. With the growth of ecommerce and the arrival of online marketplaces like ECamShopping, you can be sure that the lifestyles of Cambodians will change even more in the coming few years.

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5 Ways Smartphones Changed Our Lives in Cambodia

Free Basics by Facebook Available in Cambodia

[Screenshot of FreeBasics in Khmer]

[Cambodia at A Glance] The total population in Cambodia was last recorded at 15.33 million people in 2014 reported by the World Bank. The internet subscriptions increased from 3.86 million in 2013 to over 6.2 million in 2015 ⁽¹⁾. The below chart illustrates the growth figures:

And the number of mobile phone subscribers had over 21 million (21,692,144 subscribers) at the 2nd quarter of 2015 ⁽²⁾ - the increasing leads Cambodia became the first country in the world with more mobile phones than fixed-line phones ⁽³⁾. The below chart illustrates the figures:

With the use of smartphones and internet home use surging, Khmer youth are increasingly using social media. The most used social platform is by no doubt Facebook with 1.2 million users in 2014 ⁽⁴⁾. The below graph which is illustrated by StatCounter Global Stats about Top 7 Social Media Sites in Cambodia from Jan 2014 to Oct 2015 (All platforms: Desktop, Mobile, Tablet, Console), Facebook is really the most popular social media in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

By seeing that, in a post yesterday (in Khmer languge), Smart Axiata in cooperation with Facebook want all Cambodians to explore the magic of Internet which provides you access to basic Internet resources, FREE OF CHARGE.

[Related: Smart Mobile - the First to Operate 4G LTE in Cambodia]

Free Basics empowers you to discover and access lots of information out of diverse topics:

• Study
• Business
• Health
• Entertainment 

If you are new to the world of Internet, THIS is for you! To use, simply download the “Free Basics by Facebook” Android App or go to www.freebasics.com from your phone, exclusively for Smart subscribers.

Smart ចង់អោយប្រជាជនកម្ពុជាទាំងអស់បានស្វែងយល់ពី­ភាពអស្ចារ្យរបស់អុិនធឺណិត ហេតុនេះហើយទើប Smart បានសហការជាមួយ Facebook ដើម្ប...
Posted by Smart Axiata on Thursday, October 8, 2015

Free Basics is a new project of Facebook company, which recently uses in the world, and Cambodia is the 22nd country where Facebook launched this project. The purpose of project with the collaboration of Smart is to connect people more than 1 million people have access to basic Internet resources for free.

 All users who are using the Smart company's services are able to use some basic level which are useful both Khmer and English including the website of Facebook, Dictionary.com, Wikipedia, Ask, Bing, Messenger. The service will run from today onwards ⁽⁵⁾.

References:

• (1)  Internet Subcribers, Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC)
• (2) Mobile Phone Subscribers, Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC)
• (3) We Are Social’s Guide to Social, Digital and Mobile in Cambodia (2nd Edition, Oct 2012)
• (4) The "Cambodia: Social Media Fact - Sheet, June 2014"by Media Matters
• (5) Free Basics by Facebook, Sabay News (Khmer)

Free Basics by Facebook Available in Cambodia