The Saint Paul's Institute (SPI) received the Environmental Communication Award from Environment Ministry in Cambodia.
Paul's Institute was the finalist of a USAID-funded, crowd-sourced competition campaign to reduce the demand for luxury wood furniture.
Say Samal, Minister of Environment, and Ms. Nancy J. Eslick, USAID/Cambodia Mission Director graced the occasion recently.
The crowd-sourced competition, which ran from September to December 2021, encouraged the development of creative and engaging materials that aimed for a “demand reduction of luxury wood furniture.”
The selected materials were used in public communication campaigns that urged the public to consider eco-friendly furniture rather than items made from luxury wood.
Phon Sophal, director of St. Paul's Institute said, the crowd-sourced competition is the event that encourages institutions or individuals to implement environmental communication.
St Paul's Institute follows the guidance of Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh and chancellor of SPI on caring for the environment to improve environmental protection and promote environmental friendliness on its campus.
In 2022, Bishop Schmitthaeusler declared a green year for all educational institutions of the Diocese of Phnom Penh.
“Changing behavior and continuing to participate in the promotion of the value of natural resources to prevent the destruction of natural resources that start from each of us, especially youth, families, and communities are essential factors in contributing to maintaining the natural resources and environment,” said Samal, Minister of Environment.
“The demand for luxury timber has increased significantly in both local and international markets, which contributes to deforestation and loss of particular tree species in Cambodia’s tropical forests,” said Ms. Nancy J. Eslick.
“We hope that this youth-led competition will provide useful information and better options for Cambodian citizens, especially youth, to consider using non-luxury wood furniture products,”, she underlined.
The award ceremony underscores the U.S. government’s commitment in collaboration with Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment to promote environmental protection, sustainable use of natural resources, and positive actions from the public to conserve Cambodia’s rich natural heritage for the benefit of all citizens as well as future generations.
The youth-focused, environmental, social, and behavior change communication campaign initiative features multimedia content broadcast through online platforms to support young people as “Green Champions” to model successful behaviors and practices around the protection of Cambodia’s natural resources.
The Saint Paul Institute is the only Catholic Higher Education Institution in Cambodia, founded in 2009 by Bishop Schmitthaeusler under the support of a Singaporean lady Ms. Peggy Goh.
It hosts more than 329 scholarship and full-fee paying students, across a diverse range of undergraduate programs.
It is unique in Cambodia for offering a specialist degree in fields including Agronomy, Information Technology, Tourism Management, English Literature, and Social Work.
Due to its many achievements, SPI is the only Higher Education Institution in Cambodia with full membership of the Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASEACCU).
(With inputs from Sophanith Phal)
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
