Akiko’s Blog No. 19 “ILO’s business seminar draws a world record crowd in Cambodia, certified by the Guinness World Records”
The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito won 310 seats, two thirds of the lower house, in national elections held on 22 October. Mr. Maehara, the leader of the largest opposition Democratic Party (DP), initially announced his decision to join forces with Kibo-no-toh (Party of Hope), a new party formed by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, but the governor revealed her intention of rejecting candidates who did not agree with her on policies. This fragmented the oppositions into three groups, as the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) was newly formed, and some decided to run as independent candidates. Protest votes were broken up, giving a big impetus for the ruling coalition’s victory.
As for our news this month, the ILO Office for Japan held the 30th Symposium on International Labour Issues on “Future of Work and Green Jobs” on 17 October, co-sponsored by the Ohara Institute for Social Research of Hosei University. Discussions were held on the report the ILO Director-General Guy Ryder submitted to the ILC this year, “Work in a changing climate: The Green Initiative” . Mr. Satoshi Sasaki of the ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries, Suva, Fiji, explained about the ILO’s work in this field in a video presentation. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all speakers and participants.
Now, let us share with you a great news that the ILO seminar held on 24 August this year in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, was officially certified as the Guinness World Record for the world’s Largest Practical Business Seminar, drawing a crowd of 2,304 participants. This seminar was conducted by the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS), with the support of the ILO/Japan Fund for Building Social Safety Nets in Asia on the Pacific (SSN Fund), funded by the Japanese government’s voluntary contributions. Aiming to raise awareness among youths on entrepreneurship as a pathway to decent work and develop their abilities, this seminar far surpassed the previous record of 1,231 participants set in Indonesia in 2016.
It was moderated by a famous young entrepreneur and activist, DJ Nana, and conducted using an innovative learning methodologies developed by the ILO (*) , which are adopted in national curricula around the world. Youths aged 15 to 24, hailing from all over the nation, analysed their entrepreneurship options and their potentiality through autonomic activities and discussions. It also offered opportunities for young entrepreneur-to-bes to learn directly from successful Cambodian business people.
The seminar was followed by high-level panel discussion by participants representing both the public and private sectors, who exchanged opinions on entrepreneurship opportunities and promotion of sustainable business in Cambodia. Mr. Vic Van Vuuren, Director of the ILO’s Enterprises Department, described this seminar as “the continuation of a long journey”, explaining that it was not “a one shot event, but rather a series of initiatives enabling access to entrepreneurship to everyone, in school or not, to have help in being successful entrepreneurs.”
The ILO, in conjunction with MoEYS, conducted entrepreneurship training for youths in school and out of school, for the purpose of promoting young people’s entrepreneurship in line with the national development priorities. Mr. Hideki Chiba, Programme and Operations Officer with the SSN Fund, said, “The ILO/Japan SSN Fund welcomes this record as a recognition of the efforts invested to stimulate youth entrepreneurship in Cambodia”, revealing the intention of the SSN Fund to continue its support for youth-oriented cooperatives and other organizations.
* This includes “Know About Business (KAB)” and “Community-Based Enterprise Development (C-BED)”.
As for our news this month, the ILO Office for Japan held the 30th Symposium on International Labour Issues on “Future of Work and Green Jobs” on 17 October, co-sponsored by the Ohara Institute for Social Research of Hosei University. Discussions were held on the report the ILO Director-General Guy Ryder submitted to the ILC this year, “Work in a changing climate: The Green Initiative” . Mr. Satoshi Sasaki of the ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries, Suva, Fiji, explained about the ILO’s work in this field in a video presentation. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all speakers and participants.
Now, let us share with you a great news that the ILO seminar held on 24 August this year in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, was officially certified as the Guinness World Record for the world’s Largest Practical Business Seminar, drawing a crowd of 2,304 participants. This seminar was conducted by the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS), with the support of the ILO/Japan Fund for Building Social Safety Nets in Asia on the Pacific (SSN Fund), funded by the Japanese government’s voluntary contributions. Aiming to raise awareness among youths on entrepreneurship as a pathway to decent work and develop their abilities, this seminar far surpassed the previous record of 1,231 participants set in Indonesia in 2016.
It was moderated by a famous young entrepreneur and activist, DJ Nana, and conducted using an innovative learning methodologies developed by the ILO (*) , which are adopted in national curricula around the world. Youths aged 15 to 24, hailing from all over the nation, analysed their entrepreneurship options and their potentiality through autonomic activities and discussions. It also offered opportunities for young entrepreneur-to-bes to learn directly from successful Cambodian business people.
The seminar was followed by high-level panel discussion by participants representing both the public and private sectors, who exchanged opinions on entrepreneurship opportunities and promotion of sustainable business in Cambodia. Mr. Vic Van Vuuren, Director of the ILO’s Enterprises Department, described this seminar as “the continuation of a long journey”, explaining that it was not “a one shot event, but rather a series of initiatives enabling access to entrepreneurship to everyone, in school or not, to have help in being successful entrepreneurs.”
The ILO, in conjunction with MoEYS, conducted entrepreneurship training for youths in school and out of school, for the purpose of promoting young people’s entrepreneurship in line with the national development priorities. Mr. Hideki Chiba, Programme and Operations Officer with the SSN Fund, said, “The ILO/Japan SSN Fund welcomes this record as a recognition of the efforts invested to stimulate youth entrepreneurship in Cambodia”, revealing the intention of the SSN Fund to continue its support for youth-oriented cooperatives and other organizations.
* This includes “Know About Business (KAB)” and “Community-Based Enterprise Development (C-BED)”.