Phnom Penh, 22 April 2022 – Social media is a key medium for raising awareness of environmental protection issues – globally and at home in Cambodia, according to those involved with environmental protection.

Speaking on the occasion of Earth Day 2022, the Young Eco Ambassador (YEA), a community aiming to empower, inspire and educate Cambodia about a more sustainable way of living, presented a number of recommendations on how to easily participate in protecting the environment in the Kingdom, using social media. The recommendations were made under the theme ‘Invest in our planet’.

“There are many challenges to overcome in Cambodia.  Despite many movements promoting green lifestyles and proper disposal of waste, the majority of Cambodians still throw rubbish and plastic everywhere. We put a lot of effort into awareness-related, waste-related, behavior changes and into improving waste management systems in the community,” said Ms. Vin Puthealy, Project coordinator at Young Eco Ambassadors.

The YEA considers awareness-raising, disseminating information, and then taking action to be the key to protecting Cambodia’s environment. They use online tools to help drive the change among young people in the city and rural communities, to help them become role models on how to live in a more harmonized way with nature, and to take the lead in environmental project activities in their own community.

“We believe that social media has a crucial role to raise awareness, spreading information, and encouraging people to take action. It has been a platform for us to share content and connect with young people who are interested in taking part in our project activities.” Ms. Vin said. 

Youth Eco Ambassador executes online awareness campaigns on social media platforms and their website to reach a greater young Cambodian audience, provide information, and call for action. They explain that digital space can be used to highlight different angles of environmental issues, and capture stories to inspire Cambodian Youth.

In addition, social media helps to interact with youth at a deeper level, also thanks to a variety of channels including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, IG direct messaging, Groups, Pages, Events, and more.

Since 2015, YEA has run a number of different digital campaigns including youth programs to limit the use of plastic, a more sustainable lifestyle, and wildlife support. They have created learning kits, organized exhibitions, storytelling events, and film festivals, and also cooperated with KOLs involved in environmental protection, such as the Green Lady.

“First you need to understand the social and cultural context of your audience, the issues and solutions you are trying to promote, then you can come up with insightful and creative environmental content for the audience, ” Ms. Vin added.