ODC Presents at BarCamp Battambang!

ODC Mapper Loch Kalyan, ODC Intern Atif Choudhury, ODC Research & Volunteer Coordinator Chan Penhleak, ODC Senior Mapper Mean Naro

A four-member delegation from the Open Development Cambodia team attended the two-day international technology conference BarCamp, held in Battambang.  Through its theme “Empowering Youth through Technology”, BarCamp brings together information-technology enthusiasts, innovators, bloggers, students, community organizers, and data journalists such as ourselves to share our passions on a wide range of topics and projects.

During one of the Saturday evening sessions, the ODC team presented in both Khmer and English to a packed room of 44 BarCampers, of whom 4 were expatriates while 40 were Cambodian students.  The majority of the students were from Phnom Penh and Battambang, along with a significant presence from Kampong Cham.  Our presentation emphasized ODC’s mission of compiling and sharing all data relating to Cambodia’s continuing economic development for free.  The audience explored all of the various features of our website, with a particular emphasis on the versatility of the Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping program.

During the Q&A session, audience members wished to know more about the history of ODC and the motivations and aspirations of our youthful team members.  They also inquired about the numerous practical applications of the data available through ODC, such as how to establish community protected forests and how the GIS and mapping can be utilized to reveal a myriad of trends and underlying issues regarding development.

Long after the session was over, audience members enthusiastically queued up in order to learn more about ODC’s expanding throughout Cambodia, as well as how they could actively contribute data and participate on various ODC projects.  The students were all visibly excited to learn about the upcoming Khmer-language site–to be launched soon!

The ODC team thoroughly enjoyed learning from and meeting youth from across the nation.  The enthusiasm in the air was palpable, the idealism infectious.  A special thanks from the ODC team to all the BarCamp Battambang organizers and volunteers for a fantastic conference! Click here for photos from the BarCamp.