Plan International Cambodia has announced three young people as its Girls Get Equal (GGE) Campaign Ambassadors to ensure girls and young women have power over their own lives and can shape the world around them.

The three goodwill ambassadors have pledged to make their communities a better place for girls and young women.

The official announcement and memorandum of understanding signing ceremony were conducted via an online virtual platform and Facebook Live stream on December 21.

“The three young people who have been announced as the Girls Get Equal Campaign Ambassadors have been selected from their areas of operation to ensure girls and young women are empowered over their own lives to make decisions and be able to shape the world around them.

“Pov Sreyno, Lek Karry and Hen Sopheap are the active youth who have been selected from Siem Reap, Ratanakiri and Stung Treng provinces, respectively. These remarkable young people have been actively involved in making their communities a better place.

“In one year, the Girls Get Equal Campaign Ambassadors will make efforts and take necessary actions toward promoting girls’ rights and gender equality in both online and offline events, while being today’s and tomorrow’s role models for their communities and Cambodian society,” Plan International Cambodia said in an announcement.

Yi Kimthan, deputy country director of Plan International Cambodia, said the GGE Campaign Ambassadors are well known in their communities, and had been through a selection process since July this year.

“During the selection, all three demonstrated strong commitment and leadership in their work in their communities, which they carried out to promote equality for girls,” Kimthan said.

He added that Plan International Cambodia is “walking a journey to demand equal rights for girls”.

“Having youth participation with the GGE Campaign Ambassadors will add the value of youth involvement in our work, and bring new ideas and approaches to make our strategic goal of reaching 2.5 million girls and young women in Cambodia to realise their rights and achieve their full potential.

“I would like to welcome and congratulate them for their brave actions and their commitment to joining us to make girls equal,” Kimthan said.

In Cambodia, the GGE campaign has been actively running since 2018 through various activities such as the Free To Be Online campaign, the celebration of International Day of the Girls, and the Girls Take Over initiative, Plan said.

With its recent country strategy 2021-2026, Plan International Cambodia aims to empower 2.5 million girls, especially adolescent girls and young women in Cambodia through four main programmes – Healthy Start, Protection Plus, Lifelong Learning and Girls Leadership, it added.

Sreyno, GGE Campaign Ambassador from Siem Reap province, said such a role had been an ambition for her since childhood, particularly as she wants to break down barriers of gender inequality and those preventing girls from making decisions.

The GGE campaign is a global campaign led by young people to seek social change, and to demand power, freedom and representation for girls and young women, she added.

“I want to overcome the barriers of gender inequality and attitudes that prevent girls from making decisions.

“We will not stop until women and girls are fully empowered, and I am committed to giving girls the opportunity to make decisions and promote girls’ campaigns. [Girls] must have equal opportunities,” Sreyno said.

Plan said Lek Karry, the GGE Campaign Ambassador from Ratanakkiri, showed commitment and passion in inspiring and empowering girls to dare to dream, and to stand up for the rights they deserve.

“As a GGE Campaign Ambassador, I believe girls must have equal opportunities. I am committed to demonstrating my abilities and using my voice to inspire and call for respect to women’s and girls’ rights.

“I will not accept and strongly oppose all forms of violence against women and girls,” Karry said.