The General Department of Youth of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport organised a an exhibition for its 21st Century Youth Work Competition under the theme “STEM and use in the environment” in Siem Reap on November 23-25 with nearly 200 young people in attendance.

Sean Borath, secretary of state at the education ministry, said that youth are the most valuable resource for economic, social, cultural and environmental development and an important driving force for maintaining national economic growth now and in the future.

Borat said the 21st Century Youth Work Competition this time is to educate young people about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the information age, the digital economy and finance as Cambodia is in need of young people with the skills to study, think, create and collaborate in the use of technology to respond to the context of the digital age.

“In order to support the policy framework, Cambodian youth should gain digital and innovative skills as well as new initiatives before mixing all of these with some traditional skills which preserve national identity and social development,” he said.

Director of the Youth Department of the education ministry Mil Phonseiha said that the competition was organised in order to allow young people to be creative and contribute to development in the modern era.

“It encourages students to pay more attention to researching STEM subjects, which have the potential to contribute to development and provide opportunities for young people to showcase their team’s capabilities and innovations,” he said.