Happy runners take part in a previous edition of the International Women’s Day 10 kilometre run. NOCC
Vath Chamroeun, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), has highlighted the important role of the upcoming “Women Run 10K” in promoting the rights of women and empowering them.
He called for all of the parties involved to work together to make the event better than ever, in order to join the government in its efforts to promote women’s rights.
In a February 12 press conference, Chamroeun highlighted how the run – which will start and finish at Phnom Penh’s Wat Botum Park – is being held on May 8, International Women’s Day, one of the most meaningful days of the year.
“The key point of the event is to celebrate International Women’s Rights Day, which is a reminder of women’s achievements. Our goal is to contribute to global and government efforts to promote women’s empowerment and encourage participation in all sectors. We must come together to promote justice in society through respect for gender equality,” he said.
“The message and the content of this event are that we respect women’s equality and contributions to the development of society and the world. Therefore, we must work together to make this event even better in quality. Runners, organisers, sponsors and technicians must all demonstrate moral integrity. Spectators must also behave ethically because if they disrupt the event, it will spoil our efforts,” he added.
Chamroeun emphasised the importance of each person performing their role as well as possible.
“Everyone should value the importance of this event and work together to solve any issues that arise with a responsible mindset,” he said.
Vath Chamroeun, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), addresses a February 12 press conference about the upcoming run. NOCC
He also instructed them to ensure that the Women Run 10K is held in a good atmosphere and a clean, trash-free environment, with safety measures in place for all participants.
He expected that more than 3,000 people would take part in this year’s event, which is themed “Run Forward for Women”.
Loke Kah Meng, CEO of Sovannaphum Life Assurance Plc., the event’s main sponsor, expressed his hopes that entries to this year’s run would surpass 4,000, beating the 3,000 who took part last year.
The company also hopes to raise more funds to support charitable work.
“This is our fourth year of sponsoring the event, and our goal is to have 4,000 people take part. We are confident we will meet our goal because as of early February, 2,400 participants had already registered,” he explained.
The insurance company has committed to donating 2,000 riel to women’s causes for each entrant. Thus, if 4,000 runners join, the total donation will reach 8 million riel ($2,000).
The charities selected as recipients for this year’s funds are the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC) and Women Are Gold (WAG).
