Supporting inspiring initiatives from Cambodia that promote diversity, inclusion, and empowerment of rightsholder groups
diverse teams of changemakers across two cohorts
rightsholder groups
Championing diverse changemakers
NOW-Us! Awards is an international program celebrating inclusive initiatives fostering diversity, inclusion, and empowerment. We brought the NOW-Us! Awards to Phnom Penh for the first time in 2021 (and again in 2022). Across two cohorts of the program, we identified a total of 20 teams representing five rightsholder groups: women facing exploitation, abuse, and/or violence; people with disabilities; LGBTQI+ people; Indigenous Peoples, and vulnerable elderly and youth.
The teams built their skills in advocacy, project management, and design thinking through a bootcamp and coaching from our “rightsholder ambassadors” and expert mentors. They pitched their initiatives at a public awards ceremony, and seven teams across the two cohorts were selected to receive a combined 115,000 euros to implement their initiatives. They also received ongoing coaching and mentoring to support their impact within their communities.
“To be honest with you, I never expect us to go this big. I work in many different jobs to fund this organization because I want to help other people with disabilities like me. I never expect to get any acknowledgment or anything. But because of this fund from NOW-US! we managed to do so many things, even receiving a letter of support from local authorities. It means so much as it shows support from the local authorities but also validates our hard work these years.”
Participant, NOW-US! Awards Season 1
Meet the inspiring changemakers
Pka Sla Ekareach
Pka Sla Ekareach
The mission of “Pka Sla Ekareach” by the Arts and Mental Health Project is to mentally support stigmatized single women prone to harassment by conducting an art festival.
GEM Peer
GEM Peer
GEM Peer is an emerging LGBTQI youth-led initiative focusing on empowerment, promoting SOGIESC, and non-violence work environment, and employability.
Neary
Neary
Neary is an online platform, working to combat all the negative social norms and stereotypes for gender equality. Neary won first place with their #IYOUAREBEAUTIFUL campaign.
Do not be afraid of me
Do not be afraid of me
Do not be afraid of me is a campaign aiming to raise awareness of Hansen’s illness among the young population in Cambodia to eliminate discrimination and stigma against victims of Hansen’s illness.
Cambodia Sign Language for All
Cambodia Sign Language for All
Cambodia Sign Language for All has a mission to provide equal access to information for people with hearing impairment while promoting self-learning sign languages.
Cambodia Association of Hansen People of Cambodia
Cambodia Association of Hansen People of Cambodia
Cambodia Association of Hansen people of Cambodia is a non-profit organization working to promote the rights of people with disabilities rights, improve their quality of life, promote disability inclusion and accessibility, and strengthen access to justice.
Kdei Karuna Organization
Kdei Karuna Organization
Kdei Karuna Organization is focused on strengthening Khmer Rouge survivors’ capacity to become active community facilitators to address the challenges in their communities left over from the genocide.
Saori Organization
Saori Organization
Saori Organization works for a society where people with disabilities have the opportunity to study skills, obtain decent employment, earn a living, and to live a dignified life.
Fostering an intersectional approach
Each team in the NOW-Us! program was selected for their advocacy for a specific rightsholder group. Excitingly, the program also helped foster new collaborations between teams and issues. We saw teams learn from each other, gain a deeper understanding of intersectionality, and even collaborate.
For example, SafeSpaceBTB of NOW-US! Season 1 reached out to us to meet Cambodia Sign Language for All of Season 2. SafeSpaceBTB included sign language interpretation in the video they produced on LGBTQI+ rights. In Kampong Thom, Season 2’s Phum Asia hosted an event that featured one of their team members speaking about the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals within Indigenous communities.
There's more!
As part of the NOW-US! Awards in Cambodia, we also launched a campaign that included a viral music video and two creative festivals focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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