Mobile Shows - A Traditional Perspective: 

In the traditional culture of Cambodia, the dry season in Cambodia is the time for nomadic troupes to entertain rural audiences. There is much time available and no work to be done in the fields. Based on this concept, in 1982, the Minister of Culture of the time, Chheng Phon decided to relive the tradition in order to uphold the quality of artistic representations after years of turmoil. This was possibly the first attempt to relive mobile theater traditions but with the inputs of the artists from the Royal University of Fine Arts, survivors of a traumatic war. Shows at the time could attract entire football fields - sometimes up to 20 000 people or more.

In 1998, Action IEC was founded and launched immediately its first mobile show, reaching approximately 30 000 people along the Mekong river banks, over a week of spectacles. With over 100 artists from the RUFA, this first mobile show initiated a series of mobile shows of various scales and timeframes implemented by Action IEC for the mutual benefit of Culture and Education. The Mobile show models reached over 80 000 people in just under 15 nights – in the north-west of the country.

With time and experience, the NGO Action IEC has become a pioneering force in the organisations of events for education. Our main ethical stand point in this is: culture and education, like the candy and the wrapper.