Action IEC is currently producing a series of ten videos for the ADB funded Tonle Sap Poverty Reduction and Smallholder Development Project. In this project, the idea came to develop a template for instructional videos that could be used in a longer term by the telecenter website of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry is working with various development partners to extend the use of digital technologies in agricultural extension services. The TSSD is already testing the use of tablets by commune extension workers (CEW). In the near future, more content will be made available to the CEW and ultimately to the farmers.

So it made sense to try to make the production process more systematic - and Action IEC developed a template for these videos that is geared at providing a clear guide for instructional content. Alongside the video format, a mascot has also been tested to find more appealing ways to inform farmers. Some mascots were developed after a participatory workshop with the staff of the various Departments of Agriculture from the 4 provinces of the project. The mascots have so far been tested in three locations (Siem Reap, Bantey Meanchey and Kompong Thom) - for the moment, the choice of farmers is leaning towards the use of a nice little frog. But you can also vote below and give us your ideas! 

HelpAge Cambodia is the only organisation addressing the issue of older people in Cambodia.
Today, older people face increasing challenges: the older they become, the more vulnerable they can be due to loss of mobility and increasing health vulnerabilities. Yet there are also faced with a new problem: migration of the workforce. As adults leave the communities to seek employment in the cities, they leave the youngest children in the villages - with little incomes, the grandparents must take care of them. This is an extra challenge for older people.

To respond to this deep social crisis, the organisation has developed a sustainable approach: helping older people to regroup into associations. The film was made to show the way to establish an older people association and shows the various benefits of doing so - enticing older people to try. Various mechanisms are in place to make this process smooth and easy. For example, experienced OPAs can be of great help to help neighbour communities to establish their own OPA.

A large range of activities can be run by such OPAs, such as rice banks, cow banks, health services, pagoda activities, income generating activities, support to small businesses and more...To better expalin each of tehse activities, Action IEC has also produced small video clips that can be shown individually to OPAs that wish to develop any of these activities.

The rice hoppers can be devastating to farmers. Once they are there, it is very hard to get rid of them. The common reaction of many farmers is to use pesticides. Little do men know! Pesticides will simply destroy all the natural predators of these resilient pests.

Action IEC with the support of TVE Japan and TVE AP has adapted the Rice Hopper series in Khmer language. The films were aired on national television and SEA TV in 2013. Earlier this year, the Action IEC feedback team went to investigate if and how the series made an impact on farmers - and to ask them if this information is useful to them.
A short video vox-populi was produced and shown at the recent regional meeting of the TVEAP network.

You can watch the entire series produced in Khmer language by clicking any of the links below.
It is a parody of how men react to insects. So far, the pests are winning the race !

For the Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Environment, with the support of the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (European Union, UNDP, SIDA, DANIDA), Action IEC produced an official climate change visibility video. The video aims to draw attention to the key vulnerabilities of Cambodia and explains how the country has prepared a cross sector based response to the issue. Armed with a National Climate Change Committee, Cambodia is one of the most advanced countries in terms of climate change policy frameworks.

As explained in the film, there is no second chance for Cambodia. Mainstreaming climate change has to be done right and it has to be done from the very start. Over 21 ministries are part of the NCCC - and among these, over 9 key line ministries has fully integrated climate change approaches in their respective national strategies. The film reveals the benefits of this cross ministerial and cross sector approach: climate change is now mainstreamed in the most relevant sectors - helping sub-national level administrations to better address the issue.

The film ends on a key message: Cambodia has fulfilled its role and international mandate to mainstream climate change at policy level - this has already a strong impact on the way local administrations and people can adapt to climate change. The main issue is now to fund the response at local levels.

ACTION IEC received special training from Social Services Cambodia, on the development of child policies. As a result of this training supported by ARC and the CIDI network, Action IEC decided to produce a media-specific child policy.

We are happy to make this document available and free of rights for any organisation working with the media and with children. The last page of the document is a blank form that is normally signed by each person of the organisation. The policy document should normally be read and given to any new staff on signing a contract with the organisation.
Feel free to adapt it according to your specific needs!

Thanks to this, Action IEC staff is now more aware to the issues of dealing with children during media production projects. The organisation has endorsed the policy as part of its own. We are happy to transmit this knowledge to anyone that requires it.

Moving People Moving Images is about the experience of 36 young children from Bantey Meanchey that were trained to the Arts of painting, photography and video production. There results were so good that we thought it would be worth putting this on a real book.

The book is now in the Monument bookshop and in some other key outlets of the Cambodian Initiative for Disability Inclusion network. Action IEC has teamed up with Komar Pikar Foundation to launch this book on Arts and Disabilities.

You can download an interactive PDF as a preview but we hope that you can further support this initiative by buying the book currently on sale in local bookshops. You can also order the book by dropping us a line. Thanks for your support!

If you want to find out more about the project, you can also watch this TV show aired on national television: all the trainees were invited to further their media experience by coming to Phnom Penh for a special visit of national television and for a special TV show recording.

For SHPA and CBHI, with the support of MiA, GiZ, Maltesers and the Ministry of Health, Action IEC developed a series of products promoting a new health insurance scheme. Initially focused on the production of a video, the project took another turn. Action IEC provided its expertise to develop a brand for the health insurance - a product used by a consortium of community based health organisations. Action IEC also suggested to extend the shelf life of the drama video, by developing a photostory book.

Photonovellas or photostory books were highly popular in the late 70's in Cambodia. The art form still has a strong potential today, particularly for low-literacy populations, such as the ones targeted by this health insurance scheme

Additonally, Action IEC also developed a series of posters, customized to fit the brand of each of the 8 NGOs - so that each NGO could use its own devoted poster in their target areas. As usual, Action IEC ensures that the products it develops have a better shelf-life - In the case of posters for example, we advise our clients to use a calendar, with buddhist holidays - that people always find very useful. This way, there is added functionality and the chances of the poster staying up all year are increased - by doing so, the targets are exposed regularly to the messages.