CNNGo heads to camp -- Barcamp, in Phnom Penh

On October 3 and 4, tech enthusiasts from a dozen countries gathered at the Pannasastra University in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to participate in the annual Barcamp.

What is Barcamp?

Barcamp is a conference at which there are no invited speakers, no VIP guests -- anyone interested in presenting can paste his or her topic on the schedule board, gather enthusiastic participants and run a session. The agenda is wide-open, with Barcamps having been hosted in dozens of cities around the world. Just last month, Hong Kong held its own Barcamp "unconference."

Traditionally, almost all sessions in a Barcamp concern technology, but in Southeast Asia, we're finding a wider range of topics that includes entrepreneurship, arts, hobbies, music, volunteer projects and more. Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore have all previously hosted Barcamps.

The proliferation of low-cost airlines is helping Barcampers to attend each other's events across the region. This is also helping to make technology and entrepreneurship a common tongue in a region where people speak multiple languages.

Said organizer Ramana Sorn about the event's international presence, "I feel really, really happy about the increasing number of foreign participants. People will get to know more about Cambodia than just as a former killing field, but also as a country that equips itself with new technology."

Barcamp Phnom Penh -- young, active geeks

The main attraction of Phnom Penh is its young, active geek community, with participation from NGOs. One such geek community group are the Cambodian bloggers or "Cloggers," as they call themselves. They started back in 2007 with the Cambodian blogger’s summit or Clogger Summit -- the first open event to feature international participation.

A loose group of twentysomethings, they found each other several years back via their blogs. Realizing the importance of communication technology, the group began organizing IT camps for schools in Phnom Penh and the provinces. The Cloggers and the geek community found active support from organizations such as the Open Institute (which is involved in creating Khmer language computing resources) and InSTEDD.

Cambodian "geek girls" on the rise

It should be said that women are very prominent at Cambodian Barcamp events, and seeing such large numbers of women at tech meetings still surprises their male attendees. But the women aren't just showing up -- they're running the show. There's Kalyan Keo, key figure in the personal information technology workshop, and Pagna Sam, master of ceremonies at Barcamps. Then there's Nrereath Seng and Ramana Sorn who hosted a packed “Meet the Sexy Cambodian Bloggers” session at last year’s Saigon Barcamp.

Self-confessed "girl geek" Nearirath says, "In order to encourage girls to go to these social events, I must first start going myself and show them that going to a social event is really important to learn something new."

"Girl geek" Barcamper Nearirath Sreng

 

Who's driving the adoption of tech in Cambodia?

Cambodia has a large youth population, a result of its tumultuous and conflict-riddled recent history. It's this  generation that is powering the adoption of technology in Cambodia. The Internet and mobile connectivity numbers of Cambodia are humble when compared to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam. But when it comes to the zeal and passion for learning, Cambodians are equally voracious.

The last panel of the two-day event involved a discussion of the past, present and the future of technology in Cambodia. Norbert Klein, a long-time Cambodia resident, reminisced about how he helped set up the first email link in the country back in the early 1990s. While Cambodian youth are comfortable with Facebook, Twitter and the iPhone -- and are eager to connect with the world -- the vast majority of rural Cambodians faces a digital divide parted not only by the connecting technology but also by language.

It is hoped that the development of computing systems in Khmer language will encourage IT adoption, but competing Khmer-language coding schemes are slowing that process. Norbert urged Barcamp attendees to help spread the Khmer Unicode standard.

A Barcamp social life for me

Just like Barcamp during the day, the dinners in the evening are full of intense discussions, and help spawn more initiatives. The Thai attendees revealed their plan for a regional ICT camp for non-profits and bounced around ideas concerning what sort of topics the camp should include.

It wasn't all work, though, Thai Barcamper, Arthit enjoyed the food in Phnom Penh. "Cambodian-style baguette sandwich is my favorite, for its taste, price, and mobility." Vietnam-based German podcaster and blogger Thomas Wanhoff recommends the "beef with ants."

The sessions ran for two full days, so there wasn't much time for sightseeing, but Arthit has some advice for visitors to the city: "If you like to cross the road, just walk across, don't wait. I love this. I wish I could do this in Bangkok. The city is for people to live, not cars. So put pedestrians first."

If you visit Phnom Penh outside Barcamp season, Tea and Coffee, (35-37 at Samdech Pan - St. 214, Phnom Penh) is the best place to meet the local tech community. Follow tweeter @Viirak to get a heads-up on regular tech gatherings in Cambodia, like Barcamp.

Get to know the Phnom Penh Barcampers

Some Cambodian blogs worth checking out are sopheapfocus.com, blueladyblog.com, jinja.apsara.org and blackandwhiter.blogspot.com. For a long list of notable Cambodia techies, bloggers, tweeters, and Facebookers, visit this year's Phnom Penh Barcamp attendees list.

Check out some more videos from this year's Barcamp in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

A participant's quick take on the Barcamp experience
Where will 'information access' take social media?
Social media discussion at Barcamp
Twitter user @iamsk talks about the Barcamp experience