[this project is no longer in operation.]Connect Cambodia was a Kinyei facilitated initiative using community wireless deployments to facilitate information access in Cambodian communities. Currently in the process of setting up initial testbed deployments around Battambang, we’re always looking for additional collaboration.

The Profile Project is an experiment in ad hoc collaboration in the international development sector. Short video profiles will showcase the human rights work being done on the ground in Battambang and screened at the Shout! Human Rights Festival on December 10th, 2009.

The Profile Project works like this:

1. International volunteer writes up an idea for a video
2. Cambodian volunteers here in Battambang gather the footage for it
3. International volunteer edits the video together and sends it over for the Human Rights Day festival in Battambang

The Profile Project is always looking for additional collaborators to produce videos. If you have the ability to edit video and the desire to engage with local reps and NGOs who are working support human rights in Cambodia, sign up and join the discussion.

To get started, check out the list of participating NGOs, then ask some questions or put your hand up in the Project Profile forum.

Project Soup is a collaboration platform for community development which operates by fostering human relationships across the globe. Used as a platform for individuals and organizations around the world to share resources, stories and facilitate lasting partnerships, Project Soup fosters real personal engagement across geographic and cultural boundaries.

Catering to folks looking for a community project to contribute time or resources to, people working on a social project that could use a hand as well as those just seeking a transparent, honest view into the life of community development projects, Project Soup offers a vehicle for connection and self expression. The site will be a platform for social engagement and project tracking for volunteer projects and community development. While similar sites exist, they generally focus on either institutional volunteer staffing or formal projects which do not allow for the flexibility of real world initiative – and in almost all cases they are not built for the social media era. Project Soup aims to make self expression and storytelling easier and more accessible by making participation simpler, integrating existing social and multimedia tools to add rich storytelling capabilities, and offering features which help users understand and focus on the progress and needs of a wide variety of projects and initiatives.

Following our strong belief in the power of community developed, crowd-sourced solutions, we are developing Project Soup as an open source initiative based on Drupal (specifically OpenAtrium), and are looking for developers and designers with familiarity with Drupal, PHP and/or web design to contribute to the project. We think it can contribute huge changes to the field of international development, all we need is your help.

If you can contribute, join us on the project site.

Showcasing Battambang’s Human Rights Community

Cambodia remains a country plagued with constant challenges to the maintenance of its citizens’ basic human rights, from abuse of child labor and trafficking to widespread domestic violence and political malfeasance. Awareness of these issues and knowledge of about what can be done to avoid or resolve them is sorely lacking, especially in rural areas where access to relevant information is poor or inconsistent.

To be held on December 10 to honor international Human Rights Day, Shine will showcase the Human Rights related activities of individuals and NGOs around Battambang in order to raise awareness of and foster engagement with local human rights issues. The event is being organized by Kinyei in partnership with Buddhism For Development (BFD) and will feature a screening of video profiles created under the Profile Project, a collaboration of local NGOs, students, and volunteers from around the world, as well as a range of NGO-run activities designed to create a fun, lively atmosphere that will raise awareness of the great work being done for Human Rights in the area.

How do I get involved? Shine is a collaborative event based on the open involvement of Battambang’s entire NGO and social enterprise community, and everyone is welcome to join. We are looking for organizations and individuals to run engaging presentations, performances or mini events at Shine to highlight their involvement with the local community on human rights issues. If you or your organization is interested in joining, please email us at shine@kinyei.org.