The Ministry of Environment has announced the winners of the four categories of the 2023 Youth Debate Forum on Environment.
Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the top three in each of the four categories, along with certificates and monetary rewards.
The June 2 awards ceremony was held at the ministry headquarters and presided over by ministry undersecretary of state Choup Paris. The 300 strong crowd included civil servants, monks, teachers, parents and students.
After a day and a half of a fierce debate from June 1-2, the winners were announced.
Topic one, “Climate Change", was won by Keo Chan Somany from Chea Sim Samaki High School, followed by Rith Bunrong from Samaki High School and Seng Moly from the Westline School.
The second topic was “Solid Waste Management.” Roeun Solinda from the Phnom Penh Pedagogical Institute was judged the victor, followed by Phorn Srey Pov from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and Lan Srey Net from the University of Law and Economics.
“Biodiversity Conservation” was the third topic, and Hem Monintreachny from the Westline School was selected as the winner, followed by Sim Ratanak Socheata and and Ath Srey Kuch, both from the from Milky Way School.
The fourth topic was “Sustainable Towns”. Tep Thitav Leak from BELTEI International School, followed by Phao Sovannary from Chea Sim Samaki High School and Lay Voleak from Milky Way School, were the top three contenders.
Paris explained that the debate forum was initiated by Minister of Environment Say Sam Al, and aimed to inspire youth to involve themselves in environmental issues.
He added that the forum had given the contestants the opportunity to research and collect data ahead of their debates. The debates were recorded and will be broadcast on television and social media to expand the environmental knowledge of the general public throughout Cambodia.
