With the future of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal limited to a small number of high profile leaders, and a modern Cambodian population of which some 70% of the population was born after the worst of the Khmer Rouge genocide, Cambodia is facing a turning point. On the one hand, Cambodians run a real risk of losing a firm grip on understanding, memorializing and ultimately accepting a difficult past. On the other hand, a rapidly globalizing Cambodia must take on new challenges of sustainable growth, democratic integrity and human rights.

Building on pre-existing Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge) education programs that were established using the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam)’s curriculum, the classroom forums entitled ‘The Importance of Studying the History of Democratic Kampuchea’, are an engaging two-hour-long session that is intended primarily for grade 12 students. Working closely with school administrations, the sessions provide students with a forum that cultivates an atmosphere of reflection, critical thinking and constructive dialogue. The classroom forum project has conducted a total of 32 sessions since 2016 and has now reached more than 10,000 students. The purpose of these forums is primarily to educate students on the history of Democratic Kampuchea (DK) as well as providing lessons that highlight the importance of learning this history. Students actively participate in an informative discussion that also involves narrative history,

human rights issues, the legacies of the DK regime, the process of reconciliation as well as genocide awareness and prevention. The distribution of A History of Democratic Kampuchea, 1975-1979 a textbook published by DC-Cam, is a key component of the Genocide Prevention Education Program and routinely elicits a positive response from participating students. The forums also provide an opportunity for trained DC-Cam/MoEYS officials to facilitate mentoring opportunities with local staff and teachers.

One (1) day per forum with students encompasses presentation, group activities and discussion. The forum will be attended by the respective school headmaster or representative and students who do not have class at the time of the forum.
The headmaster or representative will open the forum and DC-Cam Democratic Kampuchea (DK) history coordinator will provide a short introduction about the project and the purpose of the forum. Students will be encouraged to answer several general questions on DK history or their parents’ experience by working in groups and present their findings to entire forum. Students will also be encouraged to ask questions and share their knowledge gained from this forum with their classmates. Each student receives a copy of a History of DK textbook at the end of the forum and is advised to use it for their history class.