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Mr. Sardar Umar Alam, UNESCO Representative to Cambodia highlighted that “Throughout this project, 91�鶹������Ʒ���� played a key convening role by building common ground among all stakeholders. We have created platforms for inclusive dialogue that bring together duty-bearers and rights-holders. These platforms have not only fostered trust and accountability but have also strengthened collaboration, good governance, and sustainable development in Cambodia’s media landscape.”

Mr. David Holmertz, Head of the Asia Unit at SIDA, praised the project’s impact in his closing remarks “Sweden believes that freedom of expression and access to information are central to democracy and sustainable development. This project has helped build a stronger foundation for media freedom in Cambodia. The partnership pursued by UNESCO and OHCHR has played a fundamental role in mobilizing and convening relevant media stakeholders to achieve the project’s outcomes”

The project contributed to key policy and capacity development milestones. It produced 11 legal and policy reviews that informed national media reforms, and trained over 680 stakeholders from media, government, and civil society. To support journalist safety, 4,005 press jackets and 34 safety kits were distributed to high-risk reporters. A Gender-Sensitive Safety Guideline was developed, and 148 journalists—including many women—were trained, leading to the creation of the Cambodian Female Journalists (CFJ) Network. The project also supported the development of Cambodia’s first Media Development Assessment, Digital, Media and Information Literacy (DMIL) Competency Framework, and Ethics of AI Readiness Assessment.

Young journalists were supported through training and equipment, resulting in 145 multimedia stories that reached over 1.5 million views. Campaigns on digital literacy reached more than 73,000 Cambodians.

The project also contributed to Cambodia’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), resulting in 47 recommendations and eight government commitments related to media freedom.

The project successfully brought together more than 20 national and international partners and became the UN’s flagship initiative on human rights in Cambodia under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2024–2028). It also leveraged support from other sources, including Australia, UNPRPD, UNESCO’s IPDC, and the Global Media Defence Fund, further amplifying its reach.

The project’s achievements provide a strong foundation for future work. At the workshop, media development stakeholders called for continued and increased investment in media development to sustain the progress made and ensure Cambodia continues to build a vibrant, independent, free, pluralistic and professional media sector.