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On 23 July 2019, the Yi Da Manufacturer Co. Ltd. in Reseysrok Village, Chheuteal Commune, Keansvay District, Kandal Province organized the opening ceremony for its third batch of literacy class in its factories. There are 21 workers enrolled in this new term, and most of them are female workers who dropped out of school and migrated from provinces to work in the garment factory. UNESCO Representative to Cambodia, Mr. Sardar Umar Alam, participated in the launch ceremony, along with Mr. Johhny Chan, Factory Manager of Yi Da Manufacturer Co. Ltd and Mr. Sam Chantith, a representative from the Ministry of Education and representatives from Kandal provincial office of education.

The factory manager of Yi Da manufacturing, Mr. Johhny Chan, provided an overview of the background of the factory, and the achievements made during the previous years of as part of the implementation of UNESCO’s Factory Literacy Program since 2017. He highlighted the positive changes of learners who participated in the literacy class in terms of their capacity to read and write, achieve basic numeracy skills, and strengthen their communication skills, especially in relation to inter-personal skills. The workers who joined and completed the program gained confidence in communicating effectively with the factory management, and shared their knowledge with each other. Mr. Chan encouraged the learners to continue their dedication towards the literacy program, and pro-actively learn from teachers for their personal and professional development.

Mr. Sardar Umar Alam, UNESCO representative to Cambodia, expressed his appreciation towards the commitment of Yi Da Factory Manager, and the FLP team, including teachers for their hard work in making the program a success. He noted the importance of literacy and education for workers themselves, and to their families and the society as a whole. Literacy is the foundation for human development – which in turn affects the social, political, environmental, cultural and economic development of a country. Literacy skills are prerequisite for learning a broader set of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, required for creating sustainable societies.

The Factory Literacy Program (FLP) was initiated with support from UNESCO’s Capacity Strengthening for Education 2030 (CapED) Programme (formerly CapEFA) and subsequently funded through the UNESCO Malala Fund for Girls’ Right to Education.  The Factory Literacy Programme enables young women and girls working in factories to acquire basic functional literacy skills, and empowers them to better understand their own fundamental rights. At the same time, it supports the government and the factories to promote Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Cambodia.