The Kingdom of Wonder

Culture ministry looks to register chapei and khol

Culture ministry looks to register chapei and khol
Written by Neth Pheaktra and Robbie Corey-Boulet
Wednesday, 11 February 2009

The process of registering both art forms with Unesco, seen as crucial to preserving them, could take up to one year.

THE Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts plans to submit applications to register chapei, a form of sung storytelling, as well as khol, a type of theatrical performance, under Unesco's Intangible Heritage of Humanity program, Meas Sarun, the ministry's general director of technique of culture, told the Post Monday.

Meas Sarun said he did not know when the applications would be completed. Unesco Country Director Teruo Jinnai said the process of
approving the applications once they are submitted would likely take about one year.

The applications must include a detailed historical and artistic background of each art form as well as a DVD recording of a performance. Teruo Jinnai said his office would likely assist in revising and polishing both applications before they are sent to Unesco headquarters, where experts will evaluate them and then submit them to a vote by member states.

Proeung Chheang, the vice rector of the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, said the registration of chapei and khol would enhance Cambodia's "glory and reputation" as well as encourage ordinary Cambodians to better appreciate the two forms of performance art.

He said he expected that "Cambodian people will learn these skills generation by generation" once they are registered.

In addition, he said, the Unesco registration would ensure that Cambodia receives aid from the international community as it struggles to protect and preserve both traditions.

Teruo Jinnai said preservation was particularly important with regard to chapei.

"We really have to be very careful because [chapei] is a one-man show, and many of the performers are very old," he said.

Cambodia currently has two World Heritage sites and two cultural entities registered with Unesco. Angkor Wat was registered as a World Heritage site in 1992, as was Preah Vihear temple last July. Both the Royal Ballet and sbeik thom, a form of shadow puppetry, were registered as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, in 2003 and 2005, respectively. The name of that designation was shortened to Intangible Heritage of Humanity last year, Teruo Jinnai said.

Source: Phnom Penh Post

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9-year-old SIngaporean boy writes iPhone application

where he can contribute his talent


9 Year Old Writes iPhone Application

So, is the age of 10 becoming the new benchmark for career success? We already have an 8-year old Microsoft Certified Professional and now we can add a 9-year old iPhone developer to the list.

The 9-year old I am speaking of is Lim Ding Wen from Singapore, and the app he developed is called Doodle Kids. Designed with his artistic younger sisters (aged 3 and 5) in mind, the app allows users to draw shapes in random colors and then clear their work with a shake of the phone. Since its launch two weeks ago, the freebie app has attracted over 4000 downloaders.



Apparently, Lim is fluent in six programming languages and started using the computer at the age of two. Since then, he has completed over 20 programming projects. Currently, he is in the process of developing a game called Invader Wars, which he hopes to launch on the App Store in the near future. His father, who also writes iPhone applications, claims that they check their statistics every night in a friendly father/son competition.

Man, this makes the "Clean Desk Award" I earned in 3rd grade seem like total crap. [Reuters via Digg]

theres alot of talented progammer, engineer from singapore but they don't have their own company to work for, they end up working for other people company

New program for Cambodian motorbike rider

To start, it is reprehensible to say that Cambodian traffic condition is deteriorated. Report said "The number of traffic accidents is decreasing, BUT, the number of death tools is rising."

This show the lacks of understanding and care from all the drivers on the road. The police and government try their best to help, but it seems something more needed to be done.

And the government does not let this go unanswered. They launched a new program to encourage young people who own motorbikes to take the driving test from their university. This mean that the test would takes place, hosted and responsible by their university. It is not known yet whether the driving license will be issued by the university. But the result is recognized.

Let's hope to see serious and massive participation from every university students and let's hope to see a better environment of traffic condition in this country.

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