The Wonders of the Mekong is a partnership between the University of Nevada Reno’s Global Water Center and the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute of Cambodia (IFReDI), with funding from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Wonders of the Mekong project aims to maintain the ecological, cultural, and economic integrity of the most important river and delta system in the world through communications and media products designed to increase the public’s and government’s valuation and conservation of the Mekong River’s ecosystem services, habitats, cultural heritage, and biodiversity.
They associated with Fishbio, which organized the storytelling event on June 15, 2019, at Cambodia-Korea Cooperation Center, with the participation of more than 1,000 youth, parents, schools, conservation organizations, donors, and relevant Ministries.
The events kicked off with the exhibition of 17 booths, which included 7 booths presented by the Mekong Ambassadors about the awareness materials they have developed to promote the Mekong. In addition, there were booths from the private sector, conservation organizations, and environmental groups to allow the audience participants to explore different alternatives and concepts where they could contribute to the conservation of the Mekong River and other natural ecosystems in Cambodia.
After that, a workshop about “Careers in Conservation” included a panel of speakers from the Fishery Administration, USAID’s Keo Seima Conservation project, BBC Media Action, and a private consultant firm. The purpose of the workshop was to introduce career pathways in the conservation sector to the students in the audience so that they could make the right choice if they were interested in making an impact in the areas of forest and biodiversity conservation.
At 4pm, the most exciting part of the show arrived. A shadow dance performed a love story between a village girl and a dolphin with an emphasis on how the Mekong river was created, the prosperity of humankind brought by the river, underwater life, threats, and conservation of the river. Besides the inspiring, emotional, and educational shadow performance, the young singers from Small World Small Band also got to rock the stage once again with their newly composed song “Mjas Cholsa”. Along with the performances, all 7 Mekong Generation project representatives had a chance to present their ideas and projects to the audience, calling for further engagement in taking their awareness materials to spread to larger groups of people.
According to fishbio.com and mekongfishnetwork.com
