Cambodia Partners with Japan-Cambodia Association to Digitize Historical Video Archives

The Ministry of Information of Cambodia is embarking on a collaboration with the Japan-Cambodia Association (JCA) to preserve and digitize historical video archives. This initiative aims to convert historical video records of national leaders' activities and significant events into digital formats, ensuring their preservation as valuable historical documents and national heritage for future generations. This cooperation was confirmed on September 10th during a meeting at the Ministry of Information between Minister of Information Net Pheaktra and a delegation led by Takahashi Fumiaki, President of JCA and former Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia. Both parties discussed the process of organizing and preserving old video archives held by the National Television of Cambodia (TVK), particularly converting documents stored on outdated media or obsolete data formats into digital archives. This work will contribute to protecting these documents from damage and loss, while also facilitating more efficient organization, classification, retrieval, and utilization. Minister Net Pheaktra expressed gratitude to JCA for supporting this significant initiative, recognizing the old video archives as valuable sources of information and historical documents that can reflect Cambodia's past events, activities, and important developments. The Minister emphasized that these video archives are not merely documents for storage but serve as evidence and valuable sources of knowledge for studying and understanding Cambodia's history. He further stated that the conservation and digitization of these archives are essential to ensure their long-term preservation and prevent their loss or damage over time. Concurrently, digital archives will enhance the efficiency of managing, classifying, retrieving, and utilizing documents for information work and public dissemination. The conservation effort aims to ensure that these historical video archives become national documentary heritage, continuing to serve as a source of knowledge and information for future generations, and supporting research, information production, and the dissemination of Cambodian history. During the meeting, discussions also covered strengthening and expanding cooperation between the Ministry of Information and JCA in media technology, digital content production, knowledge and experience exchange, and human resource training and development in the media sector. The Minister highlighted the importance of enhancing the capacity of officials and experts in the media field by acquiring new knowledge, technical skills, and experiences in line with the evolution of digital technology and media. In response, the JCA delegation expressed their willingness to explore further opportunities to strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Information through the exchange of knowledge, experience, and technical expertise, as well as support for training and human resource development in Cambodia's media sector, thereby contributing to the modernization of the information sector and the enduring preservation of national historical heritage.