Background
Founded by Ou Virak in late 2015, Future Forum is an independent think tank that focuses on research, analysis, and public policy, representing a dynamic response to an identified “policy gap” in Cambodia.
- Vision: A just, democratic, dynamic and prosperous Cambodia shaped by the needs of its people rather than its rulers.
- Mission: “Public. Policy. Forward.” Nurture a community of young thinkers, develop positive policy solutions, and engender critical debate, moulding the future of Cambodia.
- Core values: Nurture, Create, Debate.
- Objectives: 1) Facilitating intellectual research and analysis to positively influence the policy narrative in Cambodia at a local, national and international level; and 2) Employing evidence-based policy debate, analysis and recommendations to inspire Cambodian people – especially youth – to achieve democratic, political and socio-economic change that will benefit all people of Cambodia.
Future Forum’s Main Activities
Future Forum incorporates four programmatic pillars to support the successful proliferation of our mission and vision:
- Young Researchers Program (YRP) is an intensive, one-year policy training and coaching program designed for recent Cambodian graduates and young professionals. Through individualized training and mentoring, the YRP aims to empower Cambodian youth to become competent in policy research and analysis so that they can influence and contribute to shaping public policy discourse by serving in government, civil society, tertiary education, or research institutions.
- Policy Lab is Future Forum’s civic education and training platform, designed to motivate, train, mentor, and promote Cambodian researchers, students, and professionals in critical, systematic, creative, and equity-oriented policy making.
- The Community of Researchers is a network of both internal and external researchers who engage in opportunities to network with other members of the community and work in collaboration with other members of the community.
- The Cambodia Outlook program works to support the development of policy-oriented solutions through multiple mediums of publication (books, reports, briefs, snapshots, commentary pieces, and our annual journal).
In addition to these four core programmatic areas, Future Forum has identified three priority study areas on which to focus in-house training and publication. Each is based on a pressing need in modern Cambodia: Development Studies, Education Studies, and Urban Studies.
Partnership with Ponlok Chomnes
The partnership with Ponlok Chomnes centers on improving the capacity of our flagship Young Researchers Program in terms of substance, quantity of intakes, and scalability of the program. Concomitantly, Future Forum will also channel the fund to improve its organizational and technical capacities.
Publications by Future Forum under Ponlok Chomnes Program
- How Some Cambodian Women Contribute to Patriarchy, published in 2020
- ‘Tough Guy’ male sterotypes don’t just harm women, published in 2020
- Cambodia’s Agricultural Sector is in dire need of revitalization, published in 2020
- Is the Agro-Processing Industry Significant in the Context of Cambodia?, published in 2020
- Along Delay in reopening school will have long-term negative impacts on Cambodia, published in 2020
- Mainland Southeast Asia: a Strategic Position for China’s Sea Power Projection, published in 2020
- Actions needed now to reduce Phnom Penh’s flood, published in 2020
- Covid-19 exposes the great inequality in Cambodian water access, published in 2020
- Cambodian healthcare will be overwhelmed by outbreak, published in 2020
- Pandemic: security, social safety, work and industry, published in 2020
- The hidden plight of Phnom Penh’s urban poor during flood, published in 2020
- Wading in ignorance: Phnom Penh’s flood, published in 2020
- Power to the people? Cambodia’s Lower Sesan II dam, two years on, published in 2020
- Society’s Slow-Changing Views Sow Discord as Husbands’ Roles Shift, published in 2021
- Digital Citizenship: Covid-19 Calls for Media Literacy in Cambodia, published in 2021
- Pandemic offers chance to consider higher taxes, not donations, from rich, published in 2021
- Will Cambodia commit to protecting its forests? published in 2021
- Phnom Penh must learn from previous failed mass transit project attempts, published in 2021
- A Discussion on Adequate and Affordable Housing in Phnom Penh, published in 2021
- Convincing Phnom Penh developers they should care about parks, published in 2021
- A Discussion on the Role of Buddhism in Contemporary Cambodian Gender Roles, published in 2021
- The Cambodian Labour Market and Skills Gap, published in 2021
- Energy Drinks Are Marketed as Healthy. This Puts Cambodians’ Health at Risk, published in 2021
- Doubling down on tourism today will constrain Cambodia’s policy options tomorrow, published in 2021
- Lockdown’s food security crisis must address demand and supply, published in 2021
- Covid-19 Pandemic Supports Case for Decriminalizing Sex Work, published in 2021
- Would access to Cambodia’s Ream naval base really benefit China? published in 2021
- Cambodian Participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Soft Power Development, published in 2021
- The Current State of Cambodia’s STEM Education: A Case Study of the Preah Sisowath New Generation School, published in 2021
- How Cambodia’s agricultural lending can get a bigger bang for its buck, published in 2021
- Exploring the Feasibility of Universal Health Coverage in Cambodia: Lessons Learned from Rwanda and Thailand, published in 2021
- More Than Friends? A Content Analysis of Cambodia’s Position towards China’s Core Interests, published in 2021
- Functional Assignments and Public Accountability, published in 2021
- The Cambodian Debt Trap in Cambodia, published in February 2022
Please click here for more information about Future Forum.