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The Center for Khmer Studies Highlights SEAP

Students posing in front of a Cambodian temple
November 3, 2020

The Center for Khmer Studies recently featured this story from our winter session course in Cambodia. Stay tuned for future winter session trips to Cambodia, which offer Cornell students a chance to explore Cambodian culture and history with hands-on, in-country instruction. 

Professors Sarosh Kuruvilla of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and Vida Vanchan of Buffalo State University brought a group of 11 students to Cambodia during the winter semester to study the role of labor in the Cambodian garment industry. Their objective was to understand the growth of the Cambodian garment industry and how this growth has affected workers' lives.

Following an introduction to Cambodian history, politics, and society at lectures organized by the Center for Khmer Studies, students met with major stakeholders involved with labor issues in garment factories, including senior government officials, such as the Minister of Labor, the Minister of Social Welfare and senior officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.  Students also met with representatives from the Cambodian Labor Confederation, the Garment Manufacturers Association, and the Cambodian Solidarity Center. A highlight of their experience was talking with Cambodian workers in their homes. After an introduction to Cambodian culture, history, and daily life at CKS, these hands-on experiences provided direct insight into the central role of labor in Cambodia's development and into contemporary labor issues in its garment industry. 

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