RFK Center brings “Speak Truth To Power” to Phnom Penh
Kerry Kennedy, president of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice, honorary president of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation of Europe and Human Rights and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, will arrive here on Tuesday, Feb. 22, to launch, through a series of events, the global human rights initiative “Speak Truth To Power”.
Mrs Kennedy and Phnom Penh-based Theary Seng will join local human rights activists, academics, and dignitaries to introduce “Speak Truth To Power” (STTP) - book, play, photo exhibit, and human rights curriculum - to students, teachers, and the public.
The events in Cambodia will include the STTP exhibit by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams; the play “Speak Truth To Power - Voices from Beyond the Dark” by Broadway playwright Ariel Dorfman (adapted from Mrs Kennedy’s book), performed by the Phnom Penh Players; and a panel discussion on global human rights issues and the role of human rights in education.
Pannasastra University of Cambodia will host the events, which are open to the public.
Panel discussion on the role of human rights education and opening of Speak Truth To Power Photography Exhibition
3:00 – 5:30 p.m. at Pannasastra University of Cambodia Auditorium
Keynote address by Prime Minister Hun Sen (TBC)
Remarks by Kerry Kennedy, Theary Seng, Dr. Kek Galabru and others.
Representatives from education, legal and other sectors will discuss global human rights and the role of human rights education in Cambodia.
Photography exhibition
The exhibit features portraits of prominent human rights defenders by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams. Launched at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the exhibit has traveled to more than 20 U.S. cities and is currently on a global tour on four continents.
The play, “Speak Truth To Power, Voices from Beyond the Dark”
5:00 – 7:00 at PUC auditorium
“Speak Truth To Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark,” a play adapted from Kerry Kennedy’s book “Speak Truth To Power” by Broadway playwright Ariel Dorfman. The play has been staged in cities worldwide, including London, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Sydney and Seoul, and performed by leading actors and students throughout the world. In Cambodia, the play will be performed by the Phnom Penh Players.
CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education (“CIVICUS Cambodia”) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational, non-governmental organization registered with the Cambodian Ministry of Interior dedicated to promoting an enlightened and responsible citizenry committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy and reconciliation in Cambodia and the larger, globalized world. Up to now, Cambodia has had only a society of “survivors”, not of “representatives” or “citizens”. Cambodians as survivors are either “survivor-authoritarian” if the person is in a position of power or “survivor-subject” if an average person. The principal goals of CIVICUS Cambodia are to help Cambodian citizens develop (i) an increased understanding of the institutions of Cambodian constitutional democracy and the fundamental principles and values upon which they are founded, (ii) dialogue as a norm of communication, peace-building and reconciliation, (iii) the skills necessary to participate as effective and responsible citizens, and (iv) the willingness and ease to use democratic procedures for making decisions and managing conflict. In its engagement of citizens, CIVICUS Cambodia gives a special emphasis to (i) students—from elementary to university level—and the generation born after the Khmer Rouge era, (ii) female (both girls and women) participation, and (iii) elected representatives.
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