Student-led photography event goes virtual amid pandemic

Student-led photography event goes virtual amid pandemic

The annual DMC photo festival, organized by students from the Royal University Phnom Penh, is still bringing photographic visions to life despite the pandemic, by going virtual.

This year’s festival, which began on August 3 and is due to finish on August 31, is the first to be held completely online – in order to adhere to the Ministry of Health’s virus guidelines.

The exhibition is featuring over 200 student-produced documentary photos that explore a range of social issues in Khmer society, all while promoting storytelling through imagery.

The event holds two live streams with guest speakers each week, where users are free to engage and reflect in the comments as topics are discussed.

Under the supervision of Project Advisor Phorn Phearith, the coordinated efforts of 18 students from the university are managing to deliver the event which has so far seen it engage with over 10 times the number it did in 2019.

President of the Department of Media and Communication Ung Bun I said students were worried as they had to scrap their initial plans to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“However, a week before the launch, I realized running the event online would be a valuable learning experience and a great opportunity for students to learn skills outside of what they were taught,” he said. “So far, we have reached an online audience of over 5,000 people for the exhibitions alone, compared to last year’s physical events which entertained around 500.”

Lead student organizer, Nou Virak, also lauded the event’s unexpected turn-out and hopes that it has sparked further conversation surrounding issues such as mental health and culture.

“As students, we were able to not only gain insight into social issues prevalent in Cambodian society through the project, but we challenged ourselves in its delivery by utilizing social media and running digital campaigns,” he said.

“Even though it was challenging to go digital, we were able to overcome the difficulty of learning new skills in order to bring the event into fruition,” he said.

“The positive public reception we have received has greatly encouraged us to continue organizing these events in the future. We hope our students’ small contribution will bring these issues to light,” he added. Khmer Times