National Conventional 2014

Mr. Jonh Simon, Deputy Public Affair Officer of the U.S Embassy in PP

NATCON 2014, a shortcut of National Convention 2014, was held on October 26, 2014 at Cambodia-Korea Cooperation Center (CKCC) with approximately 700 participants, all of whom were high school and college students. The event was solely organized by the Fulbright and Undergraduate Alumni Association of Cambodia (FUSAAC) under a shared sponsorship of the U.S Embassy in Phnom Penh, Coca-Cola Company, and IDP Cambodia.

The main theme of NATCON 2014 was "Exchange Program Fair" aiming at revealing the secrets of scholarship application through experience sharing session by multiple different panelists who had been awarded scholarship to go on various exchange programs abroad (USA, EU, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, etc.) as well as the U.S Embassy Public Affair Officers who were in charge of selecting successful candidates for the scholarship to the U.S.

The formal event commenced with an opening speech by Mr. Sopha Ratana, president-elect of FUSAAC, followed by a keynote speech by Mr. John Simon, Deputy Public Affair Officer of the U.S Embassy in Phnom Penh. Mr. John encouraged the applicants to be critical and creative thinkers in order to be successful, either in scholarship selection process as well as in life. "When they faced the problems, they thought how they solved those problems; that's the idea," said Mr. John. "People ask solid questions, asking questions, and then testing, testing, and testing. It's really important."

Panelists Discussion for the Second Session

After the opening and keynote speeches, there were two Panel Discussion Sessions to share experiences on scholarship application and selection criteria for each scholarship. At the conclusion of each session, 15 minutes were given to the participants so that they could ask any relevant questions.

Q & A Session

In addition, a fun game was conducted in order to energize all participants after refreshment. Eight of the attendees were chosen and asked to go on stage, four of whom were female. Then they were required to pair up to compete with each other. The game was fun and at the end of the day, everyone got a prize from FUSAAC handed by the president-elect. 

Fun Game Session

The event came to an end at around 11:30 a.m. However, all the organizers still had tasks to do as Gala Dinner was to be held in the evening that day at Hotel Cambodiana. The purpose of that event was to gather all alumni and volunteers and to reward outstanding alumni and volunteers.

Volunteers of NATCON 2014

Singing Session

Dancing Session