How Cambodia's MIL network reaches marginalized communities
"How can we empower Cambodia's youth against the growing threats of disinformation, hate speech and online fraud?"
More than 60 experts on media literacy from civil society, media, business and government gathered in Phnom Penh in fall 2025 to address this question. Participants focused on the inclusion of rural and indigenous communities, as well as the LGBTQ+ community.
Challenges in Cambodia's digital landscape
In Cambodia, like elsewhere, disinformation and misinformation flood social media every day. Recently, the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has led to a significant increase in misinformation. Finding reliable information and distinguishing facts from fiction has become increasingly difficult as a result.
Indigenous communities and rural residents often have limited digital access and skills due to a lack of training opportunities, leaving them particularly at risk. This also makes them more susceptible to online scams that promise quick money and target their precarious economic situation. In addition, LGBTQ+ young people are the main target of hate speech that is directed at their identity.
All of these groups are affected by disinformation, which reinforces existing biases and vulnerabilities. This is where Media and Information Literacy (MIL) comes in. MIL is the ability to critically question information, recognize disinformation and navigate the online world safely. It can make the difference between powerlessness and sovereign participation.
The MIL Network: A space for collective action
However, improving media literacy in Cambodia cannot succeed in isolation. Dialogue between civil society, the media, politics and business is needed. And this is exactly what the MIL network, which DW Akademie has built up together with partners and key stakeholders in Cambodia, makes possible. Here, practitioners exchange ideas about challenges, share solutions and learn from each other.
But how do you reach those who need protection the most? This question was the focus of this year's MIL network conference in Phnom Penh. Participants discussed, presented and experimented.
Here are ten findings from that meeting on practical approaches that work:
1. Make digital innovations accessible to everyone
In order to convey media literacy to all levels of society, freely accessible digital innovations are necessary. The Department of Digital Transformation (DDT) of the Cambodian Ministry of Education (MoEYS), with the support of DW Akademie, has developed an MIL app for this purpose. It covers key topics in various modules – from disinformation to artificial intelligence (AI). After each module, users answer quiz questions on topics such as hate speech or data security. Using a drag-and-drop function, users then have to assign terms and definitions. Those who complete all modules receive a certificate. This playful approach motivates and promotes intuitive learning.
The tool is also deliberately designed to be simple: free of charge, freely accessible, interactive and easy to understand. If you have a smartphone, you can improve your media literacy on your own – whether in Phnom Penh or in a remote village in Mondulkiri.
Recommendation: Digital MIL tools are ideally free and freely accessible. They should also be optimized for low bandwidths to reach remote communities and tailored to the media usage behavior of the target groups.
2. Integration of MIL into formal education systems
To increase impact, the Ministry of Education is integrating the MIL app and other tools into teacher training at regional and provincial training centers. In this way, future teachers come into the classroom equipped with MIL competence. This systematic approach ensures that media literacy is firmly established in the formal education system.
Recommendation: For long-term impact and where possible, MIL should be integrated into the formal education system. This requires cooperation with public authorities and institutions.
3. Create safe spaces for dialogue and peer learning for students
Mutual learning happens when students can express themselves freely. At MIL clubs in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, students meet weekly to discuss media challenges, verify information, create their own media products and learn to be involved in public discourse.
The Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM) runs these MIL clubs with the support of DW Akademie. The weekly courses have been extended to several universities in both regions to reach LGBTQ+ community members and students from rural areas. CCIM also works with local NGOs and youth networks.
Recommendation: Regular, inclusive formats create trust and allow marginalized voices to express themselves freely in a safe space.
4. Use peer-to-peer approaches for indigenous communities
Understanding your own community is the best way to reach it. This was evident when the Khmer Youth Association (KYA)presented its peer-to-peer approach at the conference. In Ratanakiri and Stung Treng, together with DW Akademie, they train indigenous youth leaders as MIL multipliers, who then pass on their MIL skills to their own communities. In addition to MIL skills, indigenous youth often lack communication channels to address social and cultural problems. Not only do they want to understand how disinformation and online fraud work, but they also want to learn how to develop their own media content to express themselves and to independently address important issues.
Recommendation: Peer-led training by members of one's own community is more effective than external experts because they are trusted peers who understand cultural contexts. Successful MIL education not only enables you to recognize disinformation but also to set your own topics and express yourself publicly.
5. Theater as an interactive educational format
On a stage in Phnomh Penh, indigenous youth from Ratanakiri acted out an interactive play that depicts typical MIL challenges in indigenous communities. Theater brings MIL to life, using humor and storytelling instead of dry theory. Theater is implemented in the provinces as part of youth exchange forums. It makes abstract digital threats more tangible and provides a starting point to discuss important issues with local decision-makers.
Recommendation: MIL education must be culturally adapted because what works in urban centers can fail in indigenous communities. Theater, music and storytelling are effective formats for reaching young people.
6. Build trust through strong partnerships
The consensus in all conference discussions was that working with marginalized communities requires cross-sectoral collaboration. While government actors have access to the formal education system, civil society organizations have established access to hard-to-reach target groups. Media organizations, on the other hand, contribute expertise on disinformation. Only the combination of these complementary strengths make it possible to close MIL competence gaps long term. Fragmented individual approaches do not achieve this systemic effect.
Recommendation: Working with marginalized communities takes time, as does building real partnerships with local organizations and partners from all sectors.
7. Localized content for specific vulnerabilities
As the threats on social media are manifold, a variety of solutions are needed. Various formats at the conference showed that LGBTQ+ young people mainly report hate speech and indigenous communities report digital scams. The extent, form and content of the threats differ depending on the community.
What does this mean for MIL training? The conference participants concluded that training courses must reflect exactly this reality. Instead of generic programs, we need tailor-made content and practice-oriented workshops that are specific to the respective vulnerabilities.
Recommendation: A one-size-fits-all approach does not work in the area of media literacy. MIL training must address the specific threats that different groups actually face.
8. Use key opinion leaders as bridge builders
Adolescents and young adults in Cambodia spend a lot of time on social media. But what works for youth target groups? How do you address LGBTQ+ communities? With the support of 606Digital, DW Akademie works with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), influencers and content creators, who spread MIL messages through the platforms that young people are already using. At the conference, several KOLs presented their most successful MIL campaigns and shared their experiences. The examples make it clear that influencers can act as bridge builders and reach target groups that often do not consume traditional educational formats.
Recommendation: Young people must be reached where they are: on social media. Influencers can authentically carry MIL messages into their communities.
9. Gamification: Learning through play
Learning works best when it's fun. That's why MIL education is increasingly relying on gamification, playful formats that encourage critical thinking. This approach was tested in practice at the conference. In a MIL scavenger hunt, teams moved from station to station, debunking deepfake videos and analyzing social media posts for authenticity. The competitive character provides excitement while the practical action anchors what has been learned. Gamification makes critical digital literacy engaging, practical and accessible. It can also be systematically used in both digital tools and training.
Recommendation: Playful formats significantly increase engagement and learning success, especially among young target groups. Gamification should be an integral part of MIL programs.
10. Learning from regional experiences
MIL work does not take place under equal conditions everywhere. Soe Sandar Oo, project manager at DW Akademie, reports on Myanmar – a country with restrictive conditions. The central question she pursues is how do you strengthen MIL under difficult political or social circumstances? Which approaches remain effective when traditional methods reach their limits? MIL work must continue, especially in challenging times, but it must be flexible, creative and resilient. The discussion of the conference participants shows that strategies from conflict-related contexts can be adapted.
The finding: Cross-border exchange of experience is valuable. Strategies from other conflict-related contexts can be adapted to address local challenges and build regional resilience.
The conference took place as part of the "Digital Resilience and Dialogue" project, which is implemented by DW Akademie and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The aim is to make young people in Asia – especially women – more resilient to disinformation and hate speech through media literacy and to use digital spaces for constructive dialogue.
Deborah Urban is the DW Akademie project manager for Asia and Europe.
