KhmerOS of Cambodia finalist in Stockholm Challenge GKP award 2007 for excellent ICT for development project
"We envision a country where Cambodians can learn and use computers in their own language, a country that does not have to change to a new language in order to use computers!" (KhmerOS Software Initiative mission)
KhmerOS has won the second prize in the prestigious international Stockholm Challenge GKP Award in the category "economic development". The global recognition was awarded on 11. December 2007 in Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia by the two organizations "Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP)" and "The Stockholm Challenge". The award is given for excellent examples of implementations of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) that show clear benefits to people and their communities, wide impact and sustainable business models. The award is set up to stimulate innovation within multi-stakeholder partnerships in Knowledge for Development.
KhmerOS focuses on providing training in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Cambodia with the goal of adapting crucial software to the local needs. KhmerOS achieves this goal inter alia by encouraging the translation of software and manuals into the local Khmer language, which is a precondition for the use of ICTs such as Computer and the Internet for over 95 percent of the population of Cambodia, who do not speak foreign languages fluently enough. According to the jury KhmerOS is a typical best practise example of what the effective use of FOSS can accomplish for developmental needs.
KhmerOS has been working with the National Information Communications Technology Development Authority (NiDA) of Cambodia since 2004 in the area of capacity building and training. As a result, more than 4000 people have been trained in issues such as office applications based on Free and Open Source Software. Also, training material and manuals in the Khmer language have been developed. The partners collaborate in training and networking FOSS multipliers in the area of IT administration through the Linux operating system.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.