Asia 21 Young Leader of the Week: PHLOEUN PRIM

This week’s honor goes to PHLOEUN PRIM, Executive Director of Cambodian Living Arts (CLA). He currently serves as the CEO of the Season of Cambodia (SOC) initiative by spearheading the festival, which is an international platform designed for showcasing Cambodian arts, culture, and humanities to audiences in New York City and around the world. Asia Society is delighted to play its part by collaborating with Phloeun and hosting some of the events in our NY headquarters.

Regarding his involvement with Asia 21, Phloeun maintains, “The Asia 21 conference provides a great platform for networking, particularly among the leadership of Asia. I have attended other conferences where leaders from both the East and the West have had the chance to meet, but this time, all of the participants belong to the same continent and we share many common values and concerns. I found the discussions that addressed the issues of capacity building and the role of leadership to be particularly inspiring and I was extremely interested by the focus on the social aspect of development. I see the Public Service Award as a fabulous tool to promote social entrepreneurship. My being accepted as a Fellow offered a real opportunity to create strong connections within this group, and I feel certain that these are connections that will continue to be of value long after the conference has ended.”

Phloeun Prim was born in Cambodia and moved to Canada at the age of three, where he remained with his family prior to his returning to Cambodia in 1998, to join an entrepreneurial initiative of the European Union. Largely as a result of his efforts, that original group of 50 artisans has now become Artisans d’Angkor, a self-sustaining company, which now employs over 1000 artisans and staff engaged in the manufacture and distribution of handmade high quality crafts throughout Cambodia and the rest of the world. In 2009, Phloeun was appointed as Director of Cambodian Living Arts, a position that has allowed him to continue to pursue his interest in encouraging social entrepreneurship in Cambodia. Under his leadership, CLA has entered a new phase of development through an understanding of Cambodia’s changing needs and adapting the organization’s mission to meet them. Join us in wishing continued success to Phloeun and CLA!

Phloeun Prim is an Asia 21 Young Leader, Fellows Class of 2012.