Hout Somaly, a 31-year-old Naomi Tami Memorial Scholarship Fund scholar graduated from the Academy of Culinary Arts Cambodia (ACAC) in 2020. She recently spoke at a session at the RewirED Summit, organized by Dubai Cares and in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai. Dubai Cares asked ACAC to recommend a participant, and Somaly was chosen as she was an outstanding student and served her ACAC internship in Dubai.
The Summit focused on three key areas in education globally: youth, skills and the future of work; innovation in education; and education financing. The Summit brought together education stakeholders including educationalists and front liners, policy makers, youth, the private sector, international organizations, and foundations, among others together in one place for three days to engage in discussions, panels, hands-on workshops, and to launch exciting initiatives and experiments, and much more.
Somaly’s session was titled “how to skill the workforce for sustainable, gender equal tourism.” The event organizers shared the following: “Tourism has a strong track record in youth employment and entrepreneurship. Hard-hit by COVID-19, a structural transformation is now needed for a responsible, sustainable, and resilient tourism economy, where young men and women find fulfilling and dignifying work. This session discusses forward-looking solutions for skilling for sustainable, gender equal tourism.”
Together with the other panelists Somaly contributed to the discussion, and answered questions with a focus on her experience as a woman working in the hospitality industry.
Read about the RewirED Summit here: https://www.rewired2021.com/
Learn more about the Naomi Tami Memorial Scholarship Fund: https://www.naomimemorialfund.com/
You can visit the Academy of Culinary Arts Cambodia online here: https://acac.edu.kh/
[Transcript]
I grew up in Sihanoukville with my parents and my seven siblings and I am the sixth one.
We were facing a difficult financial background and I felt extremely fortunate when I was given the scholarship from the Naomi Tami Memorial Scholarship Fund which enabled me to pursue my career as a chef at the Academy of Culinary Arts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.
Moving to Phnom Penh turned out to be full of challenges as I was facing financial struggles and it wasn’t easy to manage my living cost such as transportation or accommodation. But I would never give up my dream and I took every effort to pursue my career as a chef and finally, I got rewarded with the valuable opportunity to gain my internship in Japan and in Dubai. And I managed to successfully complete my two-year diploma program at the Academy of Culinary Arts of Cambodia (ACAC), Cambodia’s premier culinary training institute which is ASEAN certified and internationally recognized.
I’m very excited as I have been selected to join the RewirED Summit in Dubai as a panelist on this coming December 12th, to discuss about sustainable and gender equal tourism, share my experiences representing the Academy of Culinary Arts of Cambodia (ACAC) and Cambodia.
Finally, I would like to share my advice to the future generation of ACAC chefs; always make your best efforts and learn as much as you can, and you will receive both, the soft and hard skills required to prepare yourself for the culinary and hospitality industry.
About The Naomi Tami Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Naomi Tami Scholarship Memorial Fund was established by the Tami family to honour the memory of Naomi Laura Tami who passed away on May 7, 2013, at the early age of 23. In keeping with Naomi’s love of life and passion, the Naomi Tami Scholarship Memorial Fund provides the opportunity for students who are committed to excellence, love the culinary arts, and who would not otherwise have the opportunity due to financial constraints, to study tuition-paid at the Academy of Culinary Arts Cambodia.
How to give
Your financial gifts to the Naomi Tami Scholarship Memorial Fund enable Shift360 to expand scholarship opportunities for the Academy of Culinary Arts Cambodia and provide more students with financial constraints the chance for a brighter future.
JOIN US:
Naomi Tami Memorial Scholarship Fund: https://www.naomimemorialfund.com/
Shift 360 Foundation: https://shift360.ch/naomi-tami-scholarship/
Academy of Culinary Arts Cambodia (ACAC): https://acac.edu.kh/
