One Book One Community (OBOC) organized the New Volunteer Orientation Day for the 16th Generation on Saturday, 27 June 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Melios Dessert Cafe. The orientation was held to warmly welcome new volunteers and prepare them with a clear understanding of OBOC’s mission, vision, values, programs, and volunteer responsibilities.
As a youth-led community initiative, One Book One Community continues to promote reading culture, community libraries, youth participation, and social impact in Cambodia. Through this orientation, new volunteers were introduced to the purpose of OBOC and the important role that young people can play in creating positive change through books, learning, and community service.
The event began with registration and a welcoming session, followed by an introduction activity that allowed new volunteers to get to know one another. This helped create a friendly and open environment where volunteers could feel comfortable, connected, and ready to begin their journey with OBOC.
During the main presentation, Suos Monika, OBOC International Youth President, shared the background of One Book One Community, including its mission to encourage reading habits, support library development, and provide learning opportunities for communities. New volunteers also learned about OBOC’s key activities, such as library development projects, mobile library activities, reading promotion, book donation initiatives, and youth capacity-building programs.
A special part of the orientation was the volunteer experience sharing session. Current and experienced volunteers shared their personal journeys, challenges, lessons learned, and memorable moments from working with OBOC. Their stories helped inspire the new volunteers and gave them a better understanding of what it means to serve the community with commitment, teamwork, and responsibility. In that session, Chea Chen, volunteer alumni, who used to volunteer in OBOC 13th generation and have experience involve in many activities including mobile library, youth capacity building program, book related event and many activities.
The program also included a Q&A session, allowing new volunteers to ask questions about OBOC’s work, volunteer expectations, upcoming activities, and how they can contribute effectively. This session helped ensure that everyone had a clearer understanding before officially starting their volunteer work.
Another important session was led by Leng Chhun Eii, OBOC Regional Youth President, who shared the action plan for the OBOC 16th Generation. She introduced the direction, priorities, and planned activities for the new volunteer team, helping members understand how they will be involved in upcoming OBOC programs. During the session, she also engaged new volunteers by inviting them to share their ideas, suggestions, and input for the action plan. This participatory discussion encouraged volunteers to think creatively, take ownership of their roles, and contribute to planning activities that respond to community needs.
To make the orientation more engaging, the team organized an interactive Kahoot activity under the topic of how well volunteers know One Book One Community. This activity encouraged participation, teamwork, and active learning while helping volunteers remember important information about the organization in a fun and meaningful way.
Throughout the orientation, volunteers were guided on the importance of communication, discipline, teamwork, leadership, and responsibility. These values are essential for every OBOC volunteer because the work of the organization depends not only on individual effort, but also on cooperation and shared commitment among all members.
The orientation also served as an important space for building relationships between new volunteers and the existing team. By meeting one another, sharing ideas, and learning together, the 16th Generation volunteers began to build a strong foundation for future collaboration.
Through this event, One Book One Community aimed to make sure that all new volunteers are ready to participate meaningfully in upcoming programs and activities. The orientation helped them understand that volunteering is not only about joining events, but also about learning, growing, taking responsibility, and contributing to long-term social impact.
One Book One Community believes that youth volunteers are a powerful force for positive change. By giving young people opportunities to serve, lead, and learn, OBOC continues to build a community of responsible and compassionate youth who are committed to promoting reading culture and supporting community development in Cambodia.
OBOC warmly welcomes all members of the 16th Generation volunteer team. The organization looks forward to working together with them to create more meaningful activities, strengthen community libraries, inspire more readers, and contribute to a better future through the power of books and youth volunteerism.
Comments