In an effort to continue national reconciliation, the Documentation Center of Cambodia is planning two projects in 2009: the establishment of a research center in Phnom Penh and continued efforts to teach students more about the history of the Khmer Rouge.
"The teaching of history and the building of this center is a chapter for Cambodia to walk away from hell and walk away from the killing fields, and to step forward toward national reconciliation," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center.
A team for Columbia University, in New York, will work with Education Ministry officials to build the research center and prepare teaching programs and texts for more than 3,000 teachers.
The new curriculum will be based on the book "A History of Democratic Kampuchea," written by Documentation Center researcher Khamboly Dy.
The research center will be the largest of its kind in Asia.