The Open Institute is a local non-governmental and not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that the benefits of technology for social and economic advance are usable in Cambodian society. At present, the Open Institute implements six programs: Open Learning (E-Learning) , Open Schools, Women, KhmerOS, Publications and Lexicography.

In 2008, the Open Schools Program had trained and re-trained the following teachers and staff of MoEYS on the use of Khmer language application and computer maintenance:

On 24 - 28 November 08 - Training of 68 non-ICT upper secondary school teachers by their ICT teacher colleagues (Wat Phnom and Youkunthor high schools in Phnom Penh).

On 20 - 22 October 08 / 23 - 25 October 08 - Training basic Khmer software to 96 staff members of MoEYS from PoE (provicial of education department) of Banteay Mean Chey, Battambang, Kampong Chnang, Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom, Pursat, Preah Vihea, Sihanoukville, Siem Reap, Kah Kong, Pailin, Oddor Mean Chey, Phnom Penh, Kandal, Takeo, Kampot, Keb, Prey Veng, Svay Reang, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Stung Treng, Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri.

For the last year and half, the Open Institute has been collaborating with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport on the use of ICT in Education. Through the joint Open Schools Program, we have been working together on the training of ICT teachers in all upper secondary schools that have computers for education, on writing the ICT textbooks, and on research to define sustainable computer facilities for schools. Now we are writing a four-year Master Plan for ICT in Education.

4 ICT teachers of the Endratevy high school started to conduct training of OpenOffice in Khmer language to 44 none-ICT teachers. On the first week of September 2008, there are many none-ICT teachers registered for this course. The course organized by the Endratevy high school with the support of the Open Institute to only the ICT teachers that have to teach those none-ICT teachers and also the training materials provided by the Open Institute.

The Queen of Spain visits the Open Schools Program, a joint initiative of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and the Open Institute to use ICT to improve the quality of Education in Cambodia.

Sofía, Queen of Spain, visited today the National Institute of Education (NIE), entity of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in charge of training all the upper secondary school teachers in Cambodia.

At NIE the Queen visited the installations of the Open Schools Program, an initiative to integrate ICT in Khmer language in the education system.

At a massive ceremony that took place on 22 January 2008, the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport presented its new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Textbook for all schools that have computers, all universities and all teacher training facilities.

The new textbook teaches the use of Khmer language Free and Open Source applications, such as OpenOffice, Mekhala (Firefox) and Moyura (Thunderbird), which have been fully translated to Khmer language (Cambodian). It follows eight months of intensive training during which all new upper secondary school ICT teachers, all ICT teachers at upper secondary schools that have computers, and all ICT Master Trainers from teacher training facilities have been trained to teach this type of software, as well as to maintain their computer facilities. The books are distributed together with a letter from the Ministry indicating that from now on this should be the materials to be taught.

The KhmerOS/Open Schools Program initiative - a Cambodian multi-stakeholder project - was selected as a finalist to the Stockholm Challenge/GKP Award, nominating it as one the two projects that best use ICT to produce economic development. The Sweden-based Stockholm Challenge Award is the most prestigious award for projects that use technology to support development in developing countries.

The Open School program has trained, during the months of July and August all the teaching and administrative staff of the National Institute of Education (110) to the use of Khmer Unicode and the use of Khmer language Free and Open Source computer Applications such as OpenOffice, Mekhala (Firefox) and Moyura (Thunderbird), as well as webmail.

All 56 IT teacher trainees and economics and IT teacher trainees at the National Institute of Education receive intensive ICT training on Khmer language applications and computer maintenance from the Open Schools Program from June to August 2007. These pre-service teachers will be teaching IT in upper secondary schools around the country after they graduate in September.