A Note on Removed Content

TEDxPhnomPenh would like to thank its sponsors and gracious hosts at Pannasastra University for helping to bring together an incredible day this past June 9th.

There has been some recent controversy surrounding one of the talks that appeared on the program but was not performed, “Grand Finale.”

Inspired by the death of environmental activist Chut Vutty, TEDxPhnomPenh license holder Allie Hoffman invited activists from Borei Keila, Dey Krahom and the Venerable Noun Sovath to produce a short presentation on land rights in Cambodia. This presentation, titled only “Grand Finale”, was tentatively scheduled as the closing performance for TEDxPhnomPenh.

Before they are invited to speak at TEDxPhnomPenh, all potential presenters are reviewed by a committee drawn from leading members of the Phnom Penh community. However, due to the potentially sensitive nature of “Grand Finale”, Allie did not publicly disclose the contents of the Finale until it was nearly completed. At this point, the TEDxPhnomPenh Planning Team insisted that sponsors and representatives from Pannasastra University be invited to attend a rehearsal of the performance for review.

After a review of the content, Pannasastra University was unable to permit the performance to proceed on their premises because of their concerns about the government’s response to its critical content.

TEDxPhnomPenh believes that progress comes from open dialogue and debate, and does not support the suppression of content. However, TEDxPhnomPenh is not a political organization, and in deference to Pannasastra University’s difficult position, TEDxPhnomPenh cut “Grand Finale” from the program.

The production team, consisting of representatives of the Phnom Penh community, will independently produce and release a video recording of “Grand Finale” in the coming weeks. Since “Grand Finale” is not an official part of TEDxPhnomPenh, the video will not feature TEDxPhnomPenh logos or branding.