Scope

Our culture. Our communities. Our stories.

KhmerConnection is a community-maintained guide to Khmer community life and cultural memory. It connects people with organizations, creative works, living traditions, heritage and first-person stories.

Listing an organization or work does not imply endorsement, affiliation, a funding relationship or permission to reproduce it.

What belongs here

An entry should have a clear connection to Khmer communities, language, cultural continuity or community memory, in Cambodia or the diaspora. Factual claims should have identifiable sources. Clearly attributed firsthand knowledge is welcome for family preparations, memories and oral histories.

• Organizations and opportunities: temples, community associations, cultural businesses, education and advocacy groups, arts organizations, studios, publishers, aid organizations, scholarships, grants and fellowships.
• Creative works: books, films, musical works, recordings and releases with a substantive Khmer connection. Distinguish an underlying work from a particular recording, edition or release when that distinction matters.
• Living traditions: religious and cultural practices, festivals, foodways, language practices and intergenerational knowledge. A practice such as Pchum Ben is distinct from a temple that observes it or an individual year's event.
• Food: shared Dish pages explain dishes and link to separate Recipe pages. Individual preparations can use optional paired family surnames or a chosen public family label, with a brief description of their distinguishing features.
• Heritage: sites, archaeological and cultural objects, community landmarks, collections and preservation resources. Separate an institution from the place or objects it manages, and attribute disputed historical or custody claims.
• First-person stories: oral-history recordings, interviews and related collections, with clear credits, context and access links.
• Learning resources: materials that teach or transmit Khmer language and cultural knowledge, with provider and access information.
• Creators: the people and ensembles behind work documented here, including authors, filmmakers, musicians, tradition bearers, master practitioners, chefs, craftspeople, scholars, oral historians, actors, models and content creators. A creator page requires at least one cited work already on this site, except that actors, models and content creators may qualify through the evidence bar for one of those roles:
  • Every such role needs a Khmer connection in the work itself, meaning Khmer language, culture, community or the Cambodian market (Cambodian heritage alone is not enough), two independent sources with at least one not from the person, their agency or a paid press release, and at least one dated credit. Follower counts are context, never evidence.
  • Actor: a credited role in a released film, series or stage production that is Khmer-language, Cambodian-produced or Cambodian-themed, confirmed by a festival, distributor, broadcaster or press source. IMDb alone does not qualify.
  • Model: a national Cambodian pageant win or placement, representing Cambodia at an international pageant, or a campaign or runway credit for a Khmer brand or designer, Cambodian fashion week, or a brand campaign aimed at the Cambodian market, confirmed by the organizer, brand or press.
  • Content creator: at least 12 months of sustained content about Khmer culture, language, food or diaspora life, plus outside recognition such as press coverage, a booking by a Khmer organization or event, or an institutional collaboration.
  • A person may hold several roles. Each role listed needs its own evidence; work without it can be described in the page text instead.

Organizations should have a traceable public presence or documented history. Historical and inactive organizations are welcome; a dead website alone does not establish that an organization has closed. Cultural businesses belong when their products, work or institutional history carry Khmer culture or community memory, not simply because an owner is Cambodian.

Cambodia aid entries should explain the programs and their community relevance. Headquarters country, operating locations and impact geography are separate facts.

Evidence, attribution and privacy

• Cite official records, reliable reporting, archives, catalogs and identified firsthand contributors as appropriate to the claim.
• Distinguish published evidence, attributed family knowledge and uncertainty. Do not invent dates, ingredients, histories or geographic origins.
• Public surnames and family stories are optional and require permission to publish. Surname pairs are labels, not unique household identifiers. A private birth or maiden name is never required.
• A dish may have several regional connections. Geographic associations should reflect evidence, not an assumed exclusive origin.
• Public availability does not grant republication rights. Link to a recording, photograph, book or recipe source unless there is an appropriate permission or license to reproduce it.

Boundaries

KhmerConnection is not a general business listing service, political campaigning platform, personal genealogy database or unrestricted file host. Political-party promotion, unsupported allegations, private contact information without permission, and copied protected works without a rights basis are out of scope.

People and ensembles may be credited as creators, narrators, founders, contributors and family sources. A creator with a cited work on this site may also have their own page, which documents that body of work rather than telling the story of a life. Standalone personal biographies are still not accepted, and a creator page is not one: it exists to connect the works, practices and recordings already documented here.

A creator page requires at least one cited work already on this site. That work may be a book, film, music release, recipe, tradition, collection or recording. A tradition bearer or master practitioner qualifies through a tradition, collection or recording page, not only through a published work.

A creator page opens with a brief introduction to the creator, followed by their works and links to their own site or to the sources that document them. It describes work, role and recognition. It does not carry family details, genealogy, private contact information, or claims that cited sources do not support, and it is not a promotional platform: a creator page describes what someone has made, in this site's neutral voice, and never advertises them.

Government-linked and religious institutions may be described neutrally when their relevant work fits this scope; inclusion is not endorsement.

Useful partial entries are welcome when they distinguish known facts from uncertainty. See KhmerConnection:How to Contribute for writing guidance and KhmerConnection:Page starters for article outlines.

Online communities and publications

Informal groups and online-first communities may be described as organizations when they have a distinguishable identity, an identifiable source and a useful connection to Khmer community life. Incorporation, a street address and a standalone website are not prerequisites. Classify a group by its primary work; its platform is an access destination.

A Publication is a named continuing editorial project, such as a magazine, newsletter, podcast, video series, journal or social editorial feed, with a substantive Khmer connection. The connection can lie in documented content, intended audience or role in community life. A regional publication can qualify through a substantive documented Cambodian connection without being exclusively Khmer. Neutral descriptions of reporting and commentary are distinct from political-party promotion.

Keep the publication, a distinct publisher organization, its distribution channels and individual works separate. Do not invent a publisher organization or create a second record for every platform. An organization's ordinary update newsletter may be a section on its existing page unless the newsletter has a distinguishable editorial identity and useful independent access or documented history.

Use Collection for an archival or oral-history holding, not simply because a podcast has several episodes. A Publication is also a qualifying cited work for an existing eligible creator role; being a guest or subscriber does not itself establish authorship or a new creator role.

Public descriptions may establish a group's stated purpose or access rules without establishing activity, safety or moderation quality. Attribute administrator-provided information. Do not publish private posts, member lists or private contact details. Obtain administrator opt-in before listing hidden or sensitive communities. Inclusion does not guarantee admission, safety, continued availability or editorial accuracy.

Journals and social editorial projects

Journals must have a substantive connection within the site's scope; peer review and academic status are separate sourced claims. A Social editorial feed must be a distinguishable continuing editorial project, not merely an account with Khmer in its name.

Separate publication from participation and promotion. Routine organizational announcements belong with the organization; discussion groups belong with the community; social promotion for an existing publication is an access channel. A documented editorial project can exist entirely on social platforms without incorporation or an independent website.