More than 20 people, mostly spouses accompanying the ASEAN leaders and other delegations, visited the Queen Mother Library on November 11 to learn more about Cambodian history and culture.

The Queen Mother Library was officially opened on September 20, 2020, and contains thousands of books, documents, and cultural and historical artifacts from Cambodian history.

The library is named after Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, who is recognised as a leader, guide and symbol of the Cambodian people’s pursuit of transformation through education. The Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) established the library as an institution to support the education, research, and preservation of Cambodian history.

It also holds DC-Cam’s Khmer Rouge archives, which reflect over 1.7 million pages of records about the Khmer Rouge regime, as well as thousands of audio-visual recordings of interviews of survivors.

In addition, the library contains books, documents, audio-visual media, and artifacts related to the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

“How wonderful to see the preservation of arts and culture at its best. Congratulations!,” wrote Louise Araneta Marcos, spouse of the president of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

Youk Chhang, director of DC-Cam, said that Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk was pleased by the visit of Marcos and the other delegates to her library.

“The visit emphasised that the role of woman must be addressed, supported and strengthened in our society – at both social and political levels,” he said.