Shirin Fozdar visited Cambodia to receive the first medallion and Certificate of Satrei Vatthana (Champion of Women) from His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk. She was the first Bahá'í to enter the country.
• She was not able to teach the Faith openly but she did speak about it to the king's parents.

The first local person to become a Bahá'í in Cambodia, Mr Lim Incchin, a young Chinese, enrolled. [Servants of the Glory page23]
• The country was first settled by two pioneers one of whom was a Professor Avaregan. [Servants of the Glory page21]

Four new believers in Cambodia were arrested and imprisoned as the Bahá'í Faith was not formally recognized and the Bahá'ís did not have permission to teach.
• See Servants of the Glory page 26.

The National Spiritual Assembly of Vietnam was formed with its seat in Saigon and having jurisdiction over the Bahá'ís of Cambodia. [BW14p99]
• By 8 October the National Assembly was incorporated. [Bahaipedia]

In Cambodia, political upheaval and a ban on the Bahá'í Faith had scattered its communities and caused some believers to be imprisoned briefly. Dempsey and Adrienne Morgan returned in 1971 and discreetly helped facilitate communication among Bahá'ís. Once the ban was lifted in 1974, he assisted in re-formation of several Local Spiritual Assemblies and instituted training classes. The foundation built by the national Bahá'í community helped it endure the devastating upheavals of subsequent years. [The American Bahá'í, Servants of the Glory page 48]
• "All effective contact with the Cambodian Bahá'ís was lost during the period of Khmer Rouge rule (1975-79), and apart from contact with Bahá'ís subsequently found in refugee camps in Thailand, the community had to be completely re-established in the 1980s." [Religious Freedom in the Asia Pacific: The Experience of the Bahá'í Community p87 by Graham Hassall]
• "With the conclusion of warfare and the establishment of the new regime all Bahá'í activity in Cambodia is at a standstill, as far as can be ascertained. For a time the national Teaching Committee secretary wrote of continuing teaching activity among the believers and enquirers but there are now no available channels of communication and there has been no recent news of the fate of the Khmer Bahá'ís". [BW16 p.138]

The founding of the Cambodian Organization for Research, Development and Education (CORDE) in Cambodia.
• History.
• Their programs include:
  • Community Kindergarten Schools, [Community Kindergarten Schools]
  • Junior Youth Empowerment Program, [JYEP]
  • English Literacy Program, [English literacy education for remote Cambodia
  • University for Education and Development (UniED) was established in Battambang in 2002, by a group of educationists, scientists and development practitioners from Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. [ History]

Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum attended the inaugural convention as the representative of the Universal House of Justice. [Ridván 151]

The Preparation for Social Action programme that was implemented at the beginning of the Five Year Plan was expanded to seven additional countries: Cambodia, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Panama, the Philippines and Vanuatu.
• Over 10,000 had participated in the programme with about 1,800 among these who had studied all of the texts available.
• In addition some 1,700 individuals serving institutions and agencies of the Fatih in 25 countries had studied a selection the the materials in a seminar setting. [5YPSumPage94-95]
• Preparation for Social Action was implemented as a course of study at the New Era High School and Senior Secondary in Panchgani.

Plans were announced that the Universal House of Justice was entering into consultations with respective National Spiritual Assemblies regarding the erection of the first local Houses of Worship in each of the following clusters: Battambang, Cambodia; Bihar Sharif, India; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Norte del Cauca, Colombia; and Tanna, Vanuatu.
• It was announced in the Ridván Message that a Temples Fund was established at the Bahá’í World Centre to support the construction of the two national and five local Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs, as well as other such projects. The friends everywhere are invited to contribute to it sacrificially, as their means allow. [BWNS906; Riḍván 2012 To the Bahá'ís of the World]
• In a message from the Universal House of Justice dated 1 August 2014 it was announced that the Office of Temples and Sites had been created in 2012.

Some 300 people attended the unveiling of the design of the first local Bahá'í House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia [BWNS1062]
• See BWNS1062 for pictures.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the first local Bahá'í House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia was attended by some 200 community members. The event coincided with the commemoration of the Twin Holy Birthdays—the Birth of the Báb and the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh. [BWNS1082]
• See BWNS1082 for pictures.

The earthworks for the Local Bahá'í House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia was completed. [BWNS1100]
• See BWNS1100 for pictures.

For a progress report on the construction of the Local House of Worship in Battanbang, Cambodia see BWNS1120
• See BWNS1120 for pictures.

The opening of Cambodia's first "Local House of Worship" in Battambang, just over two years after the design of the building was unveiled in July 2015. News of this project was announced in 2012 along with other projects in Bihar Sharif, India; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Norte del Cauca, Colombia; and Tanna, Vanuatu.
• The Mashriqul-Adhkár was designed by Phnom Penh-based architect Tang Sochet Vitou. It is situated on a 9-hectare property of which 1.5 hectares is used for the temple, an administrative building as well as gardens and ponds. The temple is a frequent topic of conversation among the local population. Even before its completion, it had galvanized action towards the betterment of the community and brought neighbours together. it will help provide for the spiritual needs of Cambodia's growing Bahá'í community which, according to the Ministry of Cult and Religion's most recent annual report, numbers about 12,000 although some adherents say the figure may now be closer to 20,000. Bahá'í communities were first recorded in the kingdom in the 1920s and since 1992 they have grown steadily with the help of aid workers and Asian immigrants.
• In a letter dated 18 December 2014, the Universal House of Justice explained that a Bahá'í House of Worship is a "collective centre of society to promote cordial affection" and "stands as a universal place of worship open to all the inhabitants of a locality irrespective of their religious affiliation, background, ethnicity, or gender and a haven for the deepest contemplation on spiritual reality and foundational questions of life, including individual and collective responsibility for the betterment of society."
• The dedication was marked by a two-day conference bringing together over 2,500 people from Battambang and every other region of Cambodia. A number of Cambodian dignitaries attended along with representatives of other Bahá'í communities in Southeast Asia. The Universal House of Justice was represented by Ms. Sokuntheary Reth who served on the Continental Board of Counsellors in Asia.
• See the letter from the Universal House of Justice, dated 1 September, 2017, for the message to the gathered friends.

  Specifics
  

  Location: Battambang, Cambodia
  Design unveiled:July 2015
  Groundbreaking ceremony: 14 November, 2015
  Construction Period:January 2016 to September 2017
  Site Dedication: 1 September, 2017
  Architect: Tang Sochet Vitou
  Architectural firm: Architecture Design Intelligence (ADI)
  Seating:
  Dimensions: Inside height 11.8m
  Cost:
  Dependencies:
  References: [BWNS906, BWNS1062, BWNS1082, BWNS1100, BWNS1120, BWNS1137, BWNS1157, BWNS1185, BWNS1187, BWNS1189, BWNS1190 (slide show), BWNS1191 (video), BWNS1192]

Some 80 members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors met for a conference at the Bahá'í World Centre following the 12th International Bahá'í Convention. On that occasion, the Counsellors were able to reflect on major developments in Bahá'í communities around the world. In order to share their experiences some of their stories were recorded and made available via podcasts. The Counsellors discussed the impact of spiritual and moral education programs offered by the Bahá'í community on youth and the communities in which they live, drawing on experiences in Cambodia, Kiribati, India, Norway, Spain, and Timor Leste (or East Timor). [BWNS1264]
• Counsellors in Africa, Alain Pierre Djoulde, Clément Thyrrell Feizouré, Maina Mkandawire, and Judicaël Mokolédiscuss discussed endeavours in the field of education in that continent. [BWNS1269]
• The podcasts can be found here or on SoundCloud.