Arn Chorn-Pond, Cambodian Music & Human Rights Activist

In 1984, Arn Chorn-Pond became the first Cambodian child soldier to speak publicly about the atrocities that occurred during the Cambodian genocide, delivering a speech to 10,000 people at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. He has since led talks and workshops at conferences, universities and high schools around the world, seeking to inspire others by sharing his personal story of resilience and healing.

Chorn-Pond is a survivor of the Cambodian Genocide, started an arts nonprofit called Cambodian Living Arts, has a novelized bestseller about his life titled Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick, and is the subject of a documentary.

In this event, Chorn-Pond will speak, then participate in a panel discussion and question and answer session with Cambodian Living Arts leader Phary Phecdey, Randolph-Macon College ethnomusicologist and adjunct professor Elise Steenburgh, and UR education professor Bob Spires.

This event is sponsored by the Gottwald Speakers Fund. Co-sponsors are the School of Professional & Continuing Studies, the Center for Global Engagement, and Partners in the Arts.