Overview
The five-day intensive program titled “2nd Capacity Building and 5th Technical Workshop for MKCF” was held from 21-27 September 2025, in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Organized by the Korea-Mekong Water Center (KOMEC) as a part of their ongoing project entitled “Integration of Knowledge Hub for Water and Environment in the MKCF Framework”, supported by the Mekong-Korea Cooperation Fund (MKCF). This program followed the previous technical workshop conducted in Bangkok, Thailand, in July 2025.
The main goal was to assist Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) from Mekong countries in developing their Preliminary Concept Papers (PCPs) into complete, fund-ready project proposals. The week included lectures on proposal writing, budgeting, and design by Dr. Minjoung Park, a Research Professor from the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. The program included a visit to the ASEAN-Korea Centre, one-on-one consultations for proposal refinement for each PIA.
The workshop was attended by 22 people, which included 10 PIAs from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam along with 5 Korean experts/lecturers, and 7 KOMEC staff members.
Role of GIC
Dr. Kittiphon Boonma, Project Coordinator for PlasticFlow Mekong Project, represented GIC-AIT at this technical workshop organised by KOMEC. Through his participation at various workshops related to proposal writing, he worked to refine AIT’s project proposal. On the final day, he delivered the PCP draft in the afternoon session, where he presented our draft project proposal to an audience of ODA donor agencies like KOICA, Mekong embassy representatives, and the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment to receive feedback and explore funding pathways.
Some of the important outcomes of this workshop were:
- Enhanced our capacity to transform project concepts into fundable proposals that align with the standards of ODA donors.
- Received direct, tailored feedback on our project proposal from Korean ODA funding sources and government ministries.
- Strengthened the partnership between Mekong institutions and the Republic of Korea for future sustainable water cooperation projects.
- Expanded partnership opportunities by aligning our project designs with Korea’s ODA standards and priorities.
