The Virtual International Professional Placement Project was a unique opportunity for me to build humanitarian practice with two non-profit organisations - SaSa Art Projects and New Khmer + Architecture.

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Over 12 weeks, 4 UNSW students teamed up with 4 Cambodian students (from Phnom Penh) to investigate and support community-led responses to challenges of the pandemic, playing out in public space. We were tasked to consider informal urbanism and how locals responded to challenges of the pandemic through bottom-up adaptations in public space. 

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Over the course of the research program, our team decided to focus on how vulnerable elderly were affected by the lack of fresh food available during the pandemic, and how the elderly population had subconsciously created a symbiotic relationship - in simultaneously providing support to each other, while also being the most vulnerable demographic.

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The ongoing project is funded by the New Colombo Plan* and mentored by UNSW Built Environment. 

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*The New Colombo Plan is a signature initiative of the Australian Government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region.