In late 2018, with a small grant from a disability rights foundation and a handful of second-hand cameras, COSD launched on YouTube and Facebook. The mission was simple yet profound: “Nothing about us without us.”
The first broadcast was a shaky, low-budget 10-minute news summary. But it featured something unprecedented—a young woman in a wheelchair anchoring the news, a sign language interpreter in the corner, and voice-over descriptions for the visually impaired. It wasn't polished, but it was real. cosd tv cambodia
In the bustling heart of Phnom Penh, where the hum of motorbikes blends with the chatter of street vendors, a small digital media studio began a quiet revolution in 2018. This was the birthplace of COSD TV Cambodia , an online television channel run by the Cambodian Organization for Students with Disabilities (COSD) . In late 2018, with a small grant from
COSD TV Cambodia is not just about broadcasting. It is about belonging. In a country where disability has long meant invisibility, this little channel gave millions of Cambodians a mirror—and a window. A mirror to see their own worth, and a window for the rest of society to see them clearly for the first time. It wasn't polished, but it was real
Their next dream: a 24/7 streaming channel and a mobile app with customizable accessibility features.
In 2022, COSD TV caught the attention of the Ministry of Information. Impressed by their pandemic work, the Ministry officially recognized them as a legitimate digital media outlet—the first disability-led channel to receive such status. This opened doors for small government advertising contracts and partnerships with major NGOs.
That same year, they launched —a weekly show entirely in Cambodian Sign Language (CSL), without voice-over. It was a bold statement: deaf people deserve news in their own language, not as an afterthought.