Hello! I’m John Weeks, developing innovative fundraising and communication strategies in Southeast Asia.
I particularly relish the challenge of growing nonprofit infrastructure. I’ve founded Our Books, Our Books Illustration and Design, House32 Web Design, and assisted in getting Open Development Cambodia and the ICT4 Cambodia Development Network off the ground.
I serve on the boards of Open Development Cambodia, Our Books, Nou Hach Literary Journal, and arts ‘think tank’ Sang Salapak.
I frequently teach at varied tech events, and enjoy sharing my interests via blogging, cartooning and varied writing. My opinions on art, culture, and technology are cited in publications ranging from Time and USA Today to Punk Planet.
Please feel free to get in touch.
In The News – Interviews – Linked In – Visual CV – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – Mastodon – Our Books – Our Books Illustration & Design – House32 Web Design – Open Development Cambodia – QuickDraw – Sang Salapak – Open Comics – Comics Lifestyle – Southeast Asia Notes – ‘The Feed’ – Contact
August 23, 2019
A talk I gave in July on ‘Open Source Social Media’.
6 minutes, 4 on questions. I’m trying to make it short and sweet.
You don’t have to quit all your programs; but let’s be mindful that you have a choice.
More at my ‘Open Social‘ page if you are curious.
February 6, 2016
Artist and comics curator John Weeks first arrived in Cambodia in May 2000, curious to research Cambodian comics. In 2006, he co-founded the local NGO Our Books, which helps source and promote Khmer comic art. He also publishes a daily web comic at QuickDrawComics.net. This week John spoke to Harriet Fitch Little about some of the best artists working in his field.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/my-phnom-penh-john-weeks
July 16, 2015
Thanks to Artillery Cafe for hosting my comics (particularly Brittany and Sopor) as well as Samros and Vanessa for their persistend effort in honing the details. https://www.facebook.com/events/1602233853388330/
Thanks also to Will Jackson for a writeup in the Phnom Penh Post.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/comics-drawn-life-fastest-pencil-town
And Sotheavy Nou for pictures via the Khmer Times. http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/13364/around-town/
I was just a little apprehensive to see if people would ‘get’ cartoons in a gallery context, but was gratified to see the crowd that showed up.
It was also a mini-reunion of sorts as friends and students from the Center For Khmer Studies showed up – Undergrad Students, Fellowship Recipients, postgrads as well. Auspicious timing, as many of these folks are only here for a short study stint.
If you want to buy one of the prints? Mosey on down. http://artillerycafe.com/
And there are more comics to come at www.QuickDraw.me.
Thanks again to all who encouraged and assisted in both putting this show together — in addition to those who encouraged the initial daily drawings. More pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/slugdog/sets/72157655851959456
February 25, 2015
Sketch notes: a great way to document an event, and then later translate to provide ‘gist’ for those who may be on the other side of the planet.
‘Open Data Day’ (Feb 21), held at Development Innovations.
https://www.facebook.com/events/854453584612339/
Thanks to OpenDevCam & OKFN for setting up the event! Art courtesy Moeu ‘Vuth’ Diyadaravuth.
Sketch Notes:
Communicating information with Sketch notes & local language. @john_weeks makes a splash at #OpenDataDay #cambodia pic.twitter.com/UM61322pkw
— Arky (@playingwithsid) February 21, 2015
You can catch the full rundown via Our Books Cambodia: http://siewphewyeung.org.kh/open-data-day-2015/
April 10, 2014
And I’m in BuzzFeed this week. I can’t say this is exactly news. It’s interesting how Buzzfeed is *perceived* as news, though.
@kateiselin @TonyAbbottMHR Patched in as well, apologies for delay. #AbbottMH370 pic.twitter.com/8xgtI8xlbc
— John Weeks (@john_weeks) April 9, 2014
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/tony-abbott-was-just-asking-to-become-a-meme
Now picked up at:
The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/10/tony-abbott-mocked-for-tweeting-picture-of-himself-on-the-phone
Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/tony-abbott-parodied-on-twitter-over-phone-photo-20140410-zqt40.html
NineMSN http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2014/04/10/16/56/abbotts-twitter-photo-phonecall-parodied
News.com.au http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/tony-abbott-mocked-on-twitter-after-posting-photo-follows-in-footsteps-of-british-pm-david-cameron/story-fnjwnhzf-1226879737270
Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2601273/But-let-selfie-Australian-Prime-Minister-Tony-Abbott-follows-footsteps-British-counterpart-David-Cameron-shameless-Twitter-pic.html
August 2, 2013
… Also supporting the scene is the NGO Our Books, which publishes, archives, exhibits comic artists, and runs workshops and events, including a 24 hour comic drawing marathon. Yet founder John Weeks also tells us that financial constraints are a huge block to momentum and spontaneity. “Many artists … don’t see the long-term benefits of exposure”.
Consequently, most artists from the comic boom in the 1980’s no longer draw, and instead work jobs that guarantee a more secure income. This lack of confidence in the industry means that production of new comics is inconsistent. “We try our hardest to encourage artists, but you can’t force a scene to develop if it’s not ready”, says Weeks. French-Cambodian artist Patrick Samnang Mey agrees : “the scene hasn’t found its identity yet”.
July 27, 2013
The Cambodia Daily, Weekend Supplement, Page 14
By Devon Geary and Kaing Menghun
Every morning, customers flock to Phnom Penh’s Rik Reay Restaurant on Street 178 to order the eatery’s specialty, rice noodles, for breakfast. But what food-for-thought they’ll discover after choosing their seat is entirely up to fate.
On the wall next to each table is a different comic, placed there by Phnom Penh based NGO Our Books.
Earlier this year, Leap Sothy, whose family has owned the noodle shop for more than a decade, was approached by Our Books’ managing editor and artist John Weeks, one of the café’s regular customers….
While spending time at Rik Reay, Mr. Weeks had noticed the range of personalities frequenting the street’s many canvas-filled art shops and filtering in and out of the noodle restaurant.
“We have policemen, we have journalists, we have ordinary folks – on Sunday morning, this place is jammed,” he said. “We wanted to get comics into the context of people’s daily lives.”
Mr. Sothy – a 27-year-old architecture student at the nearby Royal University of Fine Arts – discussed the proposition with his parents, and the family agreed. Now, every two to three weeks, the batch of 10 comics is replaced with new drawings, a swap Mr. Sothy says he eagerly awaits…
January 8, 2013
[An article in French for ‘The Little Journal’ by Samuel Bartholin]
John Weeks emphasizes the role of inspirational artists from the Diaspora. “Séra has been a constant presence and a source of inspiration for his workshops, which led to the realization of several graphic novels. It was also exciting to see the publication of Eugenie by Patrick Samnang Mey…”
http://www.lepetitjournal.com/cambodge/accueil/actualite/135472-our-books-ong-renaissance-bd-khmere
August 10, 2012
You can see the talk’s images via ‘Slideshare’ (English or Khmer), and the talk via YouTube.
More details at Our Books Cambodia. Cited: Global Voices.
August 4, 2011
“Generally speaking, I’ve found most Cambodians embrace the internet as a place for self-expression ‘first’, with human rights then being reflected in their opinions,” says John Weeks, an American in Cambodia who regularly consults with human rights groups on net strategy. read more…»
July 27, 2011
While most of the Internet users in Cambodia are on networking site Facebook, “Twitter is growing in leaps and bounds,” said a founder of TweetCambodia, which aggregates tweets with hashtag #cambodia.
“Cambodia has a very phone-centric culture and that’s suited well to Twitter use. We are seeing a lot more sophistication in the use of it, including the use of Khmer Unicode which is particularly interesting,” John Weeks added.
With 800 people following his micro-blogging account on Twitter, John Weeks admitted that followers seek out “content and opinion. That’s probably why my follow list is smaller than the @PhnomPenhPost, or entertainers like @MeasSokSophea”. More: http://blogs.voanews.com/khmer-english/musings/2011/07/27/
January 21, 2011
‘John Weeks reacts to the blocking of KI Media’ read more…»
November 2, 2010
How did you find out about Twitter? A friend from the States turned me onto it and there is a guy named John Weeks who is THE guy in Cambodia about social media and he convinced me to start tweeting on a regular basis. read more…»
September 16, 2010
Wherever there are people and pens, comics seem to spring up. This long, comprehensive story on comics in Cambodia documents the emergence of a cartooning scene through the dust and haze of past political upheaval as a bunch of young folk try to make their dreams come true. read more…»
September 12, 2010
Something’s going on in the world of Cambodian comics. Since the first known graphic novel was published in 1964, comics artists have struggled to overcome the challenges posed by the war period, advent of television, and copyright issues. Today signs are pointing to a reinvigoration of comics, as an emerging generation of artists begins to explore new directions. Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen takes a stroll through the history of Cambodian comics and asks what the future beholds. read more…»
March 2, 2010
House 32 was set up in 2007 with four staff and developed one of the first websites to use Khmer Unicode. With a start-up cost of less than US $1000, House32 counts United Nations Agencies as well as companies and small non-governmental organisations as its clients. (Note: the company was set begun in 2007, not 2001 as the article says). read more…»
November 4, 2009
“One laptop per child is a great concept; one phone per person is closer to reality. Anyone with a phone in this country can already broadcast out to the internet via international SMS and Twitter. These channels will widen and get more sophisticated,” explains John Weeks, chief executive officer of House 32 web design and founder of tweetcambodia.com. read more…»
October 21, 2009
Comic art hit its peak in Cambodia in the early 1990s, but since then the local market has declined tremendously. The spread of television and a lack of training in Cambodia could partially explain this decline, organisers say. John Weeks, managing editor of Our Books, said that many Cambodian comic book artists today view themselves as illustrators rather than just cartoonists. “In the West, you have the options to slot yourself into one particular role. Here, people just have to take up what’s available,” he said. read more…»
August 16, 2009
March 26, 2009
Phnom Penh has just been wired with 3G technology, far ahead of neighbouring countries Vietnam and Thailand, giving blogs explosive potential. Yet phones still haven’t reached their peak, Weeks insists. “Users aren’t afraid of technology. But phones aren’t reaching their full potential,” he says. “If ordinary Cambodians can overcome the language barrier and literacy barriers, phones have incredible gateway potential that would dwarf the current blog boom.” read more…»
November 7, 2008
“We have a dichotomy. Cambodia has leapfrogged landlines to embrace modern, high-tech mobile phones. Users aren’t afraid of technology. But phones are not reaching their full potential,” said John Weeks, an American blogger who has lived in Phnom Penh since 2003. “If ordinary Cambodians can overcome the language barrier and literacy barriers, phones have incredible gateway potential that would dwarf the current blog boom.” read more…»
September 1, 2008
According to John Weeks, assistant managing editor of the NGO Our Books, the primary subject matter of Cambodia’s budding literary talent is that age-old favorite: “Romance, romance, romance”. The increasing interest in literature at degree level mirrors a broader trend — now “people are hungry for books and reading material in general,” Weeks says. But despite the growing demand for books in Cambodia, the infrastructure for a strong industry is still not in place. “The market is there; we just need to have more people willing to publish and distribute the work,” Weeks says. read more…»
April 10, 2008
The Khmer diaspora has had interesting effects on Khmer culture,” says John Weeks, the assistant managing editor at Our Books. Filmmakers and novelists who fled Cambodia have helped map out a record of its struggles, and émigré communities have been instrumental in keeping traditional dance and music alive after many of its best practitioners were persecuted. read more…»
September 22, 2007
Human Rights Watch continues to criticize the Cambodian government’s treatment of dissent, but bloggers are able to express at least some overt criticism. And there is no official censorship. More to the point, said John Weeks, an American who runs the House32.com Web design firm in Phnom Penh, blogs are not yet relevant to most Cambodians. “I don’t see blogs where farmers talk about rainfall, or where (motorbike-taxi drivers) complain about gas prices,” he said. (motorbike-taxi drivers) complain about gas prices,” he said. read more…»
September 7, 2007
US national John Weeks, a long-time expatriate blogger who spoke at the summit on how to ensure blog content quality, said that starting a blog involves asking yourself that very question. “It’s the search for identity played out in public,” he said, adding that the impact of blogging is understandably mitigated by its concentration among the urban middle class. read more…»
April 11, 2007
Weeks grew up in Southern California, and was an avid comic book fan and creator from early on. In college he was introduced to Cambodian culture, which led to an MA in Asian Studies in Melbourne, giving him the chance to learn the Khmer language as well as participate in Australia’s thriving DIY comics scene. He eventually moved to Cambodia for a position at an academic research center in Siem Reap, the town nearest to Angkor Wat, Cambodia’s spectacular Hindu/Buddhist ruins and largest tourist attraction. Then, in 2003, he relocated to Phnom Penh to delve into the publishing world. read more…»
April 8, 2006
It’s samizdat all right,” agrees John Weeks, who is researching Khmer literature. “But it’s battling against indifference much more than censorship. At our Indonesia exchange, a comic artist tried to talk about the idea of a cultural movement and he just got blank looks. Movement equals politics and here people after many years are quite cautious. read more…»
October 31, 2004
“Basically, the copyright rests with whoever has the best original copy,” said John Weeks, curator of “Comics of Cambodia,” an exhibition at the French Cultural Center through early November. “Many of the comics today are reprints from the [19]80s or even before.” … “Artists today are sitting on their comics because they’re afraid they’re going to get bootlegged and copied,” Weeks said. “Cambodia is full of stories. It would be great to see these stories celebrated more.” read more…»
