“I was struck by the sense of community and mutual support among the participants. Engaging with fellow Myanmar scholars who share similar challenges and aspirations was very motivating.”
From May 15th to 17th, 2024, the UBC Myanmar Initiative led by Prof. Kai Ostwald at the Institute of Asian Research here at SPPGA held its flagship event—the Myanmar Emerging Scholars and Young Leaders Workshop. This workshop brings together young scholars and professionals whose research focuses on Myanmar and who have worked and lived in the country. Participants gathered at the UBC Vancouver campus for an important array of events geared towards empowering the next generation of scholars and leaders from Myanmar. This workshop is in its second year and is made possible through the generous support of the International Development Research Centre’s “Knowledge for Democracy in Myanmar” (K4DM) initiative.
Participants spent three days engaged in learning and discussion through hands-on professional development sessions. This years’ workshop placed a strong emphasis on building communication and organizational skills. Through sessions led by Dr. Paul Evans (SPPGA, Professor Emeritus) and Jawad Hussein Qureshi (SPPGA Policy Practitioner) participants explore the intricate details of communicating effectively to impact national policy decisions. The young scholars also had an opportunity to learn from Dr. Naomi Ostwald (Densho) as she shared her insights on building and sustaining civil society organizations. These sessions were interspersed with opportunities for hands-on-learning, group based writing and individual research presentations by participants. Research topics included gendered violence, civil war and conflict analysis, energy access, digital resistance, social media and its socio-political intersections, vaccine policies, and migration.
Participant John Jonaid sharing his research
Young scholars engaged in discussion in the C.K. Choi Lounge
Participants collectively working on policy briefs
Participants presenting their policy briefs
Su Thet San at the 2024 Myanmar Emerging Scholars and Young Leaders Workshop
At the close of the workshop we spoke to participant Su Thet San (MPPGA Class of 2025) who shared their reflections on these learning experiences: “The workshop was incredibly enriching and rewarding. Over three days, around 24 graduate students from various universities in and outside Canada came together for networking and skill-building. The sessions on communication gave us practical tips to improve our academic writing and highlighted the importance of clearly conveying complex policy ideas to influence decision-makers.”
Students also visited the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada in downtown Vancouver to meet practitioners working on current urgent issues. In the words of Su Thet “this visit gave real-world context to our discussions and showed how research and policy work can intersect to drive change. Meeting professionals there broadened our perspectives and inspired us to think strategically about our roles as scholars and policy advocates.”
Above all the workshop brought Burmese graduate students in conversation with each other and offered them a space to engage with their peers’ emerging research. Reflecting on this aspect of the event, Su Thet San remarked : “I was struck by the sense of community and mutual support among the participants. Engaging with fellow Myanmar scholars who share similar challenges and aspirations was very motivating. The workshop equipped us with essential academic and professional skills and reinforced the importance of collaboration and effective communication in contributing to Myanmar’s future.”
The UBC Myanmar Initiative will host the 2025 Myanmar Emerging Scholars and Young Leaders Workshop next summer. The workshop aims to cultivate a new generation of scholars and young leaders, like Su Thet San, who can play a pivotal role in supporting democracy and democratization in Myanmar.
Learn more about the Myanmar Initiative here.
