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2nd #Manel Exhibition Opening & Panel Discussion ‘Democratic Representation and Gender Inclusion in Southeast Asia
19 October, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Women’s voices continue to be underrepresented, if not denied, in government institutions and processes and in the public and academic arena. In spite of significant progress in fostering gender equity globally, patriarchal norms remain deeply entrenched in society and continue to manifest themselves in multiple forms. On 19 October at 5.30pm, the Women’s League of Burma, the Salween Institute for Public Policy and SEA Junction will organize a panel discussion on “Democratic Representation and Gender Inclusion in Southeast Asia”. The agenda is as follows:
- Welcoming Remarks by Nang Moet Moet, General Secretary, Women’s League of Burma
- Panel Discussion “Democratic Representation and Gender Inclusion in Southeast Asia”
Speakers
- Ruengrawee Pichaikul, Director, Gender and Development Research Institute
- Infrai Fernida, Regional Program Manager, Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)
- Ye Hein Aung, Executive Director, Myanmar Cultural Research Society (MCRS)
- YingLao NoanVo, Executive Director, Salween Institute for Public Policy
Event Moderator
Rosalia Sciortino, Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR), Mahidol University and SEA Junction
The panel discussion officially inaugurates the exhibition the 2nd #Manels Exhibition with the sub-title “A (p)manel a day keeps democracy away” that is being held on 17-29 October at the 4th floor of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center (BACC). Organized by WLB and SI in collaboration with SEA Junction, the exhibition focuses on one of the seemingly innocuous, but actually pernicious form of patriarchal norms in the public space, namely the proliferation of “manels”, i.e., all-male panels, and their denial of women as subject-matter experts. Manels also fail to communicate how important diversity is for the quality of conversations and for creating spaces for engagement and innovation between different angles and viewpoints. Interestingly while in the “real” wolrd there had been a growing awareness of the importance of diversifying panels, during the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a reprise and deluge of all-male panels in webinairs as if the voice of male experts in a time of crisis would be more reassuring, but principally because women were overburdened with increased care responsibility at home.
The exhibition follows the format of the first #Manels Exhibition held in Chiang Mai in March 2023 consisting of visual documentation of manel events, manelists, manel organizers and donors or funders who supported those events and the reasons (excuses) given to justify organizing manels. In addition to similar material for the year 2023 and artworks on this topic, this exhibition exposes a selection of manels in other countries of Southeast Asia to point that is not an issue only pertinent to Burma as it occurs also in Thailand, across the region, and globally.
Speakers and Moderator Profiles
Ruengrawee Pichaikul is currently a Director of Gender and Development Research Institute (GDRI) and was a former Senior Program Manager with The Asia Foundation. She has over twenty-five years of professional experience in program development on women’s empowerment, gender equality, counter-trafficking in persons; legal aid and community development; justice and police reform, human rights, conflict mitigation, and peacebuilding. In addition, Ruengrawee serves as a resource person and trainer on gender, human rights, and media advocacy for various civil society and government organizations.
Infrai Fernida is the Regional Program Manager, Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)and manages the secretariat of Transitional Justice Asia Network (TJAN). She is a dedicated human rights lawyer and advocate with over 15 years of experience in Indonesia and Asia. She assisted the establishment and development of the Aceh Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Indria has collaborated with various civil society initiatives, including in her role as Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence.
Ye Hein Aung is the executive of the Myanmar Cultural Research Society (MCRS). He is also the founder of Burma Civil War Museum. Since 2005, he has been researching and collecting information related to Myanmar’s political history, focusing on the ongoing civil war, and conflicts surrounding ethnic and religious issues. Ye Hein Aung holds Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Dagon University and a post-graduate diploma in international law from Yangon University.
YingLao NoanVo is the executive director of the Salween Institute for Public Policy, a Burma’s think tank committed cultivating a strong intellectual foundation to foster much-needed social cohesion among Burma’s pluralistic communities while contributing to the development of just and effective approaches to nation building, state building, policymaking, and community leadership through research, training, technical assistance, and advocacy. YingLao has, for more than twenty years, extensively worked with various ethnic women, youth, and political organizations on the issues of federalism, self-determination, ethnic equality, women’s rights, and gender equality through her involvement with various federal and state constitution drafting processes. She holds a Master of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), Indiana University Bloomington.
Rosalia Sciortino Sumaryono is an associate professor at the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University; Visiting Professor at the Master in International Development Studies (MAIDS), Chulalongkorn University; and Director of SEA Junction (seajunction.org). She has served as IDRC Regional Director for Southeast and East Asia (2010–2014), Senior Adviser to AusAID in Indonesia (2009–2010), and Regional Director for Southeast Asia of the Rockefeller Foundation (2000–2007). Rosalia Sciortino Sumaryono also served as a program officer at the Indonesia and Philippines offices of the Ford Foundation (1993–2000). She received her doctoral degree cum laude from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and has published widely on development issues in Southeast Asia. In November 2017, she received a medal from the Vietnamese Association of Social Sciences for her contributing to social sciences in Vietnam.
For more information, please email: info@seajunction.org or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: SEA Junction events are free, but donation most welcome!
Organizers
Women’s League of Burma (WLB)
WLB was established in 1999 with the aim of increasing the participation of women in the struggle for democracy and human rights, promoting women’s participation in the national peace and reconciliation process, and enhancing the role of the women of Burma at the national and international level. For more information please see www.womenofburma.org
The Salween Institute (SI) for Public Policy
SI aims to develop practical policy options to tackle complex socio-economic and political challenges affecting the peoples of Myanmar and to equip the diverse communities of the country with the information and tools to constructively participate in public policymaking impacting their lives. For more information please see https://www.salweeninstitute.org.
SEA Junction
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions, from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 407-8 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information please see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693058870976440/ and/or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @seajunction.
