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Panel Discussion “Where Are the Schools?: Education in Fragility”
4 March, 2025 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The education situation in Burma (Myanmar) has been severely disrupted by ongoing political instability and conflict, particularly following the military coup in February 2021. Many students and teachers have participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), refusing to attend or operate under military-run institutions, leading to a parallel system of learning developed by the National Unity Government and local communities. Moreover, the conflict has displaced thousands, making access to education even more challenging in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and remote areas, where resources are scarce, and conditions are not conducive to learning. This upheaval has exacerbated pre-existing challenges in educational equity, quality, and accessibility, leaving a generation of Burmese youth at risk of losing educational opportunities and facing uncertain futures.
The photo exhibition by New Burma in collaboration with SEA Junction on 4- 16 March in the Curved Wall, 5th Floor, BACC, displays photos by Nyein Chan Aung, as a tribute to school teachers who, as part of the CDM, continue to live as fractured beings in the IDP camps of Karenni State. It seeks to illuminate the resilience of these individuals—people who have lost much but still carry the unyielding spark of resistance within them. Through their stories, we witness not just the tragedy of displacement, but the unbreakable will to educate, to nurture, and to keep alive the ideals of freedom and justice, even from the deepest of human suffering. This exhibition does not only document their struggle; it amplifies their voices reminding us that even in the most dire of circumstances, fragments can still form a whole, and hope can still emerge from the ashes.
The exhibition will be launched with an opening event on 4 March at 6 pm at SEA Junction, featuring a panel discussion titled “Where are the Schools?: Education in Fragility.” This panel will explore the past and present realities of education in Myanmar, examining how conflict has reshaped learning spaces, sparked innovation, and demanded new approaches to education.
The discussion is designed to be a platform for sharing experiences and strategies between the speakers and the audience, facilitated by the moderator. It is an opportunity for attendees to a deeper understanding of the complexities of ‘education in fragility’ while being able to contribute to a dialogue that seeks sustainable solutions to one of the most pressing challenges in contemporary conflict settings.
Bio of Speakers and Moderator
Moderator: Suu is a human rights master student with expertise in documenting and investigating human rights violations in Myanmar.
Speaker 1: Ms. Nicola Edwards has been working in and around education for over 30 years in the UK and Asia. She has been training teachers in Myanmar since 2009 and moved to Yangon in 2013 when she was academic manager of the British Council Yangon. She has worked with Mon National Education Committee (MNEC) and Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD), and has developed curriculum for a Kachin education provider, the American Centre Yangon, and Parami University. She specializes in researching ethnic and mother tongue education in Myanmar, particularly in non-SAC controlled areas, and is a conflict and political analyst. She has a Masters in Education and Development from University College London.
Speaker 2: Ms. Nan Khine Phoo is the general secretary of Pa-O Women’s Union (PWU), who has been advocating for gender women leadership, equality, human rights, and justice.
Speaker 3: Mr. Saw John Moe is a teacher at an IDP school in Karenni State, which is on the border with Thailand.
Speaker 4: Mr. Tim Aye Hardy is a co-founder and Executive Director of myME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project, which provides education via mobile classrooms to children in Myanmar who have been compelled into indentured servitude at tea shop restaurants. He has been working to develop policies and strategies to address inclusivity and equity in education.
Accompanying Photo Exhibition: “Fragments”
The dialogue will be accompanied by a powerful photo exhibition titled Fragments, offering a visual exploration of education in fragility and the resilience of learning communities in conflict settings.
For more information, please email: info@seajunction.org or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: The exhibition and the opening event are free, but donations are welcome to support SEA Junction and New Burma activities.
Organizers
A New Burma (ANB) is a collective committed to promoting creative resistance, advocacy, and social movements to champion the rights of marginalized communities in Burma. With a focus on non-violent tactics, ANB collaborates with the creative community to turn innovation and activism into advocacy tools against human rights violations. ANB provides training to pro-democracy leaders and activists, enhance the creative resistance movement with resources and techniques, and create civic spaces using arts and digital platforms in restrictive environments. Founded by individuals in exile, ANB values the profound role of shared creativity and community in shaping identities and giving meaning to life beyond mere survival. ANB’s philosophy of Creative Resistance is about more than opposing oppression; it involves collectively envisioning and constructing a new, democratic and inclusive future for all who consider Burma their home.
SEA Junction
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organisation 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 human rights, gender, migration 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 education and access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information, see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693058870976440/ and follow us on Twitter (X), Bluesky and Instagram @seajunction
