Dear Partners and Friends of SEA Junction,
This month, as we commemorate 1 year of the Myanmar coup, we continue our activities to better understand the current situation, voice our concerns for the atrocities being committed and celebrate people’s resilience. Our regular #WhatsHappeninginMyanmar Bi-weekly Updates provide important insights into the struggle as shared by experts with different backgrounds. The exhibition on Defiant Art, which chronicles the year’s key events through artworks, is getting public and media attention and has been extended for another two weeks, while the exhibition celebrating women’s courage in the Spring Revolution is now at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand. Finally, to highlight the recent arrest of three transwomen and in solidarity with LGBTIQ people in Myanmar, we are hosting two film screenings on this topic as part of the Burma Spring Benefit Film Festival.
The other issue that receives attention this month is migration in Southeast Asia. To advocate for migrant workers’ rights, we are launching a series of bi-monthly events entitled ‘Wednesday SEA Mobilities’ in collaboration with the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) In-House Seminar and Mahidol Migration Centre to explore the vast arrays of current regional mobility trends. We will also hold a conversation on possible strategies to advance migrants’ rights beyond advocacy. In addition, following our discussions last year on Thailand’s draft law on civil society, we are organizing a follow-up before the closing of public consultations after the in-principle approval of the draft by the government.
More information about each event can be found below, where you can also read about our two special initiatives. First, the 3rd call for proposals for our small grants program “Staying Resilient Amid the Pandemic in Southeast Asia” is now open. Recognizing the importance of pandemic-related local initiatives, the program provides funds to enhance their capacity to cope with the current situation of COVID-19 and its longer-term socio-economic and health impacts. Second, the “From Fear to Resilience: Visual Storytelling of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia” special initiative remains open for submissions of experiences during the pandemic.
We hope you will continue to find our program of interest. We count on your participation and help in sharing the information about our events with your network. And, if you would like to support us, please click on the donation box below. Your support is especially needed now that we are considering expanding our space to allow us to hold events in these COVID-19 times seizing the opportunity of the adjacent room becoming vacant.
Best regards,
Lia Sciortino Sumaryono
Founder and Executive Director, SEA Junction
EVENT PROGRAM
Film Screening and Discussion “This Kind of Love”
5 February 2022, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
This Kind of Love follows Burmese human rights educator and activist, Aung Myo Min, as he returns home after 24 years in exile. The film embraces the idea that community and inclusion are fundamental to creating meaningful political and social change in Burma/Myanmar. Myo’s vision that human rights is for everyone – from children to transgender people to ethnic nationalities – makes the film an offering of hope for the future.
See further: http://seajunction.
Beyond Advocacy to Advance Migrants’ Rights:
A Conversation with Andy Hall
9 February 2022, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
In this informal conversation, migration specialist Andy Hall will elaborate on various types of strategies that can be employed to advance migrants’ rights based on his experience. In particular, the talk will highlight work with global agencies focusing on forced labor and custom law enforcement agencies to impose trade enforcement sanctions on companies that exploit and mistreat migrants.
See further: http://seajunction.
Film Screening and Discussion “Irrawaddy Mon Amour”
12 February 2022, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
In Kyauk Myaung, a Burmese village on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, humble street vendor Soe Ko wishes to marry Saing Ko, a quiet mason from a nearby town—but same-sex love is still forbidden by law. Irrawaddy Mon Amour tells the story of a young gay couple who, with the aid of LGBT activists, Buddhist monks, and village housewives, fight for their right to love and marry in a country struggling to redefine itself in the wake of a brutal totalitarian regime.
See further: http://seajunction.
Photo Exhibition “Women Out on the Streets for a New Burma”
24 January – 11 February 2022, 4:30 pm – 6:35 pm
Marking the one-year anniversary of the coup in Myanmar, the Foreign Correspondence Club of Thailand (FCCT) is hosting the photo exhibition in partnership with SEA Junction. First displayed by SEA Junction and its partners at BACC in December 2021, the exhibition shows how widespread, diverse and empowering women leadership and participation has been and continue to be in opposition to the military junta. It combines photos taken by a dozen of young Burmese journalists who have been covering the protests from all around the country under the umbrella of The Myanmar Project Collective with photos collected by the member institutions of the Women’s League of Burma.
See further: http://seajunction.
Exhibition “Defiant Art:
A Year of Resistance to the Myanmar Coup in Images”
18 January – 13 February 2022, 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
SEA Junction in collaboration with Art for Freedom (Myanmar), now known as Raise Three Fingers (RTF), and Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) is holding a creative exhibition. A series of 13 boards with text illustrated by artworks by artists from Myanmar and beyond, commemorating and contesting the key events in the course of the year, will be displayed on the curved wall on the 4th floor of the BACC. Together, the boards form a history in images of the evolving political situation in Myanmar highlighting the importance of art to raise awareness, chronicle what is happening and encourage resistance.
See further: http://seajunction.
Strangling of Civil Society?
15 February 2022, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Last year, Thailand’s Office of the Council of State proposed the Draft Act on the Operation of Not-for-Profit Organizations. The previous Draft Act, criticized for its restrictive measures, was replaced with a revised version. Unfortunately, notwithstanding its positive amendments, the Draft Act still poses a serious threat to not only civil society but also the general public’s rights and freedoms. To better understand the far-reaching implications, in continuation of SEA Junction’s last year’s discussions (in English and Thai), we are organizing a panel with key experts on the Draft.
See further: http://seajunction.
21th #WhatsHappeninginMyanmar Bi-Weekly Updates
16 February 2022, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Since the coup in Myanmar, we have held bi-weekly updates in the belief that it is important to remain informed on what is happening in the country. This episode will be with May Zin Thaw, the founder of a local think tank and research institute Researchers’ Republic. The updates held in collaboration with AJAR consist of 20-minute analysis and 40-minute Q & A moderated by our Founder and Director Rosalia Sciortino. They are accessible via Zoom and livestreamed on our Facebook Page. To join via Zoom, just click on this link.
See further: http://seajunction.
Public Talk on Migrant Workers and Border Crossing
During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Thailand by Sirada Khemanitthathai
23 February 2022, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
In collaboration with IPSR In-House Seminar and Mahidol Migration Centre, our first Wednesday SEA Mobility’s event on 23 February 2022 at 12.30-1.30 pm will be a presentation by Sirada Khemanitthathai, of the recently published report entitled “Situation on Migrant Workers and Border Crossing During the Covid-19 Pandemic”. This will be held online on Zoom at https://bit.ly/WEDNESDAY-SEA-
Southeast Asia Mini Book & Craft Fair
26-27 February 2022, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Once a month, SEA Junction holds a mini book and craft fair focusing on Southeast Asia. Besides small craft from the region, three kinds of books are displayed: (1) New books given in consignment from recognized publishers; (2) New and used books, double to those in our library; (3) Few literature and development-related works from outside the region that have been donated to SEA Junction. All funds raised with the fair contribute to SEA Junction’s functioning and activities.
See further: http://seajunction.
SPECIAL INITIATIVES
Small Grants Program
“Staying Resilient Amid the Pandemic in Southeast Asia”
This 3-year program, with support of the China Medical Board Foundation, provides funds to efforts working to build social capital, strengthen community resilience, improve the living and health conditions of local communities (geographical as well as functional) and enhance their capacity to cope with the current situation of COVID-19 and its longer-term socio-economic and health impacts. In this third call, we will award small grants for an average of USD 2,000 to selected groups and individuals. Apply now until 1 March 2022.
From Fear to Resilience:
Visual Storytelling of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia
With the current surges in COVID-19 infection across Southeast Asia, the fear of contracting the disease remains and is even escalated when the vaccine is in shortage and not accessible to many. Many also suffer from socio-economic hardship. At the same time, people are displaying strength in coping with the continuing uncertainties. SEA Junction invites all to make an effort to collectively provide a visual story of the pandemic in Southeast Asia that shows the worries as well as the resilience and hope in our experience. We are calling for short photo essays or illustrated art essays in any language of the region (to be later translated into English) or in English and shared on our platforms.
See further: http://seajunction.org/special-initiatives/
For information please email southeastasiajunction@gmail.com and phone/wa: +66970024140
About SEA Junction, OUR Venue on Southeast Asia
SEA Junction 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 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium) SEA junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers.
Please join the Facebook group and page & follow us on Twitter and Instagram @seajunction
