Dear Partners and Friends of SEA Junction,
This month, we continue to advocate for keeping Myanmar in the public attention and honoring the spirit of Myanmar people’s resilience through our ongoing art exhibition and our online #WhatsHappeninginMyanmar Monthly Updates. Meanwhile, the Rohingya issue should not be neglected. With International Women’s Day approaching, we will mark the occasion with a quilt exhibition and discussion of Rohingya women’s embroideries. In this exhibition, a group of Rohingya women refugees have depicted their life stories through embroidery, focusing on their exodus from Myanmar in the face of atrocities.
Through our events, we also remain focused on other regional issues such as migration and the environment. We collaborate with the IPSR In-House Seminar on the Wednesday SEA Mobilities series, which this time will look at how bureaucratic papers govern border and mobility. Another event will be a book discussion about the journey paddling down the Nan River and the discovery of the role of water and rivers in Thailand.
More information about each event can be found below, where you can also read about our special initiative “Living the Coup: Collective Diary of Daily Life in Myanmar,” documenting the personal stories of people’s lives in today Myanmar and molding them into a collective diary. You may read about the challenges of a housewife who has been internally displaced here. Lastly, we’re going to renew our call for proposals for small grants program thanks to the continued support from the CMB Foundation. Further details will be announced soon.
We hope you will continue to find our program of interest. We count on your participation and help in sharing the information about our programs with your network. And, if you would like to support us, please click on the donation box below.
Best regards,
Lia Sciortino Sumaryono
Founder and Executive Director, SEA Junction
EVENT PROGRAM
Governing by Paper: Mediating Textual Border and Negotiating Mobility in Thailand
1 March 2023, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm [Zoom & FB Live]
SEA Junction in collaboration with IPSR In-House Seminar and Mahidol Migration Centre (MMC) has launched a series of bi-monthly events entitled ‘Wednesday SEA Mobilities’. This time, Professor Pinkaew Luangaramsri will discuss how the relationship between the border and bureaucracy provides fertile ground for studying how the border continues to affect people’s lives and movement. This online event will be held on Zoom at https://bit.ly/WEDNESDAY-SEA-
See further: http://seajunction.
Book Discussion “The Latte River, Slithering South 2: The Nan”
2 March 2023, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm at SEA Junction
Steve Van Beek spent five months paddling a boat down the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries from their sources to the sea, seeking to understand how these waterways shaped the kingdom and its people. Moderated by Piyaporn Wongruang, Founder/ Editor of Bangkok Tribune, the discussion coincides with the publication of his newest book, The Latte River, chronicling his 42-day journey, paddling down the Nan River.
See further: http://seajunction.
Art Exhibition “Never Give Up: 2 Years into the Myanmar Coup” — Part II
21 February – 5 March 2023, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm on the curved wall, 3rd floor of BACC
Since the coup in Myanmar, people have suffered under the repressive military rule in a collapsed state. And despite it all, people have continued to fight for justice. Honoring the spirit of creativity and resilience, the ongoing exhibition organized by SEA Junction in collaboration with Doh Hlay reflects on the tyranny and its violent manifestations while stressing the centrality of human rights as well as their vision and hopes for a new just future for Myanmar.
See further: http://seajunction.
Quilt Exhibition “A Life Once Had, A Dream of Hope”
7-12 March 2023, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm at SEA Junction
Organized by Asia Justice & Rights and SEA Junction, the exhibition will display a series of collective quilts by Rohingya women. Using embroidery as a medium, a group of Rohingya women refugees have depicted their life stories, focusing on their exodus from Myanmar in the face of atrocities. The embroidery expresses their hopes, dreams, & memories – a response to being survivors of genocide and the challenges they face living in the refugee camp. Through this exhibition, we hope to build solidarity and promote human rights for the Rohingya.
See further: http://seajunction.
Opening of Quilt Exhibition “A Life Once Had, A Dream of Hope”
7 March 2023, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm at SEA Junction
The exhibition will be lauched with a discussion joined by Yasmin Ullah, Rohingya Activist; Pranom Somwong, Representative of Protection International Thailand; and Galuh Wandita. Co-Founder & Director of Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR). To commemorate International Women’s Day, we would like to show resilience towards Rohingya women by truth-telling, and support ongoing healing processes, and focusing on finding possible solutions for the Rohingya crisis, especially Rohingya women’s sufferings.
See further: http://seajunction.
28th #WhatsHappeninginMyanmar Monthly Updates
9 March 2023, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm [Zoom & FB Live]
This update series was started soon after the coup d’état in Myanmar with the aim to contribute to a greater understanding of the crisis situation there for informed action in support of the democratic movement in the country and beyond. In collaboration with Asia Justice and Rights, we are continuing the series with Debbie Stothard. The updates consisting of 20-minute analysis and 40-minute Q&A are held via Zoom and livestreamed on our Facebook Page. To join via Zoom, just click on this link.
See further: http://seajunction.
Southeast Asia Mini Book and Craft Fair
18-19 March 2023, 11:00 am – 7:00 pm at SEA Junction
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
Living the Coup: Collective Diary of Daily Life in Myanmar
How people in Myanmar are facing these hardships and coping with the junta control and wide-spread conflict is the focus of this project in collaboration with Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR). “Living the Coup” aims to document the personal stories of people of different faith, class, gender and ethnic backgrounds and mold them into a collective diary—a history not to be dismissed nor forgotten. The call for written, photo and art stories remain open and some stories have been already published on our page.
See further: http://seajunction.
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
