Papers

• Higher Education and Resistance in Myanmar: notes on the past and present Licia Proserpio University of Bologna

  Students and teachers have been the backbone of the early stages of the mobilization against the State Administration Council as part of what has been labelled the Spring Revolution. The Spring Revolution is a creative, media savvy, multi-sited across transnational borders resistance movement that has combined repertoires of contention already seen in the history of the country with new tools and strategies that have led several media outlets and scholars to define it as unprecedented. This presentation argues that the dynamic reaction of Burmese civil society to the 2021 coup can be understood by focusing on how university actors were able to contribute input and impetus to the protests, thus moving towards a new revolution in ideas.

• Current situation of Myanmar students in exile in Thailand Ikuko Okamoto Toyo University

  The 2021 coup in Myanmar has had a profound impact on the country’s society and economy. Students emerged as central figures in resisting the political upheaval, which dramatically altered their daily lives and future prospects. In response to escalating repression, some students have joined armed struggles, while others have sought refuge across the border. This presentation sheds light on the circumstances and challenges faced by these students who have fled to a border town in Thailand, providing insight into the current situation.

• “Because the Revolution is taking longer than expected” Marie Lall UCL Min Aung Mann Chiang Mai University

  Since the revolution is “taking longer than expected” (from interviews with students on the Thai border), higher education is the arena that is most clearly advancing a radical educational and social re-imagining. Thanks to qualitative data collected in exploratory fieldwork in Thailand, this presentation discusses students’ identities, sense of self, belonging, and purpose in the post-coup era. Our findings map the different typologies of students that the coup has created, their exile stories, and the “limbo” that are experiencing. At the same time, we trace the re-invention of new educational spaces against the State Administration Council’s un-making of higher education

• Alternative Education Access and Inclusion after the Post-coup: A Case Study of Burma Academy Minnie (pseudonym) Thomas (pseudonym)

  Burma Academy (BA) is a Myanmar Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platform founded by Myanmar youths in collaboration with five local institutions in March 2022. The organization’s ultimate goal is to provide quality education to the CDM students and youths and to support the CDM teachers. Currently, BA operates with approximately 120 volunteers from Myanmar, Thailand, and other foreign countries. In this panel, we will begin by presenting the organization’s structure and performance and we open the discussion on future plans and vision on how to guarantee access and participation to higher education for Myanmar students.

Abstract