Better Burma is pleased to announce that we will be co-hosting our very first panel discussion this month, entitled “Myanmar’s Voices for Freedom!”

Partnering with One Light Global, we will be bringing together five dynamic Burmese nationals, each resisting the military regime in Myanmar in their own unique way. Discussion topics will include the Rohingya crisis and a look into other marginalized groups and ethnic minorities, gender equality and LGBT+ rights, the role of the international community, how allies can rally behind to support the democracy movement, Burmese Buddhism and the practice of meditation, and how art and creative expression have been used to resist military tyranny. We hope you can join us for this special event!

The panel is made up of the following guests. Each has appeared previously on Insight Myanmar Podcast, where you can listen to their full interviews to learn more about them.

Linn Thant : Currently the European Representative of the National Unity Government (NUG), Linn Thant has dedicated his life to bringing democracy and human rights to Myanmar. His work earned him a 20-year prison sentence, eight of them on Death Row, and he credits his survival amid those brutal conditions to his meditation practice. Linn Thant is now leading the resistance effort the Burmese military.

Thiri : A researcher, fixer and documentary producer based in Myanmar, Thiri has worked as a freelance consultant for international Human Rights organizations and media outlets. She reports, documents and advocates about the on-going conflict in Myanmar, as well as on political, social and economic issues.

Bart Was Not Here : Growing up as a Muslim under an authoritarian Buddhist regime, Bart was frustrated by a school system corrupted by propaganda, and the inability of non-Buddhists to assimilate into the traditional Burmese culture. Access to American Pop Culture such as Hip Hop, through movies, cartoons, comic books, novels and magazines found in Burmese bootleg markets, provided him a lens to the alternative outside world. His artwork has animated the revolution since the earliest days.

Ma Thida: A Burmese surgeon, writer, human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience, she is best known as a leading intellectual whose books deal with the country’s political situation. Ma Thida was elected recently chair of the Writer in Prison committee of PEN International, has been a visiting research associate at Yale University, and is currently a Fellow at the Martin-Roth Initiative in Berlin.

Pyae Phyo Kyaw: A medical doctor from Magway, Pyae Phyo Kyaw came out as gay in 2017, and has become a prominent LGBT+ voice in Myanmar. Shortly after the coup, and joined by his partner, Dr. Aung Soe Tun, he set up a mobile medical clinic in Karenni State. Pyae Phyo Kyaw was a recipient of the APCOM organization’s HERO Award 2021, in the category of Social Justice.