Myanmar Youth Leaders in USA Discuss the Future of their Country
Myanmar Youth Leaders in USA Discuss the Future of their Country
Elaisa Vahnie speaking to young visiting leaders from Myanmar together with local Burmese-American students
INDIANAPOLIS, April 28, 2018 – For the 5th year, the Burmese American Community Institute (BACI), in collaborative partnership with Indiana University Bloomington, hosted the Youth Leadership Program with Myanmar for two days as part of a four-week intensive and highly interactive program that seeks to promote high-quality leadership, civic responsibility, and civic activism.
A group of 21 Burmese students representing different ethnicities and various institutions in Myanmar, along with BACI Upward College Program participants, participated in the Indianapolis program, which included a tour and meetings with representatives of the City and the Indiana Statehouse, as well as engagement and exchange of experiences with the local Burmese students.
In a talk designed for the next generation of leaders titled, “Investing in the Future through Education and Leadership,” BACI Executive Director Elaisa Vahnie underscored the need for societal transformation in Myanmar through investing in people and education.
“The 2008 Constitution has to be reformed. That is a fundamental requirement for systemic change. But in order to enjoy sustained peace and prosperity, Myanmar will need to develop: a large middle class capable of supporting economic growth and political development, a population of highly educated and skilled professionals and scholars to further spearhead change, and finally regionally and globally competitive higher education institutions,” said Mr. Vahnie.
Responding to a question brought up by the visiting students during a facilitated discussion, with respect to how to solve the problems of Myanmar, Vahnie said, “recognizing the ethnic issue is at the heart of the country’s problems, the best way to achieve real freedom and equality is through federalist democracy and the most promising path towards a federal union is through the ongoing national reconciliation and peace process – also known as the 21st Century Panglong Conference – led by State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
“The country also needs to continue to aggressively pursue and implement comprehensive institutional reforms and economic development strategies and policies, and I think and hope that with the new President U Win Myint, the leadership will take a balanced approach and invest in these goals.”
He urged the students to take responsibility, to have unity in purpose, and to uphold democratic values and principles.
“The future of the country is in your hands,” Vahnie told the students, “The Rakhine Rohingya crisis and the ongoing military offensives in the Kachin State are just a reminder of the much broader and deeper nature of the political crisis in Myanmar, complex but deeply rooted in the Burman nationalistic claims and the chauvinistic political culture. We cannot always blame the military alone, nor should we expect the country leaders to solve more than half a century of ethnic conflicts overnight. As the people and as youth, we have the responsibility to think, to think responsibly. Ordinary citizens like us can effect change on a nationwide scale. Realistically that is how change should come.”
“The type of country and society we would like to have now and for the next generation depends on how we think and how we treat each other today as humans and as citizens of a democratic society, and it starts right here with you,” Mr. Vahnie told the students.
He encouraged the students to always uphold the principle of the separation of state and religion, while embracing unity in diversity, regardless of one’s own ethnicity, and to be advocates for inclusive and broad-based social economic growth in the Southeast Asian Nation.
Visiting Young leaders together with local Burmese-American students posed group photos in ethnic cultural dress
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Youth Leadership Program with Myanmar is designed to enhance leadership skills and position participants to become effective and engaged citizens upon their return to Myanmar.
