4th Alumni Conference Success
From the 7th – 10th of December 49 alumni of the Myanmar Young Leaders Programme came together in Taunggyi Myanmar for the 4th annual alumni conference. This conference is part of the young leaders programme and aims to strengthen the network of young leaders and enable them to continue to learn about and debate the key issues facing Myanmar.
Based in Taunggyi, in the beautiful Shan State the conference theme this year was all about sustainable economic development for Shan State. Over the course of the 3 days the young leaders heard from local leaders about the challenges to sustainable development in Shan State including mining, damming of rivers and loss of forests. Alumni also shared their experiences and work in the areas of sustainable development including community forest projects and gender inclusive development. A field trip to some tourism sites in nearby Inle Lake on the final day presented opportunities for sustainable development through tourism as well as some of the related challenges.
The 49 participants covered all of the programme intakes from 2009 – 2018 and it was great to see new connections form between the participants from different intakes. A social evening on the second evening saw fantastic performances from many of the alumni.
The conference was organised and run by the alumni themselves and it is pleasing to see them take ownership of the alumni network. Particular thanks to the organising work done by Chomar Win, Wut Hmone, Nong, Khun Khit San, Kyaw Swar, Zaw Win, Zarchi, Ko Htwe and Moe Min Thaw.
