Date:                                     Wednesday, 9 October 2024
Time:                                    3:00 to 4:30 PM (Bangkok Time)
Languages:                         Myanmar and English (simultaneous interpretation is provided)
Registration Link:             https://bit.ly/4erM8Zx

On 9 October 2024, Progressive Voice together with Karenni National Women’s Organization, Karenni Civil Society Network, Union of Karenni State Youth, and another organization who chooses not to disclose its name, will host a webinar to launch a new paper titled “Federalism from the Ground Up: The Karenni Model of Nation-State Building”. The paper examines the evolving interim governance architecture in Karenni State, which has set forth groundbreaking people-led governance as part of Myanmar’s ongoing federal state-building. It analyzes the Karenni Interim Government, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and highlights its main characteristics as a multi-level inclusive governance system. The paper also offers key recommendations to relevant stakeholders and the international community towards building the federal future of Myanmar.

Myanmar is going through a nationwide transformation process rooted in a cross-sectoral democratic resistance movement. The revolutionary forces, while fighting one of the most brutal military juntas in the world, are governing local communities through their bottom-up governance structure, providing necessary services including healthcare and education to local communities, and actively shaping what the people have been demanding for too long: a fair, inclusive, and peaceful federal society where everyone is represented and protected. Despite the military junta’s campaign of terror, which has resulted in widespread civilian casualties and the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the resistance forces in Karenni State have established a multi-layer interim governance architecture that aims to represent, protect, and serve all Karenni peoples.

A research officer of Progressive Voice will present key findings and recommendations from the paper. A representative of the Interim Executive Council of Karenni State (IEC) and a representative of Kayan Women’s Organization, a Karenni civil society organization, will share insights into the interim governance structures and offer recommendations to the international community.

Panelists:

• Banya Khung Aung, Secretary (2) of Interim Executive Council of Karenni State
• Alar, General Secretary of Kayan Women’s Organization
• Andrea, Research Officer of Progressive Voice

Moderated by Khin Ohmar, Chairperson of Progressive Voice

Interviews: Panelists will be available for interviews before and after the webinar in Myanmar and English.

For more information:

For an embargoed version of the paper and other inquiries, please contact [email protected]