Event Date: May 28, 2024 - 10:00am to 11:30am
Location: FSS 5028, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Presented by CIPS, the Asia Foundation, and the Knowledge for Democracy – Myanmar Initiative at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Since the military coup of February 2021, Myanmar has been affected by widespread armed conflict. Resistance to the post-coup regime is widespread and violence persists across much of the country. Many areas of Myanmar are long accustomed to the effects of organized violence. The country’s subnational or ethnic conflicts are among the world’s most enduring, posing significant challenges that intersect with the resistance to the military coup and yet also follow their own dynamics.

Between 2010 and 2020, political and economic reforms generated dramatic changes in Myanmar. Concerted efforts were made at this time to resolve the country’s persistent subnational conflicts. The research project International Peace Support and Effective Peacebuilding in Myanmar explores the peace process that surrounded the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. It focuses on the successes and failures of international support for peacebuilding at that time, drawing together findings that policymakers and practitioners, both in Myanmar and internationally, can apply. While future efforts to find peace in Myanmar will look very different from those of the past, it is vital that lessons from the past are taken on board.

Join us for a concise and interactive presentation and discussion on the report’s findings. Contributions from all participants will be encouraged in what will hopefully be a lively debate.

• Presentation of findings: Adam Burke PhD, co-author and The Asia Foundation’s Regional Director of Conflict and Fragility Programs
• Discussion led by Edgard Rodriguez PhD, Senior Program Specialist, Democratic and Inclusive Governance at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Speakers:

Adam Burke PhD is The Asia Foundation’s Senior Director of Conflict and Fragility. He is a specialist in conflict, peacebuilding, and development with over twenty years of practical and research experience working primarily across Southeast and South Asia, and intensively in Myanmar since 2013. Adam leads The Asia Foundation’s conflict programming and oversees technical support. Before joining The Asia Foundation, Adam worked on conflict prevention and peacebuilding in Myanmar and across the Asia region for a range of international organizations including the OECD, UN, Asian Development Bank, and NGOs such as Oxfam and Mercy Corps. His research, writing, and technical guidance has underlined the importance of understanding and responding to specific political contexts, and his research focusing on international engagement in peacebuilding across Southeast Asia is available in academic journals and policy studies. Past reports on Myanmar include Contested Areas of Myanmar: Subnational Conflict, Aid, and Development (The Asia Foundation, 2018).

Edgard Rodriguez has led the Knowledge for Democracy – Myanmar Initiative since 2017. He is a Senior Program Specialist with more than 20 years of experience in different aspects of international development, mostly in Asia and Latin America. He is skilled in Policy Analysis, Program Evaluation, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building for Research. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) on Development and Labour Economics from University of Toronto.