• Burmese
Friday, June 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Youth Should Be Encouraged to Take Part in Peace Process, Camp Participants Say

Nyein Nyein by Nyein Nyein
August 13, 2018
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Ethnic youth celebrate International Youth Day on Aug. 12 in Ywa Ngan Township, southern Shan State.  / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy

Ethnic youth celebrate International Youth Day on Aug. 12 in Ywa Ngan Township, southern Shan State.  / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy

4.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YWA NGAN, southern Shan State — Steps need to be taken to engage young people in Myanmar’s peace process and actively involve them in it, instead of simply regarding them as passive beneficiaries, according to both young people themselves and agencies working to empower them.

“A lot of people just look at young people as the [potential] beneficiaries, but here it is really about young people getting involved, young people engaging in some of these processes,” said Janet Jackson, the country representative for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Myanmar.

Pointing to more than seven decades of armed conflict and inter-communal violence, especially in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, she said the challenges facing youth in Myanmar today are “more pronounced in Myanmar’s conflict-torn states,” adding that young people are forced to bear the brunt of these conflicts.

RelatedPosts

The Farce of Mediation: Anwar, ASEAN and Myanmar

The Farce of Mediation: Anwar, ASEAN and Myanmar

May 28, 2025
987
Indian Border Claims Raise Alarm; Bombing Civilians in Myanmar vs South Korea; and More

Indian Border Claims Raise Alarm; Bombing Civilians in Myanmar vs South Korea; and More

March 15, 2025
5k
Freedom, Sovereignty and Bottom-Up Federalism in Myanmar

Freedom, Sovereignty and Bottom-Up Federalism in Myanmar

February 20, 2025
1.9k

However, the views of young people are not widely heard in peace-building processes led by political leaders and policy-makers.

As part of the effort to empower youth and to ensure that more voices from within the diverse youth community are heard, youth camps have been organized by local youth empowerment groups and financed by UNFPA Myanmar. The project aims to promote tolerance among young people and to amplify the voices of youth in Myanmar’s peace process.

In Ywa Ngan township, one of two ethnic Danu self-administrative townships, some 300 young participants from 12 indigenous groups gathered for a week to take training sessions on personal development, leadership and building inner peace.

The Irrawaddy observed the youth camp activities and the young people’s participation in them over the weekend and found that many young ethnic residents are eager to contribute their skills and knowledge to their communities.

“As we have seen over the last four days, a lot of young people here have got a lot of views that we, the adults and the people [involved] in the process, can learn from, by understanding what the youth’s experiences have been like, and how they feel… In some ways [they have been] cheated from the opportunities they could have had. But it is not too late,” Jackson told The Irrawaddy.

“It is now about looking at some of the social aspects, and how that needs to be improved. It is also about looking at the dialogue and peace process; how they can have a seat, how they can have a voice and how they can participate in some of the dialogue to give their perspectives,” added Jackson. “So this then [makes the] peace process much more holistic and it really looks at not just one or two facets of partners and agents in peace, but it looks at wider communities that need to be involved in peace.”

Peace must be there for everyone, regardless of age, and youth participation should not be overlooked, said Nay Phone Latt, a Yangon Region lawmaker and author.

Nay Phone Latt, who participated as a speaker during the International Youth Day celebration on Aug. 12 in Ywa Ngan, said “Safe Spaces for Youth” — the theme of this year’s International Youth Day — are indeed necessary, as young people need security in their lives.

Young people actively participated in discussions on issues related to safety and security in their communities.

“We don’t fee safe physically, mentally or [online] in our environment,” said Ma Pan Ei Thazin, a 24-year-old trainer at the youth camp.

She added that wherever they are, whether in rural ethnic areas or urban communities, there is a threat to youth’s physical safety due to war and crime. On the Web, they face the problem of limited access to accurate information, as well as the danger of cyber-bullying. The youth camps allow young people to be aware of those challenges and show them ways to overcome them.

“We want everyone to be free from conflict and live peacefully,” said Ko Aung San Tun, an ethnic Taungyoe participant in his 20s from Aung Pan Township.

As a young man from a remote area, he said that thanks to the camp he now has greater awareness of peace and peace building, as well as of digital literacy and how to use the Internet wisely.

Policymakers should consider taking up the recommendations that have come out of the youth camps, Nay Phone Latt, the regional lawmaker, told The Irrawaddy.

He added that they need to “allow the youth to participate” in Myanmar’s future country-building activities, as there are many young people who are capable of doing so. He also urged young people to try different ways to engage, rather than waiting to be invited.

Dr. Tun Hlaing, the Shan State government’s Innthar ethnic affairs minister, said more such events are needed, as they are a positive occasion for young people.

“The government cannot do it alone, and neither can the civil society groups. We all must work together,” he told The Irrawaddy, adding that his participation in the International Youth Day commemoration in Yaw Ngan was intended to show that the older generations support youth not only in Myanmar but all over the world.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Ethnic AffairsPeace ProcessYouth
Nyein Nyein

Nyein Nyein

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Wa Army Shows How to Succeed in Fight Against Myanmar Junta
Analysis

Wa Army Shows How to Succeed in Fight Against Myanmar Junta

by Ko Oo
July 17, 2024
13.3k

The UWSA has expanded its territory in Shan State without firing a single shot.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand
Guest Column

Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand

by R. J. Aung and Tony Waters
November 18, 2023
10.9k

After the 2021 coup the donors, NGOs and CSOs of ‘Peaceland’ decamped from Yangon to Thailand, but their Western, ‘we-know-best’...

Read moreDetails
Illegal Entry Arrests Surge in Thailand Amid Forced Military Conscription in Myanmar
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Illegal Entry Arrests Surge in Thailand Amid Forced Military Conscription in Myanmar

by Brian Wei
May 30, 2024
9.4k

More than half of the soaring number of people being detained at the border said they were fleeing conscription, a...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Troops ‘Cornered’ in Two Northern Shan Townships
Burma

Myanmar Junta Troops ‘Cornered’ in Two Northern Shan Townships

by Hein Htoo Zan
August 12, 2024
9.4k

Ta’ang Army and residents report fierce fighting centered on regime positions in Nawnghkio and Hsipaw.

Read moreDetails
Arakan Army Penetrates Myanmar Junta Naval Base in Rakhine State
War Against the Junta

Arakan Army Penetrates Myanmar Junta Naval Base in Rakhine State

by The Irrawaddy
August 30, 2024
8.1k

Regime troops have reportedly fled their posts at Maung Shwe Lay Naval Base, the last remaining junta stronghold in Thandwe...

Read moreDetails
Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered
Analysis

Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered

by Wai Min Tun
November 28, 2023
6.1k

The Spring Revolution and Operation 1027 have debunked once and for all the notion that the Myanmar military is the...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Pro-independence activist Andy Chan speaks to journalists in Hong Kong, China, February 13, 2018. / Reuters

HK Activist to Speak at Press Club on Tuesday, Despite Chinese Pressure

--

Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

4 days ago
1.4k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

2 days ago
857

Most Read

  • Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Reinforces Kyaukphyu as AA Nears China-Backed SEZ Hub

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.