During their year-end break, the students conducted research into various mining and dam topics and presented their findings during an introductory course on these issues. Most importantly students came away with an understanding of how such major infrastructure projects affect the environment.
The class was also immediately immersed in a training course on the rule of law conducted by U Thein Oo, the Secretary General of the Burma Lawyers Council. His informative training made the connection between the rule of law, human rights and governance, stressing the importance of building a future Burma in which the rule of law is paramount.
On January 19th we began a week of training on a subject dear to our student’s hearts – minority rights. We discussed the concepts of “who is a minority,” “discrimination,” “equality,” and “affirmative action” in detail using brainstorming and plenty of participatory activities. The debate was well informed and often spirited as the students put together their knowledge of human rights, governance, rule of law and their personal experience of being from a minority group inside Burma.
The following week focused on the International Financial Institutions and was facilitated by Jelson Garcia of the BIC (Bank Information Centre.) The students were introduced to the basic of international finance and trade and discussed the local consequences, both positive and negative, for human rights and the environment. Many students have expressed interest in further research into organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and The World Trade Organization.
February began with split days consisting of a morning course on international law and afternoon spent discussing sustainable development. The challenging international law course immerses students in the basic concepts of international law and outlines the United Nations system. The students also had another chance to hone their presentation skills, conducting research and presenting their findings on a variety of complex international law subjects ranging from the overlap of responsibility concerning refugees of the ICRC and the UNHCR to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The sustainable development class began with the theoretical foundations of this alternate development paradigm, where we highlighted the various complications in achieving true “sustainability”. The class also considered issues of sustainability in the context of their own communities, which included facilitating a complicated balance of interests: maintaining cultural traditions and quality of life, resource management, and economic motivations. The students then traveled to a local organic farm and learned about renewable energy, natural building design, and integrated agriculture systems. These last few days allowed the students to assess sustainability as a practice and learn about ways to improve their current development designs in their own villages.
