PROPOSAL DEADLINE EXTENDED:
Proposals are due by 9 January 2023 via the Call for Papers submission form

CONFERENCE DATE:
The 2023 Myanmar Update conference will take place at The Australian National University on Fri 21 - Sat 22 July 2023.

The next Myanmar Update conference will be held on Friday, 21 July and Saturday, 22 July 2023 at the Australian National University in Canberra. Hosted by the ANU Myanmar Research Centre, in the College of Asia and the Pacific, the conference’s theme is ‘From Coup to Revolution’.

(Photo credit: Phoe Thar)

Conference aims

The conference aims to understand, celebrate, and explicate the Myanmar people’s resistance to the 1 February 2021 coup. The military’s violent crackdown on what was initially a peaceful popular uprising provoked a near-countrywide revolutionary movement, which has brought together an array of different political, ethnic, and religious groups fighting for the shared goal of ending military rule. While differences exist in objectives and strategies, the establishment of organisations like the National Unity Government (NUG) and the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), as well as the numerous other formal and informal alliances, has arguably created an unprecedented sense of unity among Myanmar’s diverse peoples and raised widespread hope that this time the struggle may succeed.     

The 2023 Update Conference seeks to explore the complexities of the revolutionary struggle; the effects of the coup on the state and economy; and, the myriad ways in which the people in Myanmar are coping with deepening violence and poverty. How has the coup and the popular response to it reshaped Myanmar politics? How are new armed groups forming, and how are they sustained? What has happened to the civil disobedience movement? What are the social, economic, and psychological implications of continued violence? How is the diaspora contributing to the revolution? How can foreign governments and the international aid community best support resistance to dictatorship? We aim to address these kinds of questions, among others, in this conference.

Proposals

The Myanmar Update conference convenors invite English-language paper proposals from interested academics, analysts, researchers, and professionals that address the conference theme in any of the following topic areas: Armed Conflict and Actors, Revolutionary Politics, Local Governance and Justice Systems; Economic and Humanitarian Crisis; and Identity and Solidarity. The convenors will group papers  into sessions addressing similar issues.

The convenors also welcome panel proposals by up to four presenters as well as proposals for art exhibitions and short film screenings. If you are interested, please write to our email address first to discuss these possibilities: myanmar.research@anu.edu.au

New voices      

As in previous Updates, the convenors are keen to receive proposals from new voices, both from within academia and outside it. We are particularly interested in voices from Myanmar. We can provide advice and guidance to participants who may have limited experience in international conference presentations. Paper proposals in Burmese will be accepted. We welcome proposals for a Burmese-language panel, on any one of the topic areas. If required, we can also provide translation services for the presentation of papers at the conference in a non-Burmese language session.

Travel funding

Funding to offset travel costs can be offered to

1. Myanmar nationals travelling internationally and 
2. HDR candidates and early career researchers of any nationality based in Australia.

If you fall into one of these two categories, when making a submission, please indicate if you require financial support to attend. Include (a) a short budget with anticipated travel and accommodation expenses and (b) details of any other sources of funding available to you. The possibility of online participation will be offered to participants who are unable to travel. Please indicate in your submission if you cannot attend in person but are able to present online.

HDR workshop

A workshop for HDR students and early career researchers will be organised the day before the conference. Details about the application process for this will be announced closer to the conference. Participants whose expenses are offset by the conference organisers will be expected to participate in this workshop.

Proposal deadline and steps

To submit a proposal, please fill in your details on the online submission form.

This should be submitted no later than Monday, 9 January 2023.

If you have any problems using this link, you can also send your abstract, paper title and CV to: myanmar.research@anu.edu.au.
Please use “2023 Update” as the first words of the subject line.

The abstract should be 150-300 words and show how the paper will address the overall theme of the conference, as well as one or more specific topic areas. Please also provide a one-page (only) CV. Burmese-language submissions should be in Unicode and not exceed half a page. Only strong proposals whose contents are consistent with the conference themes will be considered. Those persons whose proposals are accepted will be notified within four weeks after the deadline. The convenors may also request persons whose papers are accepted to revise their proposals in order to address issues not covered by other presenters.

Those persons whose submissions are accepted will be required to submit a first full draft of the paper of between 5000 and 8000 words by 17 June 2023. Selected papers will be included in the Myanmar Update series edited book, published by ISEAS Press. (Previous titles in the series are available here). A revised draft will be required two months after the conference in order to meet deadlines for publication.

For further information, please contact Cecile Medail on myanmar.research@anu.edu.au.

Convening Committee

• Cecile Medail - Visiting Fellow, Department of Political and Social Change, ANU cecile.medail@anu.edu.au
• Morten Pedersen - Board member, Myanmar Research Centre, ANU Morten.Pedersen@adfa.edu.au
• Yuri Takahashi - Lecturer and Convenor of the Burmese Program, ANU Yuri.Takahashi@anu.edu.au
• Samuel Hmung - Research Officer, Myanmar Research Centre, ANU Samuel.hmung@anu.edu.au

Sponsors

The 2022 ANU Myanmar Update is supported by the ANU College of Asia & the Pacific, International Development Research Centre, Canada, and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).