June 12th marked the official first day of the “Burma Telling Its Own Story” Cultural Exchange & Reporting Fellowship in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). This project, a partnership between Open Hands Initiative and GlobalPost, has brought together a team of 20 incredibly talented young writers, photographers, videographers and radio broadcasters from the U.S. and Myanmar. For 18 days, they will learn from each other and receive technical instruction from a team of award winning foreign correspondents with decades of experience in the region.
Each day of the program, Open Hands will be sharing news about the fellowship, straight from Yangon.
On the first day of the program, fellows had the opportunity to get to know one another and their instructors. In addition, the day included commentary from local notables. Aye Aye Win, Senior Correspondent at the Associated Press in Yangon, joined the fellows for a presentation and discussion, shedding light on what it means to be a journalist in Myanmar and how that has changed over the years. Additionally, she provided important insight for the foreigners in the room, such as lessons on how to work safely in Myanmar while also respecting the country’s cultural norms and values.
In addition to hearing from a leading female voice from local media, the fellows also heard from Ja Nan Lahtaw of the Nyein Foundation. A key proponent of the peace process and reform in Myanmar, she provided insights into the burgeoning civil society in Burma, as well as matters related to ethnic tension in the country.
For more details on the fellowship and the incredible journey that is unfolding as you read this, don’t miss the live blog, “GroundTruth in Burma,” over at GlobalPost.