The Myanmar Democratic Transition Forum

The Myanmar Democratic Transition Forum was held from 11 to 13 August at the Myanmar Convention Center II in Naypyitaw. The Ministry of Information (MOI) in cooperation with the Fredrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and other international partners organized a three-day event highlighting the achievements and constraints facing Myanmar in its transitional path towards democracy.

During the event, there were six plenary sessions which brought together 30 local and international speakers in interactive meetings. They focused on the following:

• Session (1) Global overview: setting the framework
• Session (2) Political transition: from military to civilian government
• Session (3) Economic transition: from command economy to market economy
• Session (4) Transition from war to peace: conflict resolution, reconciliation and the building of an inclusive multi-national state
• Session (5) The role of media in democratic transition
• Session (6) Stock-taking: where is Myanmar in its transition?

The forum took place in the presence of 500 participants from the government, embassies, media agencies, and civil society stakeholders in the development field in Myanmar. The Forum was both a stock-taking exercise on Myanmar’s transition to democracy to identify the hurdles that confront the complex processes and to chart a possible roadmap for the future. The event was live streamed by the Ministry of Information for mass outreach and coverage to the public.

Further information on the event as well as interviews with two participating experts