Burma

A) Internal Organizing

$15,000
To monitor the human rights situation in Burma and educate monks and Buddhist lay people about the nonviolent struggle for democracy in Burma. The organization will produce and distribute material, including pamphlets, stickers and calendars, on human rights and democracy, and support efforts to organize the Buddhist community inside Burma.

$80,000*
To support the human rights and democracy movement inside Burma. The organization will train party activists in effective techniques of nonviolent political action, produce and distribute literature about democracy, human rights and political organizing, and provide humanitarian support for party activists and others along the Thai-Burma border and inside Burma.

International Republican Institute
$330,000*
To support efforts to coordinate the strategic nonviolent activities of various democracy groups' activities inside Burma. The committee will expand its network of democracy activists in Burma and train more activists in nonviolent political action.

International Republican Institute
$230,000
To promote democracy and nonviolent political action in Burma. The organization will support efforts to provide financial, logistical, and technical support to prodemocracy political activists inside Burma.

$15,000*
To empower ethnic nationality political parties and to promote their inclusion in the political process. The organization will support efforts to draft a federal constitution and democratic state constitutions within a federal framework, and support organizing efforts to promote ethnic nationality participation in resolving Burma's long-standing political and economic problems.

$50,000*
To strengthen civil society in Burma. The organization will work with partners inside Burma to establish two institutions that provide educational programs and an emergency medical support fund.

$85,000*
To support efforts to bring about political reform and national reconciliation in Burma. The coalition will work to increase contact, trust, and cooperation between ethnic and pro-democracy forces, expand its activities inside Burma, and strengthen support among these groups to bring about political dialogue and national reconciliation in Burma.

$30,000*
To support and strengthen the ability of the Burmese people to participate in peaceful efforts to promote democracy and political reconciliation. The forum will conduct five community-organizing training courses and produce several Burmese-language reports on successful examples of democracy movements around the world.
 

B) Independent Media

$18,000*
To support the use of information and communication technology inside Burma to expand the ability of individuals to access and share information. The organization will provide technology training to Burmese journalists, introduce new information technology in Burma, distribute news and information, transcribe information into Burmese Unicode, and launch a secure website for users in Burma.

$50,000*
To support media freedom in Burma through the publication of a quarterly literary journal featuring the work of prominent Burmese writers. The journal will carry literary works such as articles, short stories, and cartoons that are banned or heavily censored by military authorities, and will include new works sent from writers and journalists inside Burma as well as well known writers in exile.

$29,324*
To encourage the exchange of ideas and information and to coordinate activities related to freedom of information and expression in Burma. The organization will organize and convene the third annual Burma media conference in fall 2005. The conference will bring together over 80 journalists who cover Burma to discuss issues, exchange ideas, and share information.

The Irrawaddy
The Irrawaddy provides independent news and information about news and events in Burma and Southeast Asia.
$175,000*
To promote access to independent media in Burma. The organization will launch the first independent, Burmese-language satellite television program to complement its long-running daily shortwave radio program.

$175,000*
To support Burmese- and ethnic-language radio broadcasting of independent news and opinion into Burma. The organization will continue to improve the quality of its programs, invest in advanced training and education for its staff, and maintain the regional infrastructure for its broadcasts.

$35,000*
To support independent media in Burma. The organization will upgrade its equipment to allow for more efficient and professional delivery of news and information through radio, television and the internet.

$115,000*
To support independent media in Burma and to provide independent news and information about Burma and events in Southeast Asia. The organization will produce a monthly English-language news magazine, distribute a daily electronic news bulletin, and maintain a Burmese- and English-language website.

$25,000 *
To provide news and information in the Kachin language about Kachin State. The organization will publish a monthly Kachinlanguage newspaper, maintain a Kachinand English-language website, conduct a journalism training program in Kachin State, and maintain two news offices inside Burma and an editorial office in Canada.

$12,500*
To provide the Karen people with news and information about Karen State and Burma, and to expose them to basic principles of human rights and democracy. The organization will publish a 32-page newsletter in Burmese and Karen that provides an alternative news source for the Karen community in Burma, in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, and for ethnic and pro-democracy groups in exile.

$40,000*
To provide Burmese citizens, exiles and democracy and human rights activists with independent and accurate information about the state of the country and an open forum to discuss a wide range of issues. The news group will produce a daily electronic news and information service that covers developments in Burma, India, and the India-Burma border; maintain a Burmese and English-language webpage; publish a monthly Burmese-language newspaper; organize forums on India's Burma policy; publish in-depth reports; and run a journalism internship program.

$12,000*
To provide accurate and reliable information about political, social, and economic developments in Arakan State, Burma. The organization will operate a daily news service in English and Burmese concentrating on current events and human rights in Arakan State.

$150,000*
To support independent media in Burma. The organization will publish and distribute inside Burma an independent, monthly Burmese-language newspaper focusing on the struggle for human rights and democracy.

$25,000*
To provide accurate and reliable information about political, social, and economic developments in Shan State, Burma. The news agency will publish a tri-lingual monthly newspaper that provides accurate and reliable information to the Shan and wider Burmese communities as well as Thai and international audiences about political, social, and economic developments in Shan State and Burma.
 

C) Human Rights Education, Documentation and Advocacy

$50,000*
To introduce a civic education curriculum and teaching methodology to teachers from Karen, Karenni, and Mon States in Burma. The organization will continue its training program, introduce a new civic education curriculum, and publish a small resource book containing material on human rights and democracy.

$99,500*
To research and document the situation of political prisoners inside Burma and to raise international awareness about the human rights crisis inside Burma. The organization will provide assistance to political prisoners, former political prisoners and their families; report on the treatment and condition of political prisoners in Burma; and advocate for the release of all political prisoners in Burma.

$90,000*
To promote respect for human rights and the rule of law in Burma. The organization will manage a legal research and education program, produce a quarterly journal on legal issues, organize an in-depth training program, and advocate for rule of law and democracy in Burma.

$38,000*
To publicize the human rights situation in Chin State, Burma. The organization will publish and distribute a human rights newsletter, advocate on human rights issues internationally, and organize a conference in Burma.

$60,000*
To educate the Burmese public about human rights and democracy. The institute will organize a training-of-trainers course and a refresher course for previously trained trainers, translate its "Human Rights Manual" into the Palaung and Chin languages, and publish a Burmese-language book on human rights.

$57,288*
To document and report on conditions in southern Burma and to promote human rights education in Mon state and among Mon refugees. The organization will run six core projects: human rights documentation; human rights and civic education; human rights defenders; civil society development; Mon-language press; and women's and children's rights.

$45,000*
To improve teacher training and curriculum development. The committee will coordinate health and education programs for refugee populations in Thailand and India and ethnic populations inside Burma, expand its teacher training courses, and work on a new school curriculum based on contemporary standards and methodologies.

$15,000*
To document and publicize the human rights situation in Shan State. The organization will publish and distribute monthly Shan- and English-language human rights newsletters to audiences in Shan State, the Shan exile community in Thailand, and the broader international community.
 

D) International Advocacy and Organizing

$44,000
To increase international support for the Burmese democracy movement. The organization will link academics, activists, journalists, diplomats, and politicians in Burma, Thailand, and throughout Southeast Asia through advocacy campaigns, meetings, and other forums.

$60,000*
To support a campaign in Southeast Asia to secure the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and promote political reform in Burma. The network will organize public information programs in Southeast Asia, send delegations of parliamentarians to Europe and the United States, and organize a conference on good governance and democracy.

$300,000*
To support efforts to create a political environment in Burma and in the international community conducive to resolving Burma's long-standing political crisis. The organization will support the coordination of international and domestic political action, coalition building, transition planning, and institutional development.

$50,000
To increase awareness about political developments in Burma and to strengthen international support for Burma's democracy movement. The organization will work to ensure that important research and reports produced in Thailand by Burmese democracy activists reach a targeted audience in the international community, keep the international media informed of important political initiatives and developments in Burma, and coordinate various initiatives to increase pressure on the regime for reform.

$35,000*
To develop a strong Asian constituency in support of political dialogue and national reconciliation in Burma through increased cooperation with NGOs, student groups, and regional bodies in Asia. The committee will meet regularly with foreign embassies and consulates, travel throughout South, Southeast, and East Asia to build international support for the democracy movement in Burma, and coordinate with other international advocacy groups working to promote democracy in Burma.

$40,000*
To promote increased support for democracy in Burma and Thailand. The committee will engage in policy advocacy and public information campaigns, provide legal support to Burmese who suffer human rights violations in Thailand, and coordinate with Burma democracy groups in Thailand and other Thai civil society organizations.
 

E) Ethnic Nationalities

$30,000*
To increase the availability, sophistication, and quality of information about federalism and the draft Chin State constitution. The organization will support a series of training-of-trainers courses on federalism, constitutionalism, and the role of the Chin State in a future federal union of Burma.

$26,500*
To support the institutional capacity of the committee to distribute humanitarian aid and to document the plight of the internally displaced Karen population. The committee will publish a bi-monthly newsletter, upgrade its computer equipment, and provide training courses for its field staff.

$20,000*
To promote civic awareness and increase civic participation in Mon State, Burma. The organization will produce a Mon-language journal, hold computer training classes, and organize a civic education program designed to encourage increased cooperation and understanding among Mon youth.

$25,000*
To broaden the perspectives of Shan youth and promote cooperation among various communities in Shan State. The school will provide an intensive, nine-month program including English-language classes, computer courses, and social studies for students from Shan State.
 

F) Women's Participation and Empowerment

Still Licensed to Rape
Still Licensed to Rape is the follow-up to the 2002 report Licensed to Rape, which exposed the use of rape in Shan State as a strategy of war by the troops of the Burmese military regime.
$55,000*
To promote understanding of human rights, women's rights, and democracy, and to support community organizing efforts among Burmese women. The organization will launch a campaign for nonviolent social change, manage a drop-in help center for migrant workers, publish a newsletter for distribution inside Burma and among women's groups along the Thai-Burma border, run lending libraries for displaced Burmese, organize a monthly discussion series, and convene a meeting of regional Burma support groups to develop a coordinated strategy to promote political reform in Burma.

$7,400*
To promote the rights of women and children in Kachin State and to encourage understanding and cooperation among Burman and ethnic-minority women. The organization will organize computer and English-language classes, a management training program, a women's rights training course, and an income-generation skills training school. The organization will also develop a leadership training program and internship program for its members; conduct workshops on office management skills, and communication strategies; and publish a newsletter.

$15,500*
To promote human rights and democracy among Karen youth. The organization will offer a year-long human rights and democracy course for Karen high school students and will integrate its course into the core curriculum of Karen high schools and work to introduce its core concepts to the broader Karen community.

$25,000*
To increase women's participation in Burma's democracy movement and provide Shan women with the necessary skills to assume decision-making positions in their communities and organizations. The network will organize women's empowerment and capacity building workshops, document and report on the situation of women in Shan State, advocate for women's rights in Shan State, and offer basic educational, health and social services for displaced Shan.

$40,000*
To promote increased understanding among Burmese women of human rights, women's rights and empowerment, democracy, federalism, peace-building, community development, and health issues. Projects will include a series of women's rights and empowerment training workshops for Burmese refugees; capacity building workshops for Burmese women in India, Thailand, and Bangladesh; and a peace-advocacy program.

$10,000*
To educate, train, and empower Burmese women in exile in India to take a more active role in the democracy struggle and to promote women's rights in Burma and among the exile community. The association will organize training courses on politics, democratic institutions, and organizational systems and organize a regular forum for ethnic and Burmese women to discuss common issues and concerns.