Burma

A. Internal Organzing and Coalition-Building

International Republican Institute
$280,000*

To support efforts to coordinate the strategic, nonviolent activities of various pro-democracy groups’ activities inside Burma. The committee will work to maintain its network of democracy activists in Burma and train more activists in nonviolent political action.

 $10,000
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 the human rights aspirations of monks in Burma.

 $10,000*
To provide support to key political activists inside Burma who are at the forefront of efforts to promote democracy inside the country.

 $38,000*
To strengthen the ability of the Burmese people to participate in peaceful efforts to promote democracy and political reconciliation in Burma. The forum will organize community-organizing training courses for participants from inside Burma in an effort to begin the process of building an independent civil society inside the country.

 $60,000
To strengthen civil society in Burma by supporting former political prisoners and activists. The organization will work with partners inside Burma to establish two institutions for former political prisoners that provide educational opportunities, modern communication facilities, and an emergency medical support fund.

 $70,000*
To support efforts to bring about national reconciliation and political reform in Burma. The coalition will work to increase contact, trust, and cooperation between ethnic and prodemocracy forces ; expand its organizing activities inside Burma ; and draw international attention to the political situation inside the country.

 $74,200*
To support the organizing efforts of prodemocracy groups in Burma. The organization will distribute human rights and democracy materials inside Burma, train party activists in effective techniques of nonviolent political action, and provide humanitarian support for democracy activists inside Burma.

B. Independent Media

International Republican Institute (IRI)

$226,550
To garner international attention on Burma. IRI will conduct training programs to target political operatives inside Burma and exiled Burmese political organizations to increase their ability to use media outreach and conduct a program to improve ethnic reconciliation between youth activists.

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

 $15,000*
To inform people in Burma about news and events in eastern Burma and to expose them to basic principles of human rights and democracy. The organization will produce an independent, bi-weekly Burmese-language newspaper covering news and issues for the Karenni community in Burma, in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, and for ethnic and prodemocracy groups in exile.

 $15,000*
To support the publication of a weekly Burmese-language news and information magazine for youth published by journalists, activists, and former political prisoners. The magazine will cover such issues as economics, health, the environment, and international affairs and will provide much needed employment to journalists who may otherwise be unemployed due to their former political activities.

 $17,750*
To inform Karen people in Burma about events and news 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 Karen people in Burma, in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, and for ethnic and prodemocracy groups in exile.

 $22,777*
To support increased access to information inside Burma by promoting the use of information and communication technology. The organization will provide technology training to Burmese journalists, distribute news and information inside Burma through the Internet, transcribe information into Burmese Unicode, and provide a secure website for users in Burma to share information.

 $25,000*
To support the development of small-scale civil society initiatives in Burma and strengthen the reporting and video production skills of independent journalists inside Burma. The organization will implement a small program designed to support nascent civil society initiatives run by democracy activists and to organize a journalism training workshop.

 $28,000
To provide accurate and reliable inf ormation to the Shan and wider Burmese communities, as well as Thai and international audiences, about political, social and economic developments in Shan State . The organization will publish a bi-lingual monthly newspaper , providing information about the efforts of prodemocracy, student, ethnic , and labor organizations to promote peace and democracy in Burma.

 $ 40,000*
To facilitate cooperation among Burma-related media groups. The organization will organize and convene the fifth Burma Media Conference. The two-day conference will bring together approximately 120 journalists who cover Burma in radio and television programs and print publications.

 $40,000*
To provide independent and accurate information about the state of Burma and a forum to discuss a wide range of issues. The news group will produce a daily electronic information service that covers developments in Burma, India, and the India-Burma border; maintain a Burmese- and English-language website; publish a monthly Burmese-language newspaper; organize forums on India’s Burma policy; and run a journalism internship program .

$ 85,000*
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.

 $125 ,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 and maintain a Burmese- and English-language website.

$143, 500*
To support Burmese- and ethnic-language radio broadcasts of independent news and opinion into Burma. The organization will improve the quality of its programs, invest in advanced training and education for its staff, and maintain regional infrastructure for its broadcasts.

 $175,000*
To promote access to independent media in Burma. The organization will produce and broadcast a Burmese-language satellite television program to complement its long-running daily shortwave radio program .

C. Human Rights Education, Documentation, and Advocacy

$15,000*
To document human rights violations in eastern Burma. The organization will publish and distribute monthly ethnic- and English-language human rights newsletters to audiences in Shan state, the exile community in Thailand, and the broader international community.

$45,000
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.

 $50,000*
To promote respect for human rights and to build the capacity of local human rights organizations through training courses, written material, and consultations. The organization will organize an advanced human rights course and an organizational strategy planning meeting.

 $75,000*
To document the human rights situation and promote human rights education in Mon State and among Mon refugees. The organization runs six core projects: human rights documentation, human rights and civic education; human rights defenders, civil society development, ethnic-language publications, and women’s and children’s rights.

$75,000*
To promote respect for human rights and the rule of law in Burma. The organization will promote legal reform and civil society development in Burma through legal assistance, publications, analysis of laws and legal cases, and the continuation of an advanced internship program to train ethnic youth in law and democracy.

 $125,000*
To support human rights in Burma by raising awareness about and supporting political prisoners. The organization will research and document the situation of political prisoners inside Burma; provide assistance to political prisoners, former political prisoners, and their families; and raise international awareness about the human rights crisis inside Burma.

D. International Advocacy and Organizing

American Center for International Labor Solidarity
$ 400,000*
To promote worker rights and democracy in Burma. From its Washington, D.C. office, the organization will educate workers and other citizens both inside Burma and in exile about labor rights and democracy, document violations of internationally recognized labor rights, and support the development of civil society organizations in ethnic areas.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
$105,000
To strengthen international support for the restoration of democracy in Burma. NDI will build the capacity of organizations and networks engaged in Burma advocacy efforts in Europe and Asia by organizing strategic planning meetings and providing technical training and advice.

$ 25,000*
To strengthen Thai support for democracy in Burma. The organization will engage in policy advocacy, public information campaigns, legal support to Burmese who suffer human rights violations in Thailand, and efforts to strengthen Burmese pro-democracy organizations in Thailand.

 $30,000
To build and advance international support for the Burmese pro-democracy movement. The network links academics, activists, journalists, diplomats and politicians in Burma, Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia in an effort to promote democracy and human rights in Burma through multi-pronged efforts and initiatives.

 $30,000*
To encourage and support grassroots activism in ASEAN countries on the issue of democracy and human rights in Burma. The organization will conduct four core activities: research and data collection, networking with regional and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), campaigning and public outreach, and an internship program for ethnic nationality youth from Burma.

$50,000
To increase awareness about political developments in Burma and to strengthen international support for Burma’s prodemocracy movement. The institute 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. 

 $80,000
To support efforts in Southeast Asia to increase pressure for political reform in Burma. The group will organize a campaign by parliamentarians from ASEAN countries to secure the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, improve the human rights situation in Burma, and encourage the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to adopt a policy toward Burma that supports political reform.

 $257,277*
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.

E. Ethnic Nationalities

$20,000*
To promote civic awareness and participation in Mon State. The organization will produce a Mon-language youth bulletin and operate a civic education program designed to encourage increased cooperation and understanding among young people in Mon State.

$20,000*
To build the capacity of young people in Shan state and to increase youth participation in the movement for social and political change leading toward a genuine democratic Burma . The school will educate, train, and empower ethnic young people from Shan State through nine months of English-language, social studies, and computer courses.

$25,000*
To publish and distribute reliable information about federalism and the Chin State Constitution. The organization will support a series of training workshops on issues of federalism, constitutionalism, and the role of Chin State in a future federal structure of Burma.

$25,000
To support the institutional capacity of the organization 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.

$34,800*
To promote political capacity building in northern Burma. The project will consist of four components: workshops on constitutionalism and political organizing, raising public awareness about the importance of a constitution to protect rights, the publication and distribution of a book on democratic theory, and the expansion of a community library .

$35,000*
To build inter-ethnic cooperation and solidarity through education programs for refugees and ethnic populations inside Burma. The committee’s programs will strengthen local educational capacity through curriculum development, educational research, teacher training, educational material development, and management training workshops.

F. Women's Participation and Empowerment

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

$18,400*
To educate ethnic Karen about democracy, human rights, and current affairs and to empower women to participate in the political affairs of the Burmese prodemocracy movement . The organization will conduct democracy and human rights courses in three refugee camps for high school students and the broader community, and organize a monthly women’s political forum.

$20,216
To promote the rights of women and children in northern Burma and encourage understanding and cooperation among Burman and ethnic-minority women. From its central office, the organization will carry out a range of activities to support the empowerment of Kachin women, including the publication of a newsletter, booklets, and other materials on democracy and women’s rights.

$35,000
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. Projects will include women’s empowerment and capacity-building workshops, documentation and reporting on the situation of women in Shan State, and basic social services for Shan women.

$45,000
To promote understanding among Burmese women of human rights, women's rights, democracy, and community development. The organization will maintain community libraries, publish a bi-monthly Burmese-language journal, launch public awareness campaigns about women’s rights and gender equality and social change, run an internship program, manage a center for migrant workers, organize a week-long leadership workshop, and run a six-month long intensive women’s leadership school.

$50,000
To promote increased understanding among Burmese women of human rights, women’s rights, 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 an ongoing peace-advocacy program.