Following the military coup of February 2021 in Myanmar, there has been a strong backlash and persecution of pro-democracy activists and civil society actors, in addition to continued armed conflicts between the military and ethnic armed organisations. Despite a severely restricted civic space and great risk to their lives, formal and informal local civil society actors continue to work for peace within the country.

Since 2019, Peace Direct has been supporting the work of several community-led organisations focused on responding to violence or threats of violence and strengthening social cohesion across the country. Through the ‘Local Action Fund’ programme, two local civil society organisations have identified and disbursed small and flexible grants to a larger number of peacebuilding initiatives, coupled with mentoring support and other forms of accompaniment.

In this Brown Bag Lunch discussion, a researcher and peacebuilder from Myanmar who has been working with Peace Direct for several years, will present the current context for civil society in the country and share lessons from the implementation of the above-mentioned programme. She will also reflect on the support needed from the international community, and the EU in particular, for community-led peacebuilding initiatives in such a complex and volatile conflict context.

Please note that this will be an in-person meeting. Seats are limited and registration is mandatory. Please contact Lorenzo Conti if you would like to participate.