Spotlight: The School for Shan State Nationalities Youth (SSSNY)
by Naw Liang (Helsinki, Finland and London, UK)

Mai soong kha!
Well, Spring has sprung - at least in my tiny part of the world - and with it comes renewed energy from longer sunshine hours for daydreaming about summer vacations. This year might even see a long awaited return to the Shan State, but, for now, we wait with baited breath and itchy feet.

For now, it's back to All about Shan Studies and another nugget of knowledge for all. Enjoy...

The School for Shan State Nationalities Youth (SSSNY)
While fumbling through an inbox crammed with Shan news and internet info, I came across another Tai Yai gem from Chiang Mai (I really need to get out there pronto). Another active Shan organisation, this group has a vision very close to my heart - education - and I hope to learn more about and contribute to it and its programmes in the near future.

As stated on their website, the School for Shan State Nationalities Youth (SSSNY) "...was formed by a group of youth from Shan State in May 2001 [to] provide a social justice education program for youth to take an active role in the movement for social and political change." A fantastic goal, they are now preparing to accept the 11th class for its Social Justice Education programme (SJEP), a 10 month course that instructs 30 intermediate English-speaking Shan youth (between 16 - 35 years of age) to promote social justice and change in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, the Thai-Burma border and, in smaller numbers, inside Shan State. Determined sentiments ring out throughout the website through words and phrases like 'empower', 'active role', 'democracy', 'human rights' and 'gender equality'. There isn't enough room here to praise everything here, so please visit their website for further details.

SSSNY: grand goals that suit a massive need
SSSNY is the product of not only admirable goals and considerable effort, but through a real need: Burma/Myanmar not only has a chronic nationwide lack of education funding and resources - only an estimated 0.5% of the national budget is spent on education - Shan children and young people are doubly handicapped. Not only are they prevented from receiving adequate education by the perpetual problems found in Burma/Myanmar and the Shan State, especially those living along the volatile border, but those living in Thailand are as yet not official recognised as refugees by the UN High Commission for Refugees and by the Thai government, meaning they face extreme difficulty to receive even the most basic support, including their right to education. Sadly, most young Shan end up forgoing any education in favour of manual labour to help support their families.

Since 2001, SSSNY has championed the right that young Shan have to education, not only for their own lives, but to promote social and democratic change in Burma/Myanmar. SSSNY's teaching methods have also been designed to engage students as "..participatory learners...to encourage critical and creative thinking skills" that SSSNY believes will empower them to take a pro-active role for social and political change.

We sincerely hope so.

For now, have a look at the website when you can.

Jom lii kha,

Naw Liang