Three researchers who have reported for K4DM and The SecDev Foundation as part of the Myanmar Digital Research Series will be attending The Global Development Conference 2025 (GDC 2025).
GDC 2025 will take place in Clermont-Ferrand, France from October 28 to 30, 2025.
It will explore the multifaceted dimensions of inclusive digital transformation and its role in shaping sustainable development outcomes through the theme – ‘Inclusive Digital Transformation: Social Impacts and Technological Innovations’. As digital technologies continue to revolutionise economies and societies worldwide, it is crucial to examine their social impacts and ensure that technological innovations benefit all segments of society, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The conference will examine the social implications of this change, debate novel solutions, and discuss digital inclusion policies. It will also explore how technology can advance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly focused on digital inclusion, equality, and sustainable development, while bringing stakeholders together to leverage digital technologies for social and economic progress.
Find out more: https://www.gdn.int/global-development-conference-2025
| Plenary Session 6: Beyond Access: Achieving True Digital Equity and Inclusion for All | |
| Khin Nway Nway Hlaing – as debate and audience | |
| Nway is an Analyst and Researcher at the Myanmar Internet Project (MIP), a civil society initiative that monitors and documents the evolving digital repression ecosystem in post-coup Myanmar. Her work primarily focuses on information operations on social media platforms, platform accountability, and online harm mitigation. In addition, Nway serves as a steering committee member of the National Youth Congress (NYC) in Myanmar, a network organization comprising 10 youth networks across the country. In this role, she actively contributes to youth advocacy, engagement, and leadership development. Nway has authored several research papers and articles on the information ecosystem across various platforms, covering topics such as online harms and platform accountability issues. Recently, her article “The Power of Fandom” was published in the Mekong Review, where she explores how fan communities in Myanmar mobilize and use digital platforms to navigate and support social causes and donations. | |
| Plenary Session 5: Digital Sovereignty or Digital Imperialism. Power and Control in our digital Future | |
| Htaike Htaike Aung – as Speaker | |
| Htaike Htaike Aung is a leading voice in Myanmar’s digital rights landscape, with over 15 years of experience in ICT for development, internet freedom, and civil society resilience. She currently serves as the Director of the Myanmar Internet Project (MIP), a civil society initiative that monitors and documents the evolving digital repression ecosystem in post-coup Myanmar. Her work focuses on internet shutdown tracking, surveillance policy, online harm mitigation, and community-centered digital safety interventions. Previously, Htaike was the Executive Director and co-founder of the Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO), one of the country’s pioneering digital rights and ICT-focused NGOs. Under her leadership, MIDO became a trusted partner for international tech platforms, development agencies, and grassroots groups alike. She led digital literacy initiatives, localized digital security training for human rights defenders. She also helped convene the Myanmar Digital Rights Forum, a key space for multi-stakeholder dialogue on digital governance and platform accountability. She works at the intersection of community empowerment, digital inclusion, and accountability, and continues to mentor the next generation of internet freedom advocates in Myanmar and across Southeast Asia. | |
| Parallel Session titled Research Systems Strengthening & Digitalisation run by the GDN team | |
| Ei Shwe Sin Phyo – as speaker | |
| A researcher, presently serves as a Research Fellow at the Center for Arakan Studies (CAS), which is an independent, non-partisan, non-governmental think tank in Rakhine State, where she actively leads the production of Research Special Reports. Moreover, she is also a research fellow of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP) at Mahidol University, Thailand, in 2023, addressing the challenges faced by women in Rakhine State during crises. She graduated with a B.A (Hons) in international relations at the University of Yangon, Myanmar, and joined a two-year master’s program while serving as a part-time tutor at the International Relations Department there. Besides, she was a research fellow of the Emerging Young Researcher Initiative at the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP) and also selected as a SHARE scholarship awardee to join a four-month Student exchange program at the University of Cambodia. However, following the coup in 2021, she has been involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). She is now a scholar of the EU Mobility Program for Myanmar (EMPM) and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in International Affairs at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Being a marginalized Rakhine ethnic, she is passionate to become a researcher who is serving for community-driven development in marginalized societies, like Rakhine State. | |
Paper summaries
Paper title – “The role of Pop Fandom Culture in Fundraising for Myanmar’s Revolution: A Digital Ethnography Study” by Htaike and Nway
The proposed research aims to delve into the influential role of pop culture-fandoms in supporting Myanmar’s post-coup revolution through fundraising activities primarily conducted on social media platforms, notably Facebook. This study seeks to comprehend how these fandoms contribute to societal transformation in Myanmar by analyzing their fundraising endeavors.
Paper title – “Resilience & Sustainability of the Media Outlets in Rakhine and Kachin States through digital platforms after the 2021 coup” by Media Desk Team
The research focuses on the use of digital platforms for news dissemination by media outlets in Rakhine State amidst the military surveillance and digital coup. The media freedom in Rakhine and Kachin states has been oppressed throughout the decades, comparably worse than other conflict-affected areas in Myanmar. The number of cases of journalists being arrested and charged, news dissemination platforms being banned, restricted access to the areas along with the internet shutdown has worsened in both Rakhine and Kachin States. The research highlights that the Rakhine state has been facing these oppressions even under the previous semi-civilian government. Specifically, the research team probes the challenges and risks faced by mainstream and small-scale Rakhine media outlets in digital space, to explore the coping strategies and to contribute their sustainability.
Myanmar Digital Research series has researchers within and in the Myanmar diaspora exploring how the digital world is shaping their social, political and economic crisis, bringing new insights into issues facing Myanmar citizens. See below for reports available now.