In June 2024, the team of the EU-funded project “The EU in the Volatile Indo-Pacific Region” (EUVIP) and the Myanmar Studies Center at Palacký University Olomouc (MSC@UP), in collaboration with the Myanmar Institut e. V. Berlin, organized the Interdisciplinary Myanmar Conference (IMC) titled “Myanmar's International Role: More Than a Buffer State.” This conference aimed to shift the focus back to Myanmar, emphasizing that it is not just a peripheral state important only in the context of the policies and interests of nearby major powers, but a nation deserving recognition in its own right. For this reason, we explored Myanmar from various perspectives, highlighting its complex and multifaceted role in regional and global dynamics.
The conference took place on June 21-23, 2024, at Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic, and was preceded by a summer school dedicated to Myanmar and Southeast Asia. The conference hosted about 70 participants - including presenters and audience members - from all over the world, from the US to Japan. Notably, the conference included many Myanmar individuals, both as presenters and attendees. This made the event even more valuable, as it was not just foreign scholars discussing Myanmar but also local scholars sharing their insights about their country. Providing them with a safe venue to have their voices heard is an excellent way to empower them. The conference featured a full in-person audience, and presenters had the option to present online. A wide range of topics were covered, including geopolitics, culture, economy, and education.
The first day of the conference opened with speeches by the EUVIP and MSC@UP team members Alfred Gerstl and Kristina Kironska, who discussed EUVIP’s and the conference’s goals. Additionally, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Jan Stejskal, and František Kratochvil, the Head of the Department of Asian Studies, also delivered short speeches about the Czech Republic's connections with Southeast Asia and extended a warm welcome to everyone. Afterwards, Catherine Renshaw, a Professor in the School of Law at Western Sydney University and an expert in human rights and democracy, delivered the keynote speech. Her address highlighted the efforts of the Myanmar people in their struggle for democracy and the ambiguous role of the international community in this fight.
Thanks to the help of Burma Centre Prague, the end of the first day was complimented with delicious Burmese-style snacks. There was a great variety of food, featuring dishes like laphet (tea leaf salad), which was particularly well-received.
Throughout the conference, we had the pleasure of talking to and meeting many interesting people among them Ms Rosalia Sciortino from the non-profit Thai foundation SEA Junction in Bangkok, Ms Vicky Bowman, former UK ambassador to Myanmar, Prof. Chosein Yamahata and Prof. Makiko Takeda from Aichi Gakuin University in Japan, Mr Edgard Rodriguez from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the collective Visual Rebellion’s representative Ms Laure Siegel. They all generously donated books to our newly established Myanmar Studies Center.
On the final day of the conference, Vicky Bowman paid tribute to Anna Allot, her Burmese language teacher with Czech roots, who taught many British diplomats about Myanmar. Anna Allot, born in London to a Czech mother, lived in Boskovice near Olomouc and worked at SOAS University in London. The concluding speech was delivered by EUVIP team members Alfred Gerstl and Kristina Kironska, who thanked Ms Mia Kruska, the Chair of our partner Myanmar Institut, and our first MSC@UP intern, Ms Yu Mon Htay.
We are proud to say that the conference was a tremendous success, bringing together passionate individuals dedicated to raising awareness about Myanmar. Our goal was to highlight Myanmar’s global importance and the struggles of the Myanmar people in their quest for a better future, and we hope we achieved that. We thank all the participants and look forward to seeing you again in the future.