About Us

We Are

We are a team of about a dozen researchers from across Myanmar, as well as a handful of researchers from other countries. Many of us have worked together for a number of years. Most of us are still based inside Myanmar, and some of us have left the country since the military coup of February 1, 2021.

Our Founder & Director

May Zin Thaw

Our founder and director, May Zin Thaw, is the public face of the organization, in a context where the rest of us need to remain invisible, and use pseudonyms, for security reasons. She holds a dual master’s degree graduate from United Nations-mandated University for Peace, Costa Rica. Her specializations are in Sustainable Natural Resource Management from UPEACE, Costa Rica, and in Political Science (Global Politics) from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. Her favorite field of research focuses on political economy, land governance, decentralization, federalism and peace, and sustainable development. Her works with several research institutes and local non-governmental organizations can be accessed online and several reports have been published.

Our Aim

Our aim is to document the situation in Myanmar, and put it in perspective, looking into the past, not just the present, and with the future in mind. We believe that almost every aspect of life has been made so much worse by the coup and the criminal and exploitative nature of the military regime. But we also believe that it is important to see that the situation was already difficult, for the people and for the environment, long before the coup. So that the democracy movement and the people of Myanmar can identify solutions today, and when democracy returns to Myanmar. That day could not come soon enough!

Our Work

Our work has a strong focus on northern Myanmar, and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. It focuses particularly on issues of climate change, the environment, land rights, labor rights, business and human rights, natural resources management, drugs, health, education, conflict, displacement, and gender.