In July 2012, five strangers – Ann Selvadurai, Sabina Martyn, Seshma Kumararatne, Sahani Chandraratna, and Sivashankar Krishnakumar – boarded a plane to Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, under the auspices of a unique Asia Foundation fellowship program. All they shared was a Sri Lankan heritage and a common desire to reconnect with the country that their parents once called home. Some six months later, the group returned to North America as best friends, each with an enhanced understanding of contemporary Sri Lanka and a tangible contribution to the country’s recovery efforts. They had become the first alumni of The Asia Foundation’s “LankaCorps” program.

The 2012 LankaCorps Fellows, left to right: Sabina Martyn; Seshma Kumararatne; Sahani Anne Chandraratna; Sivashankar Krishnakumar; and Ann Selvadurai.

The fellowship was designed with two main goals in mind: to provide young adults of Sri Lankan heritage the opportunity to professionally and personally engage with the development of post-conflict Sri Lanka, and to bridge the gap between the diaspora and Sri Lanka. Speak with any of the five inaugural alumni and they will tell you with great enthusiasm that the program was a success on both counts.

To bring greater attention and awareness to the fellowship program, The Asia Foundation’s Asian America Exchange Unit (the San Francisco-based team responsible for the promotion and joint-administration of the program) asked the fellows to share their experiences on a 48-hour “reunion tour” in San Francisco and Los Angeles from March 22-23. Having been apart since the conclusion of the program in December 2012, the fellows were excited about the prospect of reuniting, especially to help promote the program that brought them together. Their first stop was the Foundation’s headquarters in San Francisco, where they reflected on their time in Sri Lanka and engaged with staff and outside guests in a lively discussion on the country’s transition. In addition to giving the audience a flavor for their work with their various placements, the fellows shared anecdotes and observations about everything from harrowing experiences with Sri Lankan public transportation to reconciliation efforts in the northern regions of the country.

LankaCorps fellow, Sivashankar Krishnakumar (above), worked with the Northern Development Initiative, the Murali Cup, the Seenigama project in the South and with projects at the Foundation for Goodness head office in Colombo.

The next morning, the alumni, escorted by three Foundation staff including myself, made their way to the home of Naj and Gwen Nagendran in Los Angeles. The Nagendrans are longtime active members of the Sri Lankan overseas community and helped to make the first ever LankaCorps program possible. They generously hosted an event that brought together some 40 members of the Sri Lankan community to learn about LankaCorps and how to support the program. Those in the audience, particularly second generation Sri Lankans, seemed visibly moved by the presentation. After over 30 minutes of lively discussion, the fellows broke off into smaller groups, answering further questions about how to get involved with the program as applicants or donors.

Watching the diaspora community react to the fellows’ presentation, it became clear that the vision of LankaCorps had been realized: These young, second-generation Sri Lankans, having had only limited exposure to their country of origin, were now engaging with the Sri Lankan community about contemporary Sri Lanka on a personal level. By giving them the opportunity to take ownership of part of Sri Lanka’s post-conflict development, the fellows formed lifetime connections with their ancestral home and each other. In just a few months, another even larger group of strangers will depart to Colombo. A lasting relationship with Sri Lanka awaits them.

Read more about LankaCorps and learn how to support the program.

James Grant is a program assistant for The Asia Foundation’s Asian American Exchange unit in San Francisco. He can be reached at jgrant@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not necessarily those of The Asia Foundation.

Mr. Masoudi (front) was one of the few who personally safeguarded the crown jewels of Afghanistan (Bactrian gold) in vaults under the presidential palace in 1988 as the Soviet occupation gave way to civil war.

Afghanistan has been called the crossroads of Asia. How does the art reflect this?

Located on the ancient Silk Road in Central Asia, Afghanistan is inhabited by a population of diverse cultures. Throughout its history, people of different ethnicities and religions settled in the region, including Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians, bringing with them the rich diversity reflected in the paintings, sculptures, textiles, coins, and everyday objects now displayed in the National Museum and provincial museums in Afghanistan.

The artists of that time were influenced by other cultures – they mixed. We are proud of this. In fact, we can also see from the artifacts that in past centuries, we did not have fighting among ethnic groups, which unfortunately, we now have. But, we can learn something from the past by looking at the artifacts – where you can see that people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds could live in peace. Each culture has positive things from the past – we have to transfer these positive things to the present.

You were one of the few who personally safeguarded the crown jewels of Afghanistan (Bactrian gold) in vaults under the presidential palace in 1988 as the Soviet occupation gave way to civil war. Can you describe what this experience was like?

At that time, I remember that people thought the Communist party would transfer power very soon to the Mujahadeen. Everyone thought this. But this also served as a signal to me and the museum staff. We predicted that when this political change came, there would also be a political gap. So, as the situation worsened, we asked ourselves: what do we do to safeguard the museum artifacts?  We needed to transfer the unique pieces from the museum to the center of the city and store them in different places, so that if something happens in one area, the second, third, or fourth area will be safe. One year later, in 1989, we shifted these pieces. After three or four years, authority was transferred to the Mujahadeen and after a couple of months, civil war started. Fighting erupted in the streets, especially in the western part of the city where the museum is located, so we could no longer visit the museum. The museum was looted and took fire.

When the artifacts that were looted from the museum surfaced on the black market, many journalists asked us about the Bactrian Treasure, as none of them appeared on the black market. Of course we knew, but we could not reveal the information to anyone; it could be dangerous. We kept the location of the pieces secret. During the middle of the civil war, while it wasn’t safe to visit what remained of the museum, we wondered if the other pieces were still safe. The president granted our request to go and check the humidity levels of the storage areas. We went, and saw all signatures and boxes all in good condition as we’d left them. But, we still kept it secret. In 1998, under the Taliban, we went once again to check the humidity levels, and everything was still ok. After 2003, Karzai said there is no reason to keep silent. We are not heroes – we did our jobs.

Afghanistan today is perhaps more recognizable for war than for its deep culture of art and expression. What role can art play to change this image?

The situation is not stable in Afghanistan, and usually the media exaggerates this. Unfortunately, this makes people think Afghanistan is the land of explosions, the Taliban, and fighting. In fact, this is a country that has a fine civilization and fine arts. By having exhibitions from other countries at our museum, and having our own art a part of exhibitions around the world, we are building closer relations and exposing ourselves to one another’s cultures. The “Hidden Treasures” exhibit (which traveled from London, across Europe, to Canada, and the U.S. and to San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum), introduced the other face of Afghanistan to people. It’s possible to change people’s minds directly through this exhibition, which has had nearly two million visitors since 2008.

Can you talk about plans for the National Museum in Kabul as well as provincial museums?

Afghanistan has an ancient civilization, and in each part of our country you can find ancient sites. But the economic situation in Afghanistan is not good – people cannot easily travel from the North to the South, East to West, because their incomes are too low. Security is a problem, but in some parts, it’s not as serious. But traveling to learn about their culture is not urgent for most Afghans. That’s why we must develop museums in each province so that the young people can easily access and visit the museum, to learn about their past, their art, their culture. The Ministry has a clear plan to improve the museums in the provinces.

Our national museum is 92 years old, and we’ve recently started important new initiatives, including a computerized database according to international standards. But, we also need a new building to preserve the artifacts properly – we must have humidity control, proper lighting, fire protection, and security. Our present building doesn’t have anything close to this. Before I had visited other museums in other countries, I didn’t know how much we were missing here. But, these systems are extremely important to preserve the arts.

During my Fellowship in San Francisco, I met with experts from different departments of the Asian Art Museum, including the registration, public relations, marketing, and restoration departments. When I go back, I hope to increase my staff capacity in these areas, and develop new branches – especially in marketing. We don’t have a PR department, but I’m going to request from my ministry to add these branches to the museum.

The Brayton Wilbur, Jr. Memorial Fellowship in Asian Art is administered by The Asia Foundation’s Asian American Exchange unit. Read more about Mr. Masoudi’s fellowship. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Stone sculptures of headless torsos, huge niches stripped of priceless Buddhist statues, rubble scattered on the floor of empty galleries lined with classical columns – these are the images of carnage inflicted on the art and artifacts of Afghanistan in the last three decades. They represent, however, only one aspect of the nation, that Mr. Omara Khan Masoudi, director of the National Museum of Afghanistan, wants to present to the world.

During his fellowship as The Asia Foundation’s Brayton Wilbur, Jr. Fellow in Asian Art in San Francisco, he examined museum management and practices at Bay Area museums. He also used the occasion to let people know about his efforts to restore the collections of the National Museum of Afghanistan and plans for building a new state-of-the-art facility in Kabul. While in the Bay Area, he also hoped to introduce Americans to the beauty of the art of Afghanistan, the rich history of its civilization, and the resilience of its people.

“So much of what one hears about Afghanistan is about wars and conflict,” he said. Mr. Masoudi knows first-hand what this conflict has done to his society and the arts. He has been affiliated with the museum since the 1970s, and has witnessed three decades of turmoil and destruction. But he reiterated the importance of pointing out the nation’s positive efforts, in cooperation with the international community, to restore its artistic heritage and overturn this narrow perception.

Located on the ancient Silk Road in Central Asia, Afghanistan is inhabited by a population of diverse cultures. Throughout its history, people of different ethnicities and religions settled in the region, including Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians, bringing with them the rich diversity reflected in the paintings, sculptures, textiles, coins, and everyday objects now displayed in the National Museum and provincial museums in Afghanistan.

Although the National Museum lost 70 percent of its collection over time, international efforts to restore and safeguard Afghanistan’s heritage have been considerable. The Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage (SPACH), a European-financed charity, has arranged for the repatriation of many looted items. The British Museum alone has sent back 6,000 pieces of Afghan art. With U.S. Department of State funding, the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute is currently helping to inventory the National Museum’s collection and develop a bilingual English-Dari database of its holdings.

Although documentation of many of the art objects was destroyed over the last three decades, some records are to be found in other parts of the world in the form of black and white plates and descriptions in books, catalogues, and other sources. According to Director Masoudi, many are in Europe and written in various languages not accessible to Afghans. Making these resources available to Afghans as well as to a larger audience remains a challenge.

In the U.S, public interest in learning about the language and culture of Afghanistan is just beginning, according to Dr. Mitri Ara, professor of Persian Studies at San Francisco State University. Ara teaches Dari, the lingua franca of Afghanistan. She notes that even in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to about 30,000 Afghans, it was necessary to combine scarce resources in order to put together a Minor in Persian Studies. Nevertheless, enrollment in her classes is growing and many young Afghans born in this country are eager to learn about their own language and history, and connect with their heritage.

Director Masoudi’s public presentations drew an enthusiastic response from diverse audiences that included members of the Afghan community and art and archaeology specialists. One notable individual who sought him out was the director of the Marin Museum of the American Indian. Pointing to their common experience of losing cultural artifacts and associations in turbulent times, she spoke of the importance of preserving the past and collective memory to ensure a sense of identity.

Based on his fellowship experience, Director Masoudi plans to establish a department of public affairs at the National Museum to strengthen its public education and community outreach. He also identified the need for more professional exchanges between American and Afghan museum staff. He emphasized how important it is for young Afghans to learn about their artistic and cultural heritage, along with essential computer and foreign language skills. As he explained, “Once they know about their cultural past, there will be no more destruction of the art.”

Julia Chen is a program officer for The Asia Foundation’s Asian American Exchange (AAX) unit in San Francisco. AAX administers the Brayton Wilbur, Jr. Fellowship in Asian Art in collaboration with The Asian Art Museum. Chen can be reached at jchen@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

The 2012 LankaCorps Fellows, left to right: Sabina Martyn; Seshma Kumararatne; Sahani Anne Chandraratna; Sivashankar Krishnakumar; and Ann Selvadurai.

Below is an excerpt from an article published in Sri Lanka’s The Island that profiles the first five fellows to participate in The Asia Foundation’s LankaCorps, a new volunteer program that gives young professionals of Sri Lankan origin the opportunity to contribute to the dynamic, multi-ethnic nation’s post-war recovery through six-month fellowships at various host organizations.

For Sivashankar Krishnakumar, an electrical engineer from California who is placed with the Foundation of Goodness, organizing the Murali Harmony Cup was a stimulating experience, opening vistas hitherto unexplored. Born in Jaffna, Sivashankar left for the U.S. with his family as a young boy and graduated from the University of California at Riverside. Prior to his involvement in LankaCorps, his only direct exposure to Sri Lanka was during the ceasefire. “Today I see a totally different nation devoid of war,” said Sivashankar, whose extensive travels in many parts of the island including Seenigama, Trincomalee, Mankulam, Vavuniya, and Jaffna, has widened his horizons. “I learned many things about Sri Lanka which I would never have learned through a textbook or parental input.” Organizing the Murali Cup was an enthralling experience that gave him an opportunity to be part of the North-South reconciliation process. “LankaCorps has given me a one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience this wonderful country personally and professionally. The impact it has on me is so profound, so much so I intend to return to Sri Lanka to help develop the country.”

Commending Sivashankar’s contribution to the Foundation of Goodness, Founder and Chief Trustee, Kushil Gunasekera said, “Shankar’s placement was very timely considering our on-going humanitarian work in the North. He is to be admired for wanting to help in a concrete, hands-on way. At his age, very few will come back for six months, giving up a lucrative IT job to serve his country, which to me is a real eye opener for those who are watching things happen as opposed to Shankar who is making things happen!” The Murali Cup matches were held at five venues in the North similar to a mini cricket world cup for school boys. Gunasekera said: “I cannot adequately describe the role he performed to make this historic event a great success. His passion to work at the grassroots level and his coordination of the logistics were outstanding.”

Quite different to her previous short visits to the country as a tourist, LankaCorps has enabled Sabina Martyn, from Canada, to immerse herself in day-to-day life in Sri Lanka, through work and in her leisure time. Sabina, a water engineer by profession and graduate of the University of Guelph, had relied mainly on the media and her parents’ stories and memories to shape her ideas of Sri Lanka. “LankaCorps has challenged me to develop my own perspectives and seek my own experiences. I have also been able to explore my heritage. I visited Jaffna, which I had not been able to do in past visits because of the war. It was a surreal experience to walk the same streets that my ancestors had, and to feel so closely tied to a place I had never even visited before. The opportunity to work in Sri Lanka has been an invaluable complement to my previous Canadian work experience and education. My placement at the National Water Supply and Drainage Board has been a rewarding experience and helped me to comprehend and apply my skills to the complex environmental, financial, and social contexts surrounding the implementation of water supply projects in the country,” said Sabina, who also had the opportunity of interacting with high school students from across the country as a weekend volunteer at a youth leadership conference organized by Sri Lanka Unites.

Read full article.

The Asia Foundation’s Asian American Exchange unit and Books for Asia are currently conducting a 10-day observation program around northern California for 14 librarians from nine Asian countries. While in San Francisco,

It has been said that despite five decades of near-isolation, the culture and appetite for education and reading is still very much alive for the people of Myanmar. Can you talk a bit about this culture, and how this has changed throughout the years?

Mr. Ye Htet Oo:  The reading culture was established many years ago in Myanmar. Before we had formal schools, we had monastery school education, which is all about reading and also teaching religion. This is still very much alive in our society. In addition, due to a long period of isolation, we haven’t had many other forms of entertainment and even then, it’s too expensive for the majority of people. Most people still read books or other publications in their leisure time as they aren’t able to spend much on internet or computers, and some places don’t even have electricity yet. People in Myanmar read to give their minds an outlet. This has helped to preserve our reading culture.

Ms. Mya Oo: As Ye Htet said, our reading culture has been strong even since the Pagan Dynasty where we have a record of literary works. At the time, there were many scholars in the literary field, and even women were able to be literary scholars. That literary culture has extended for decades until now.

Myanmar’s literacy rate remains high at 90 percent – much higher than many other countries in the region. How has this been maintained, despite its isolation?

Ye Htet Oo: Even though they might not be able to access a formal education, most of the people in Myanmar have learned to read in other ways, either through monastery schools or maybe they went to a church and learned to read from the nuns. That’s why the literacy rate is pretty high even in the rural areas. Even if you can’t go to the schools, there is somewhere for you to go to learn to read. However, there is a need here for more schools. In some larger areas like Yangon and Mandalay, there are sometimes 70 students per classroom. That’s how it was when I went to high school, and that’s too many for one teacher.

Mya Oo: People have long let their children go to the monastery, even in the villages, where children can learn to read and write. Some due to poverty cannot read to the highest standard, but they can still read and write.

In just a year, the Myanmar government has relaxed censorship, and lifted bans on internet access and social media websites. Can you describe what the atmosphere was like before and how this will play a role in people’s access to information and the future of libraries in the country?

Ye Htet Oo: Censorship has its advantages and disadvantages as all things do. One good thing about censorship is that it protects the reader from hateful or false comments. But then, the bad part about that is that the reader isn’t exposed to the other side of the debate. If you see white, you have to believe white, that’s it. Now that censorship has been relaxed, you don’t need to rely on outside media to know about the different sides. We have much more freedom to speak and write now. But it’s also important that people know whether something is biased or not when they read it, and the media need more practice at offering both sides so that coverage isn’t this way. Right now, NLD party leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein are both in the U.S. However, you aren’t finding news of Thein Sein’s visit in the local papers in Myanmar. This is what happens when you don’t have any censorship at all, and you have to decide what is good and what is bad.

Mya Oo: We should respect each other’s privacy, and the media must have strong ethics. With this shift, we now need to find what level of freedoms and what levels of censorship we need in order to maintain our ethics.

Ye Htet Oo: One benefit of this change is that it has recently become much easier to open a library than it once was. I opened my library in 2009, and I went through a lot to get permission to open the library, and it shouldn’t be that way. Right now, you don’t really need a license, you go to the Ministry of Information and they will help you. People now have greater access to information, and that’s a very good shift. But we still need to encourage people to read more books both in English and in Myanmar language that aren’t just about entertainment and celebrities. Now that the country has started to open its door, a lot of pop culture entertainment content has come in.

Among other Southeast Asian countries, our internet connectivity is low, but still, people use it a lot – you would not believe it. There’s a huge demand for it. However, as a librarian, it could be a scary influence. When you have other forms of entertainment like TV and internet, books will be the last thing young people will want to choose. As a result, our libraries also need to adapt. You can’t wait for people to come and read in your library; you need outreach programs that convince people that libraries are like home again. Of course we need the internet, but we must also find ways to balance it.

What has been the role of libraries in society over the last decades?  What have been the biggest challenges that you’ve faced?

Ye Htet Oo: In past years, the use of libraries was quite high because we didn’t have a lot of other entertainment options. I operate four mobile libraries outside of Yangon, where the poverty rate is much higher than in the urban areas. In colonial times, the library was a place where you gathered around for discussion and to make things happen. But after the colonial era, it became a bigger issue for people to gather in a group. There was worry that if you came together you might talk about politics. That’s why libraries in Myanmar have struggled at times. After I opened my library, this has become less and less an issue, and people have started gathering at libraries to discuss ideas. This is going to continue to get better in the future, but for right now, we need to build more programs to encourage people to come to the library and stay, not just come to the library, take a book, and go back home.

Mya Oo: The National Library is different from other public libraries. After independence, we received most of our special collection from the Bernard Free Library which was established in 1883. Our vision is to be the center of the intellectual heritage of Myanmar. That’s why we have to preserve these special collections as part of our heritage.

We primarily serve researchers and scholars, and we currently can’t meet users’ demand. We rely on government funding, and the rules and regulations regarding the books can be strict. As a result, we have not been able to lend the books to the public to take home. If we take inventory of the collections, if we’ve lost even one book, we will have a lot of explaining to do. However, now, our superiors are starting to understand what we need to do to reach the public. We cannot just wait for people to come into the libraries; we have to go to the people and give them to the people. We are responsible for the risks of loss of the books. If we can’t be responsible for that, we cannot meet our vision. We’ve recently started to lend the books twice a month to a teacher training college nearby, which can’t afford to buy publications, and people can use them there as well.

What role can the international community play to strengthen libraries, education, and access to information in your country?  

Mya Oo: In the past, many of our country’s trained librarians and professors got masters degrees from the West, especially the U.S. This really helped them to gain techniques to teach students successfully. But, later, as a result of sanctions on Myanmar, no one could go to the U.S. and other western countries for scholarship. The U.S. is the best place to learn librarianship. If these countries would allow more scholarship programs, this would help the development of our own librarianship.

Ye Htet Oo: For the community libraries in Myanmar, funding is a big issue. In other countries you might fundraise openly, but in Myanmar, that would still be a problem. We need more funding to come up with innovative ways to make people come back to the library. Libraries and books are welcome and we need more, but we also need support to build library outreach programs – that would be very helpful.

What has been the most memorable and valuable experience from the study tour that you have gained so far?

Ye Htet Oo: This has been a great opportunity for me to come to the United States and explore how libraries work in a developed country. Pop entertainment is now dominating our time, and it is very hard for a library to survive as it did in the old days. So, we need to make and run programs which will help ensure that libraries provide people with relevant information. While here, we’ve visited libraries that offer online job searches and college counseling, which have been some of the most exciting things to see, as it encourages more people to come and participate in the library programs. I also meet volunteers who are in their 50s or 60s, which is interesting, because in my country most of the volunteers are between 16 and 18. I realized that I need to recruit seniors and retirees as well in my library. Getting to know all of the other participants from across Asia has been the most thrilling experience. Many of us come from similar backgrounds and have nearly the same issues, so it’s good to share and learn from each other’s experiences.

Hours before her expected arrival at the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN) office in Mahachai, Thailand, southwest of Bangkok, hundreds of people began to assemble around the building, hoping to secure a good spot to greet or at least catch a glimpse of “the Lady.” Inside the room where the much-anticipated meeting would be held, a nervous mother instructed her young daughter on how to properly welcome the honored guest and deliver a symbolic bundle of white lilies.

Aung San Suu Kyi meets with migrant workers, journalists, event organizers, and local politicians at the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN) office in Mahachai, Thailand. Photo: Perla E. Parra De Anda

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent visit to Thailand marked her first international trip after spending 15 of the last 24 years under house arrest in Burma (also known as Myanmar). With over four million registered and undocumented immigrants currently living in Thailand – of whom approximately 85 percent come from Burma – her visit was both momentous and symbolic. The migrant workers felt “loved and respected” by her presence in Mahachai: “It feels like someone is finally paying attention to us,” said Nai Khek, 35, a Mon migrant worker from Burma who came to Thailand six years ago and currently works in a shrimp processing factory. “My wife cried when she heard Daw Suu Kyi was coming,” he added.

A combination of anxiety and excitement swept the room as the vehicle transporting Daw Suu Kyi approached the MWRN building. Five Buddhist monks draped in burgundy robes stood with fixed expressions; strategically aligned inside the room to be the first to welcome her. “No security is needed on this side of the entrance,” an organizer of the event said. “Burmese people have high reverence for monks; they will not try to enter the building through this side as long as the monks are standing here.” Drenched in sweat, pre-selected reporters representing five networks ran up and down the stairs to secure the best locations to capture the historic entrance while organizers frantically scrambled to finalize last-minute details. “We forgot to buy bottles of cold drinking water for her!” a woman cried out.

Daw Suu Kyi waved from her car as she approached the MWRN library. She emerged – picturesque like so many of the posters that bear her image – dressed in a red traditional Burmese skirt, a soft, flower-patterned blouse, with a light white scarf and a matching strand of delicate flowers adorning her hair. Despite the pushes and shoves hindering her steps, she smiled and waved, calmly forging a path toward the entrance. The masses continued to push indiscriminately, producing strong waves that pressed against everyone already inside – Buddhist monks, police officials, staff members and children alike felt the pulse and energy of the growing crowd attempting to enter. The metal curtains descended to secure the building as soon as she passed through, trapping some intruders on the first floor.

The pro-democracy icon and Nobel Laureate was escorted to the third floor where she addressed the chanting crowd from the balcony. Over 3,000 braved the heat and dust to cheer “Mother Suu;” many carried placards that read “We Want to Go Home.” Daw Suu Kyi asked for patience with many of the changes that were yet to come in Burma and warned them against “reckless optimism.” She also promised to listen to their woes and raise these issues with the appropriate authorities. Despite living in foreign soil, she assured them that they were “not forgotten.”

Only 50 people were allowed inside the private meeting room for the one-hour session; 30 migrant workers, the remaining 20 consisting of journalists, event organizers, and local politicians. Daw Suu Kyi listened attentively to the stories shared by the migrant workers, expressing deep concern – the hint of a frown on her face and eyes wide-open fixed on the subject. Nai Htun, a 28-year-old migrant worker from Sa-Gaing province in Burma, told her about his struggles to gain lawful compensation after a work-place accident took his right hand three years ago. Saa, another migrant worker and member of the MRWN, explained some of the challenges involved with completing the National Verification Process (NV) to work legally in Thailand. “The process is confusing and expensive,” she said, forcing migrants to use the services of brokers. Although in theory the procedure should cost no more than $20, migrants often pay up to $400 to complete the NV. Other stories followed – passport confiscation by employers, hindrance of mobility, and cases of labor trafficking – highlighting the human-rights violations migrant workers have reported in Thailand.

However, Burma has a multitude of domestic troubles; a great deal of work is required before the Burmese refugees can return home. (An estimated 130,000 Burmese refugees live in camps in Thailand.) During a speech Daw Suu Kyi delivered at the 101st Session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva on June 15, she warned that labor rights concerns similar to those encountered by migrant workers in Thailand should also be monitored in Burma. She also addressed the issue of peace and security for migrant workers in Thailand, calling for a human-rights-based framework to better manage all migration in ASEAN countries.

Another challenge for Burma consists of developing political and racial integrity – the two concepts closely aligned in the country. As Daw Suu Kyi prepared to make her exit from the MWRN library, a migrant worker from Burma’s northern Shan State – which represents a third of the land mass and is home to several ethnic minority armed armies – whispered to the side: “She has never worn a Shan skirt.” Given the country’s political and racial history, it was not surprising to find that her attire could be interpreted as a political statement. “She wears the traditional clothes of all the other minority groups – Karens, Mons, and Kachins – but she has never worn a Shan outfit.” A simple assertion that underscores the multiplicity of the challenges involved in the true unification of Burma. Late last month, Daw Suu Kyi used her first speech in parliament to call for laws protecting the rights of the country’s ethnic minorities.

Though long regarded as a popular icon of hope and longing, “Mother Suu” may not be able to fix all her country’s problems or those of her countrymen abroad. However, like her father, Daw Suu Kyi has managed to revive a space for dialogue to address contemporary challenges and issues that are centuries old. As she departed from her Mahachai meeting with the migrant workers, some were overcome with emotion, unable to hold back their tears, while others hastily jotted down the license plate number of the car that carried her away. “I’m going to play the numbers in the lottery,” one of them said. “I believe everything Daw Suu Kyi told us, but maybe my fortune will change sooner.”

Perla E. Parra De Anda was a 2011-2012 Luce Scholar at the Human Rights and Development Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Tadashi Yamamoto. Photo courtesy of JCIE.

Tadashi Yamamoto, founder and president of the Japan Center for International Exchange, passed away on April 15 at the age of 76. He was an extraordinary person whose career was marked by extraordinary accomplishment. He was a liberal internationalist, an optimist who believed wholeheartedly that cultural exchanges and dialogue could bring peoples and nations closer together, especially those that previously had been adversaries. He believed that people-to-people exchanges in all their forms were a formidable vehicle for international understanding and peace. He committed his life to interpreting Japan to the world and the world to Japan.

Tadashi never served in a formal governmental role (other than chairing numerous advisory groups and commissions), but he formed close and influential relationships with political leaders in Japan, the United States, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Korea, and China. He was responsible, sometimes single-handedly, more often in strategic partnership, for parliamentary exchanges, intellectual dialogues, Track II dialogues, “wise men” groups, corporate citizenship study missions, workshops on “non-traditional security” threats and global health, and much more. He was formally honored for his life”s work by the governments of Australia, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Upon conferment of the Order of the Rising Sun Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by the Government of Japan in July 2011 (for distinguished achievements in international relations, Japanese studies, or promotion of Japanese culture), the JCIE staff published a 36-page Commemorative Booklet highlighting milestones in Tadashi”s 47 years of nongovernmental public service, with testimonials from a broad array of world leaders whose lives and careers he influenced.

My own friendship and professional collaboration with Tadashi began in 1987, when I was starting a multi-country research project on contemporary philanthropy in Asia. Tadashi”s name came up everywhere I sought advice and information. “You have to meet Yamamoto; he is Mr. Philanthropy in Japan.” And indeed he was already a veteran when I started. In 1974, JCIE had launched study tours and research on philanthropy in Japan and the United States. In 1977, JCIE created the Asia Community Trust, Japan”s first philanthropic intermediary loosely based on the U.S. community foundation model, but with developing Asia as its scope; and in the mid-1980s, JCIE had already organized a series of Keidanren study tours to the United States to exchange ideas about corporate philanthropy. Tadashi”s deep commitment to philanthropy – private action for public benefit – was at the core of his aspirations for global citizenship.

With Tadashi”s intellectual support and gentle mentoring, we launched a pioneering series of studies of local philanthropic traditions and the current state of philanthropy and civil society in East Asia, resulting in published volumes in 1991 (Philanthropy and the Dynamics of Change in East and Southeast Asia), 1993 (Evolving Patterns of Asia-Pacific Philanthropy), and JCIE”s monumental Emerging Civil Society in the Asia Pacific Community in 1995. These became the intellectual basis of the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium, a research and advocacy network established in Osaka in December 1994, which Tadashi and I led for a decade. JCIE went on to publish a distinguished series of other books on philanthropy and civil society in Japan and Asia.

Tadashi was a remarkable person, warm, engaging, gentle, passionate, committed, yet tolerant of cultural differences, always curious, and always busy and fully engaged in the many projects he undertook simultaneously and in sequence. He was a visionary, fiercely advocating a world of peace through dialogue. He will be missed for the person he was, his many accomplishments, and his unswerving belief in the community-building promise of people-to-people exchanges.

Dr. Barnett F. Baron is president & CEO of Give2Asia. He can be reached at bbaron@give2asia.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Nearing its 65th year of independence, India, the largest democracy and second-most populous country in the world, is undergoing another transformation: a second freedom struggle. Birthed from decades of frustration over rampant corruption, a large-scale movement led by activist Anna Hazare has energized the country’s youth, charging them with the desire to rebuild India. As a relatively young country, with an estimated 780 million Indians under 35 years old – or roughly 65 percent of the population – investment in the country’s young entrepreneurs will undoubtedly be a vital part of India’s future.

India’s broad development issues, the widening divide between urban and rural populations, lack of comprehensive public services, and freedom from strict regulations that exist in other globalized countries make an ideal testing ground for budding social entrepreneurs. Photo by Geoffrey Hiller.

Although India has become an increasingly important stakeholder in the global economy and its development over the next two decades will undoubtedly be looked to as a model for the rest of the world, it must first find ways to overcome the enormous challenges of infrastructure, healthcare, poverty, hunger, education, and corruption. It is clear that India will be relying on these 780 million young people to take the lead. As a Luce Scholar in Bangalore, I am working with Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs, observing first-hand the opportunities and obstacles these young leaders face.

In December 2011, I traveled on the Jagriti Yatra, an annual 7,500 km chartered train ride that takes highly motivated young Indians, and a few international participants under 25 years old, on a 15-day national odyssey to meet with entrepreneurs who have developed innovative solutions to India’s challenges. The 450 participants and facilitators came from 26 states and territories across India, and six continents abroad; 63 percent were from non-urban areas and 37 percent were from urban areas. The yatra took each of us out of our familiar surroundings, stripped away our comfort zones of language, physical space, and geography, ushering us into a new realm of learning.

The Jagriti Yatra, an annual 7,500 km chartered train ride takes highly motivated young Indians, and a few international participants under 25 years old, on a 15-day national odyssey to meet with leading entrepreneurs.

Along the way, we heard the extraordinary experiences of successful social entrepreneurs like Bunker Roy of Barefoot College, who, upon moving to the small rural village of Tilonia in the 1970s, founded a solar-powered school that teaches people from impoverished villages the skills they need to become doctors, solar engineers, architects, and more. Mr. Roy urged us to find solutions to development challenges through the real-life accounts of people who are struggling the most, instead of relying on global reports or statements. For example, Anshu Gupta of Goonj, which repurposes clothing materials for India’s poorest, shared a heart-wrenching story of how it was only when he met a young child who lay beside dead bodies for warmth during a cold Delhi winter, that he was inspired to launch Goonj.

We also heard from doctors at Aravind Eye Care, one of the world’s most efficient and successful eye care centers. The family members of Dr. Venkataswamy, who founded the center at the mandatory retirement age of 58, shared with us his ambitious “McDonaldization” approach to cataract surgery. During another discussion in Ahmadabad with Harish Hande, the founder of Selco, a solar electric light company supplying affordable, environmentally sustainable energy services in rural India, offered sobering advice that many of us don’t take the time to really understand the issue or problem: “Live with the problem that you are trying to solve.”

While some of the yatris (yatra participants) already owned successful enterprises, most were simply intrigued by the idea of being part of the forthcoming generation of Indians to make an enormous impact on sustainable social business. Although many of the yatris were in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, they expressed interest in crossing over into the social sector, stating that a major reason for selecting their field was because of parental pressure. It became clear along the yatra that while the interests of my fellow yatris covered a wide spectrum, they shared the common interest of wanting to carry their nation forward.

India’s broad development issues, the widening divide between urban and rural populations, lack of comprehensive public services, and freedom from strict regulations that exist in other globalized countries make an ideal testing ground for budding social entrepreneurs. However, while there is an abundance of promise in Indian social business, and a thriving technology environment (75 percent of Indians have access to mobile phones), significant barriers like low staff retention rates, lack of willingness to create partnerships with similarly focused organizations, scaling difficulties and a social space characterized by thousands of non-profits that unfortunately lack the resources to make a national impact, still exist. Consequently, as some of the yatra participants mentioned, many of India’s existing and budding enterprises are struggling to scale their impact.

Despite these challenges, such investments in India’s young people – like in the Jagriti Yatra – will provide better understanding of the tenacity, dedication, and passion needed to build and sustain the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

Zimuzor C. Ugochukwu is a 2011-2012 Luce Scholar at Ashoka in Bangalore. She can be reached at zim.ugochukwu@gmail.com. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Having worked with Indonesia’s higher education sector since 2000, I have come to believe that studying abroad is as close as one may come to a “sure thing” in Indonesian developmental assistance. Indonesian students and professors studying abroad are exposed to new educational techniques and knowledge, and will take that expertise home with them either (as graduates) to their new workplace or (as professors) to an educational system sorely in need of innovation. The likelihood that those individuals become leaders in their fields rises exponentially – and, as a result, they have the potential to bring great economic and intellectual benefit to Indonesia. In fact, almost 50 percent of the ministers in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s current cabinet spent some time studying overseas.

Above, students mingle after class at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University. Indonesia's student population in higher education has witnessed an explosive 35 percent increase in just six years.

Indonesians who study overseas, most of whom do so in the United States, Australia, the UK, or the Netherlands, carry their experiences – the vast majority of them overwhelmingly positive – with them for the rest of their lives. It is reflected in their work and their conversations; it becomes a part of them and thus the environment they interact with. It is arguably the ideal of what we mean when we speak of long-term impact and sustainability. Absent such exposure, perceptions of the West are often left to be derived from some combination of anti-Western rhetoric, syndicated TV shows, and internet conspiracy theories.

Yet the number of Indonesian students studying in the United States has fallen to half of what it was 10 years ago. That number, and the number of visiting professors, should ideally be increasing dramatically every year, and developmental projects should be making sure that happens. But despite some recent efforts, such as an increase in funds for U.S.-Indonesian Fulbright exchanges, the majority of these developmental opportunities remain untapped.
It has been difficult to witness such educational development opportunities with Indonesia being overlooked, especially at a time when the United States is refocusing on the Asia-Pacific region. Indonesia is huge in every way: with a population of 240 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world; flying direct from Banda Aceh to Jayapura (if one could do so) would take longer than Seattle to Miami or Edinburgh to Amman; its economy grew at a rate of over 6 percent for four of the last five years; it’s the most populous Muslim country in the world, and a vital young democracy; and the student population in higher education has witnessed an explosive 35 percent increase in just six years. Despite this, study abroad opportunities in the United States are declining rather than increasing.

The Asia Foundation is working on a solution to this challenge through our new legal education program, which is funded by USAID and designed to benefit the nation’s justice sector. The program includes a large study abroad component, and is also currently assisting eight law faculties in Indonesia to develop clinical legal education so that students have the opportunity to use the law in a real-life, real-time environment. Students work and study under the guidance of their professors and a partner institution, such as a civil society organization or a government office such as the court. It is a response to a problem that Supreme Court justices, attorney generals, and even law faculty deans have expressed to me: that law faculty graduates need to do more than just memorize the law for four years; they need to know how to use it. The program will make them better lawyers, and that means better justice and thus increased political stability.

To help develop clinical legal education in Indonesia, the program will also send 10 professionals, eight of whom will be professors, to the University of Washington School of Law for one year to study for a master of laws in clinical legal education. The professors will then return to Indonesia where they can pass on to their university and their students the educational benefits they received and the increased global outlook that they gained.

There are five million students and professors in higher education in Indonesia. Our legal education program will undoubtedly have a significant impact, but is just a single drop in what should be a wellspring of study abroad programs. For it is this type of partnership that can ultimately deliver a pan-institutional increase in Indonesia’s capacity, and stronger, deeper bonds of understanding, economy, and security among the countries participating.

Eric James Graham Putzig is chief of party for The Asia Foundation’s Educating and Equipping Tomorrow’s Justice Reformers program in Indonesia. He can be reached at eputzig@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

This week, representatives from renowned museums of Asian art from across Asia and the United States met from November 8-10 in a pioneering conference organized by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. The Asia Foundation’s Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellows in Asian Art Program and the Brayton Wilbur Jr. Memorial Fellows in Asian Art Program sponsored their participation in the “San Francisco Asian Art Forum for Museum Directors” – part of an ongoing series of exchanges the Foundation administers in cooperation with the Museum. The Asian senior museum executives joined their American counterparts to share strategies for fostering greater global awareness of Asian art and cultures while exploring models for collaboration and partnerships among their institutions. According to Dr. Jay Xu, director of the Asian Art Museum, “The Forum is an opportunity for our museum to serve as a bridge of understanding for international museums and the diverse cultures of Asia.”

Left to right: Asian Art Museum Director Jay Xu, Asia Foundation President David Arnold, Ambassador Haydn Williams, and Judith Wilbur. Photo by Whitney Legge.

Inspiration for the Forum grew out of discussions between Dr. Xu and Ambassador Haydn Williams, president emeritus of The Asia Foundation, who recalled our historical engagement in convening for the first time, chief justices, university presidents, and others, respectively, from Asia and the United States. Our relationship with the Asian Art Museum is longstanding, dating back to the mid-1960s, when Avery Brundage first presented his extensive and stunning Asian art collection to San Francisco. During his tenure as Asia Foundation president, Ambassador Williams was a founding member of the Asian Art Commission, formed to help welcome this extraordinary gift to the city. This cooperation with the Museum continues; The Asia Foundation, along with the Henry Luce Foundation, provided core funding for the Directors Forum.

The Foundation administers the two fellowship programs that supported participation of the Asian directors in the Forum. The Brayton Wilbur Jr. Memorial Fellows in Asian Art Program – established with the generous support of Mrs. Judith Wilbur, an Asian art commissioner and trustee of The Asia Foundation – honors her late husband, a long-standing patron of the arts and former chairman of the Foundation’s board of trustees. The Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellows in Asian Art Program – established with the generous support of Ambassador Williams – honors his late wife, a founding docent of the Asian Art Museum. The program reflects her affection for the region where she took great pleasure in visiting museums during her many trips to Asia with Ambassador Williams.

The fellowship programs aim to contribute to the professional enhancement of Asian and American specialists in Asian curatorial art through affiliations with the Asian Art Museum and museums in Asia. To date, fellows have included experts from Japan and Korea who have spent time at the Asian Art Museum; in turn, Asian Art Museum curators have visited China, Taiwan, Japan, and India. For example, the Museum’s Japanese art curator conferred with the Eisei Bunko Museum of the Hosokawa family to arrange for the loan of objects for the Asian Art Museum’s “Lords of the Samurai” exhibit. In addition, as a Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellow, Dr. Xu explored plans for the Forum with museum directors and curators during his travels to Asia.

The Asian Art Museum plans to make the Forum a biennial event.

Jerry Martin is the Assistant Director of The Asia Foundation’s Asian American Exchange Unit. He can be reached at jmartin@asiafound.org.