Myanmar Archives

Myanmar: Testimonies of Women Peace Ambassadors

Published on 04-05-2026

Reading time 1 mins

Read the first written testimony of the activities conducted by the NIMD founded Women Peace Ambassadors Initiative in Myanmar's Shan State. Their stories are a testament of their strength and resilience in light of the challenging circumstances they operate in. This paper is a result of a collaboration between NIMD Myanmar and the Ethno-graphic Impact for Social Justice Project at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), the Netherlands.

Women in politics and peace: Our results and lessons

Published on 29-01-2026

Reading time 2 mins

Women's leadership in peace processes delivers proven results—yet women remain systematically excluded from decision-making spaces. NIMD works to close this gap, step by step. From 2021 to 2025, NIMD led the LEAP4Peace programme in Burundi, Colombia and Myanmar, funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs under its Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Grant. The programme built a conducive environment for women's full and meaningful participation in politics and peace. Simultaneously, as an INGO partner of the Rapid Response Window (RRW) of the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), NIMD provided more than 14 grants to women's organizations supporting their…

Women in Politics and Peace: Our results

Published on 09-12-2025

Reading time 1 mins

NIMD has long believed that the political participation of women, in all their diversity, is essential for inclusive and peaceful societies. Women are powerful agents of change and political actors who contribute to building sustainable peace and inclusive democracies. Find out how NIMD works to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda around the world and delve with us into our lessons learned over the past years.

LEAP4Peace Consortium Wraps Up in Bogotá

Published on 31-07-2025

Reading time 5 mins

The LEAP4Peace (Leadership and Political Participation of Women for Peace) programme has come to an end. Implemented between 2021 and 2025 in Colombia, Burundi and Myanmar, the initiative aimed to strengthen women's political role in peacebuilding processes. In addition to NIMD, the other members in the Consortium are the Burundi Leadership Training Program (BLTP), the Gender Equality Network Myanmar (GEN), and Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS). From 7-11 July 2025, the Consortium held its closing event in Bogotá in Colombia, titled “Women’s Voices Forward: Building Peace Across Continents.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvPSt3cvXJs A time for reflection The event gathered women…

Women Peace Ambassadors voices are being heard in Myanmar

Published on 15-04-2025

Reading time 5 mins

While Atā Thingyan, the Myanmar New Year Festival, is a time traditionally devoted to cleansing, renewal, and community celebration, this year, the nation also grapples with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. During these difficult moments, we are reminded of the power of collective strength, community, and care. In this spirit, we spotlight the unwavering commitment of Myanmar’s Women Peace Ambassadors, leaders who continue to work within their communities to champion women's rights and strengthen their voice in the face of adversity. Here are their stories. Myanmar’s civil war and the current political landscape offer limited room for women to…

Myanmar

Published on 16-01-2025

Reading time 0 mins

Women, Peace and Security Lookback: Peace is for Everyone

Published on 13-11-2024

Reading time 4 mins

'We are using women as the entry point to peace, but this peace is for everyone - Tonni Brodber, Head of the WPHF During this year's Women, Peace and Security week, NIMD worked alongside partners to shed light on the leadership, challenges and support systems for women peacebuilders globally. This included the LEAP4Peace consortium event where we put the experiences of women peacebuilders in Myanmar front and center. Read on for more takeaways from this year's WPS week! Resilience Amidst Challenges At NIMD, we witnessed the remarkable resolve of women peacebuilders working towards sustained peace. During the WPS week,…

What the international community can do to increase women’s participation in peacebuilding

Published on 23-10-2024

Reading time 1 mins

This paper is part of a series of papers looking at a central theme of innovative and transformative approaches to the systems and structures of peacebuilding, with a focus on a bottom-up approach by local and community women peacebuilders. The other papers in the series focus on three specific countries, which participate in the LEAP4Peace Consortium: Burundi, Colombia and Myanmar. These papers each address an aspect of the theme through a context-specific lens, with primary research and consultations with proximate peacebuilders. Download our Global Paper as well as the country specific papers below.

Voices of Resilience: A dialogue for democracy and peace in Myanmar

Published on 09-10-2024

Reading time 4 mins

NIMD has a long history of promoting dialogue in Myanmar. Our work began in 2014 and, since then, we have worked with political actors from across ethnic and ideological divides, building trust between them and promoting respectful open dialogue. Of course, with the 2021 coup d'état, Myanmar’s gradual process of democratization stalled. In the country’s new and complex political landscape, where political suppression and conflict are daily realities, NIMD has been forced to find new windows of opportunity for our work. Everything has changed but, for us, it remains important to continue to invest in Myanmar's democratic future. That’s why,…

Innovating Democracy Education: Myanmar’s MyDemocracy School app

Published on 09-01-2023

Reading time 2 mins

NIMD, in partnership with Demo Finland, has been active in Myanmar since 2014. Until the coup in 2021, our democracy education programme was a big part of this work. Through intensive retreats for political actors from across the political spectrum, we worked to break down polarization and create a more open and inclusive political space. This work was temporarily halted after the coup. However, the Myanmar team continued to explore innovative ways to preserve and promote democratic knowledge and values in an increasingly hostile environment. One of the results of this exploration has been the creation and launch of the…