Trajectories in Flux
Coming Soon…
This panel brings together five voices from Myanmar’s unraveling present — specialists in food security, journalism, economics, energy, education, and digital life — to chart what survives and what’s still possible.
Each speaker confronts how their field stands after the 2021 military coup: how progress collapsed, how systems twisted to survive, and what scraps of renewal still take root in the ruins. Their reflections aren’t nostalgia or obituary, but evidence — fragments of a country refusing to disappear. Through their testimonies, a collective story emerges: progress once thought permanent now lies in shards, yet shoots of renewal push through. Their accounts, drawn from data, fieldwork, and lived defiance, expose the anatomy of repression and the fragile choreography of rebuilding under tyranny. Together, they trace a live map of loss and endurance — how courage insists on moving forward when the structure itself has fallen.
Thin Lei Win speaks from the ground of food and truth; Sean Turnell from the economy’s wreckage; Guillaume De Langre from the fading current of power; Thura from the hollowed halls of education; and Bradley from the contested realm of the digital. Their stories carry the same pulse: that even under shadow, renewal begins — in integrity, in community, in the stubborn will to account for what’s been taken and what remains to be rebuilt.
The first speaker is Thin Lei Win, who specializes in food systems, climate change, and development across Southeast Asia. She shares how before the coup, Myanmar was a paradox—a nation rich with deep food resources where hunger managed to persist. “Myanmar has generally been a food surplus country,” Thin says, “which means we actually produce more than we consume, particularly when it comes to rice and pulses.” Yet chronic inequality, poor nutrition, and rural neglect kept millions undernourished. “I have always said that food insecurity in modern day Myanmar is actually a result of political failure and intentional neglect,” she adds. Still, the NLD period brought small signs of progress, through sustainable farming, nutrition initiatives, and diversification supported by FAO partnerships. But these fragile gains collapsed after the coup, as farmers faced displacement and inflation, among other challenges wrought by the military takeover. Half of households reduced food intake, and rice-growing regions lost 16% of their output, “mostly as a result of conflict and flooding.” Thin imagines post-coup rebuilding efforts can be accomplished through localized, sustainable systems centered on food sovereignty, regenerative farming, and equitable nutrition policies.
Next up is Sean Turnell, an Australian economist and former adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, regarded as the architect of Myanmar’s democratic-era financial reforms. Turnell describes Myanmar’s pre-coup economy as cautiously optimistic yet deeply fragile. “It was a massive task,” he says. “What was being undertaken from 2016 to 2021 was nothing less than the wholesale transformation of the economy.” As Suu Kyi’s economic adviser, Turnell helped eliminate chronic deficits and curb inflation. But when the coup struck, all the work they were building towards was suddenly reversed. “In essence, there's been a complete collapse of the reform program and almost a complete collapse in the economy itself,” he says. The junta reverted to rent-seeking economies and exploitation, and as Turnell quips, “The only thing that you can trust in is that there'll be some sort of extraction from the regime.” Still, he believes Myanmar’s economy can recover once the military is out of power. “The removal of that regime, in many ways, is self-correcting,” he says, suggesting that democracy’s return will restore fiscal stability, attract investment, and rebuild international confidence.
Guillaume De Langre, an energy policy specialist focused on Southeast Asia’s transition toward renewable and equitable power systems, covers the developments in his area of expertise. Before the coup, Myanmar’s energy sector was expanding but under strain. “Demand was growing much faster than expected, and much faster than supply,” de Langre says, adding that gas reserves were running dry. “In 2019 the minister saw that they were heading for a drop in gas supply very soon, and had nothing to compensate for that.” Electrification projects advanced slowly under artificially low pricing, and as a result, “Myanmar had some of the lowest electricity prices in the world... and it couldn’t afford that.” But de Langre notes that the coup damaged investor trust and halted progress in all areas of development. “Investor confidence was just shattered,” he says bluntly. With projects thus abandoned and imports disrupted, rural electrification stalled completely. Yet de Langre remains optimistic that a renewable-led recovery emphasizing solar, decentralized grids, and regional cooperation could rebuild the sector sustainably once peace and accountability return.
We also hear from Thura, an education reform advocate and former student leader advancing participatory and digital learning models across Myanmar’s diverse communities through Spring University Myanmar. Before the coup, Myanmar’s education system was cautiously reforming, according to Thura. “The major demands... were about allowing the unionization of students as well as the faculty members,” he says, adding that the 2016–2020 education strategy aimed to decentralize control and integrate ethnic-language education. Yet reforms lagged behind expectations. After the coup, the system collapsed as teachers and students joined the Civil Disobedience Movements, universities closed, and community-based schools went underground. “Many of these alternative programs have also proved to be innovative because they normally are heavily reliant on online learning programs,” he notes. Despite repression, the education movement endured through creativity and resilience. Thura envisions a post-coup system based on federal principles, inclusivity, and autonomy— where critical thinking replaces rote learning and equality defines the classroom.
Bradley, a digital rights expert and technologist working with civil society to advance online freedom and cybersecurity in Myanmar, shares his thoughts. During Myanmar’s transition period, the country’s digital transformation showed real progress. Internet access expanded, competition among providers grew, and civil society began working with government officials to improve policy. After the 2021 coup, that same space turned dangerous and repressive, as the military sought to control information and crush online dissent. “In 2019, when we provided digital security trainings to journalists and civil society activists, half of the time we needed to spend to convince them that digital security is important!” Bradley exclaims. “But after the coup, we didn’t need to convince anyone. Digital security became life and death, and millions of people also dramatically moved to secure communication platforms like Signal and Telegram.” He explains that the “digital repression activities that the military junta is doing is very strict, and it’s also very intense,” as it has since moved towards “social media weaponization,” internet shutdowns, and “prosecution of online users by setting up the security checkpoints and surveillance and censorship.” But he paints an even grimmer picture of what’s ahead: “The worst thing is China is backing this up, and… helping the military to set up the surveillance system.” In Myanmar today, he concludes, “if you don’t have VPN, like five to ten VPNs in your phone, you cannot survive.”
Finally, Thin Lei Win joins to discuss another topic, related to journalism. Thin is also a veteran international correspondent, recognized for her courageous reporting on conflict, corruption, and social justice. She notes how Myanmar’s journalism sector before the coup was in its most dynamic phase in decades. “I used to hyperventilate every time I came back to Myanmar as a journalist,” Thin says, “because I know what the junta thinks of journalists, particularly the independent journalists.” But the 2010s brought press freedom, digital access, and new outlets like Myanmar Now, which Thin co-founded. Real progress was underway: reporters could challenge power, investigate injustice, and give voice to marginalized communities. That openness vanished overnight after the coup, as newsrooms were raided, journalists jailed, and censorship returned. Online surveillance and repression forced many into exile, where they struggled with trauma and financial collapse. “It is heartbreaking because essentially, Trump and Musk may succeed in killing off independent media, and that is only going to help Min Aung Hlaing and the junta in the long term,” she says, referring to the vast cuts made by the Trump administration. Yet in a post-military reality, Thin envisions a rebirth of Myanmar’s media— one rooted in accountability, civic literacy, and independence, where journalism protects rather than pleases the public.