Listening Project Field Visit Report - Myanmar/Burma

The Nyein/Shalom Foundation of Myanmar and the Center for Peace
and Conflict Studies in Cambodia CPSC, organized the Listening Exercise
with CDA in two phases, in August/September and in December 2009.

In the first phase, there were 17 Listening Team members with 2
facilitators provided by CDA and CPCS, while in the second phase there
were 13 Listening Team members and 1 facilitator. Most of the team
members were nationals of Myanmar/Burma, many of them staff of
partner organizations of the Nyein Foundation. Some were staff
members of local NGOs, churches, or other organizations, and 2 were
Cambodian. The facilitators were Cambodian and American.
Listening Teams listened to a wide variety of people, ranging from local
authorities, Christian and Buddhist priests, villagers/farmers, and NGO
staff. Most people expressed some knowledge about aid efforts or
international assistance in their area, except for some people in central
Myanmar who were unfamiliar with international aid or assistance.
Among people who were aware of international aid, a large number of
them were recipients of these assistance efforts. In some places people
receive assistance directly, but most assistance was provided through
NGOs and INGOs’ development projects.
Listening Teams were flexible on how and where conversations were
held and they talked with both individuals and with people in groups.
Government regulations restricted group size to a maximum of ten
people; nonetheless people were willing to talk to the Listening Teams
and they managed to listen to people in groups more than in individual
conversations.
Myanmar/Burma is divided into 14 administrative subdivisions,2 which
include 7 states (pyi-ne) and 7 divisions (tyne). The names of divisions
(except for Ayeyarwady Division and Tanintharyi Division) are also the
names of the capital cities. In addition, divisions are Barma-dominant,
while states are ethnic minority-dominant. Given the situation in the
country, the decision was taken to prioritize reaching the widest range
of ethnic groups.

Following the field visits, the Listening Teams came together and shared
what people said in the different locations, drew out common themes,
patterns, and divergences, and engaged in preliminary analysis of the
evidence. Final analysis and report-writing rested primarily with the
lead co-facilitators and the lead organizations, with input from the team
members.