Writers and Myanmar conflict

This seminar is an online event via Zoom

Date: January 22, 2025 (Wednesday)

Time: 06:00 – 07:00 PM (Melbourne Time)/01:30-02:30 PM (Myanmar/Yangon Time)

08:00-09:00 AM (Germany Time)

Join Zoom Meeting: please click here

Meeting ID: 893 1289 2638 

Passcode: 202311

Ma Thida is a human rights activist, surgeon and writer who was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for endangering public peace, distributing unlawful literature and having contact with illegal organisations. She was released in 1999 after facing 6 years of harsh conditions. She is currently chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee. She continues to speak out about the current difficult environment for freedom of expression and the cases of other writers in prison in Myanmar.

Michelle Aung Thin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Media and Communication, teaching in the disciplines of Communication and Creative Writing. Her research spans in cultural history of colonial mixed-race groups such as the Anglo-Burmese, Anglo-Indians, Zerbadi and other Asian diaspora in cosmopolitan Rangoon to contemporary Myanmar literary production. She has taught writing in Mandalay and Yangon and more recently, collaborated with Myanmar artists, writers and translators on creative and academic works. Michelle has been a guest at southeast Asia and Australia’s most prestigious literary festivals and events. Michelle was born in Burma and her personal connection to the region enable her to offer insight into cross-cultural creative practices.

Questions and Answers will follow the presentations. For more information about AMI, please visit aummi.edu.au/.