I work with the Myanmar Policy and Community Knowledge Hub, otherwise known as the MyPACK Hub, which was formed a couple of years ago in the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar military coup. The MyPACK Hub was formed, with the support of the IDRC, by a group of us at the University of Toronto to formalise a platform for diaspora-engaged policy and research work supporting democratic actors in Myanmar facing the regime.
As a newer organisation, MyPACK formed like a startup — incubated by the University of Toronto, the IDRC, and our passion for the situation. Like many startups, growing and maintaining an organisation sustainably became difficult, especially as we operate under a flexible model with research fellows and individuals wearing multiple hats across many organisations (which is common in Myanmar-based work). Managing a communication/social media plan, maintaining engagement with government and stakeholders, continuing to deliver our output, and pushing to make an impact in multiple areas became key objectives for us. That’s where the OTT came in.
We were fortunate to have met the impressive people at the On Think Tanks School for Thinktankers in Barcelona, Spain. This training provided us with the building blocks for moving MyPACK into the next stage of development. The training consisted of workshops on finances, fundraising, organisational development, strategy, communication, and even preparing our organisation for the future.
Those who know about diaspora-engaged work, let alone Myanmar-based work in the West, know that there is often a negative correlation between the level of seriousness institutions pay to individuals who care deeply about issues in their home countries and their proximity to the knowledge at hand. In other words, the diaspora of any country remains the most engaged and knowledgeable (since the country of origin is the source of their language, culture, and networks), but also is the most ignored group when it comes to public policy and humanitarian aid decisions.
The training at OTT helped us formalise what we need to work towards changing that. While we have been able to make an impact in various ways, like many startups, we received our training through hard-earned bootstrapping and personal investigation. The week of intensive training and networking has given us the building blocks to take MyPACK to the next level. In addition, we now have a network of other Think Tanks at diverse stages facing similar challenges that we can lean on.
The work we focus on in MyPACK is essential for actors on both sides of the Pacific. In Asia, there is an ongoing need to address the situation in Myanmar on humanitarian, geopolitical, and security grounds. ASEAN as a bloc can never truly succeed without a stable and democratic Myanmar. In the West, there is a growing need (cue Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at Davos) to address how middle powers like Canada can continue to support democratic institutions amidst and following the U.S.’s dismantling of the current world order. What we learned at OTT is precisely what will allow diaspora think tanks to play this middle role.
This type of soon-to-be much-needed cross-national work will be best informed by evidence generated by on-the-ground actors, through research-based and diaspora-engaged organisations like MyPACK. I look forward to the work that we will continue to do at MyPACK, and I am glad that OTT could join us in this journey.