Official opening of Anthropology Library at Yangon University with DIIS support

On 25 November, the Rector of Yangon University and DIIS Senior Researcher Helene Maria Kyed led an official opening ceremony for the new Anthropology library at Yangon University. The library has a large collection of both classic and new books on different topics within anthropology and sociology, which will facilitate the development of new teaching curriculum and encourage students to read state of the art literature. The library has an online registration and lending system, which will also be accessible to non-university members.

The DIIS-coordinated research project on Everyday Justice and Security in the Myanmar Transition (2015-2018) has provided financial and technical support to the library, including the training of students in how to run the library and register the books. The research project constitutes a partnership between DIIS, Yangon University, Aarhus university and the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF). EMReF has provided important technical support to the development of the library, in collaboration with the Anthropology department of Yangon University.

An important objective of the research project is to support research capacity in Myanmar, and to achieve this objective it is essential that Myanmar students and researchers gain access to new literature that will enhance critical thinking and analysis. The library will be driven by students on a voluntary basis and will serve as a place for reading and discussion groups.