Myanmar: Over 3,000 Attend Mandalay Barcamp 2011

The city of Mandalay in Myanmar held its first Barcamp from February 12 to 13. It took the organizers almost one year to prepare for this event.

According to Weekly Eleven , over 3,100 people attended the two-day event, and on Feb 12, the first day of Mandalay Barcamp, a total of 56 topics were discussed, and on the second day, 52 topics were discussed. A wide range of topics were discussed at the Barcamp, such as information technology, literature, language, society, economics, health and education.

At first, Mandalay Barcamp was supposed to be held at Innwa Hotel, but the location was later changed to Poppa Hotel, on 78th St.

Nyi Min San wrote in his blog about the location change and why it was so difficult to choose a spot in Mandalay:

    “… Though we had initially chosen Innwa Hotel, we had to re-think about the location (of Mandalay Barcamp) because of certain problems we faced. We all discussed for  a possible solution, and the only solutions we were able to arrive at were to change the location or change the date. Changing the date is a very difficult task for it will not be good for the businesses who have sponsored our event, and also, we have already advertised the dates, and the costs of that are a lot. Therefore, we decided not to change the date, and just thought about changing the location.

    Because Mandalay did not have an ICT Park like in Yangon, choosing the location was a really difficult problem for us. I do wish that there was an ICT Park in Mandalay.

    For the location, we had to choose within available hotels, and had to find a hotel that meets with the budget we have. The location would also have to be a place with easy access.”

On the 12th, Nyi Min San and Ko Agga held a discussion about CMS Technology. Nyi Min San wrote about the discussions he planned [6] to hold on the 13th:

    “Today, MBS (Myanmar Blogger Society) would be holding a Panel Discussion. From Mandalay side, Ko MgHla, Ko Thakhingyi, Ko Ye Myat Thu and I will join. Others who are interested in this topic are also welcomed. …

    Another topic that Ko MgHla, Ko Thakhyingyi and I are thinking of having is a discussion on Lightroom. We will all discuss about photo-retouching.”

MgHla, a blogger from Mandalay and PR Team Leader for Mandalay Barcamp, wrote in his blog:

    “We were able to successfully hold Mandalay Barcamp 2011, the first barcamp for Mandalay, at Poppa Hotel from February 12-13. It was a barcamp where various topics were discussed, and not only IT-related topics. There were over 3100 attendees for the 2-day event. We were wrong to estimate that only a 1000 people will attend. Because we had to move to another location, the new location does not have big rooms, so that became a weakness. I would like to thank the main organizers Mandalay MCPA and MICA for their organizing efforts.”

Photos of the Barcamp event were also uploaded to Barcamp Mandalay page on Facebook. MandalayBloggers.org also wrote a photo post on Mandalay Barcamp.

Because of the big success of Mandalay Barcamp, there are plans underway to hold a Photo Camp in Mandalay.

Source : http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/02/25/myanmar-mandalay-barcamp-2011/print/

Barcamp continues to grow

The second national Barcamp, an IT forum where techies gather to talk shop, give presentations and brainstorm, was held last week in Mandalay, said Myanmar Computer Professionals Association (MCPA) joint secretary and Barcamp organising group member, U Thaung Su Nyein.

The event was held on February 12 and 13 and attracted crowds well in excess of the 2700 seen at last year’s event in Yangon over the two days, he said. He added that the government now officially recognised and supported Barcamps.

A third Barcamp will be held on February 19 and 20 at the Myanmar Info-Tech compound in Hlaing township.

He said the organisers had secured K10 million in sponsorship for the event, with 100 volunteers already lined up to assist.

“This year we’ll have quicker internet download speeds,” said Ko Ko Ye from the organising team.

Ma Thike Thike Aung, another member of the organising team, explained what had proven popular in the previous events.

“Last year discussions about Myanmar Unicode and creative colour designing were hot topics,” she said, adding that participants will have at least 200 different subjects to explore this year.

However, she warned that those subjects will only be made public at the event and not beforehand.

Source: http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/info/562/tech56201.html

NLD starts social networking for youth

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Social networking, which is sweeping across the world, will be the focus of a young people’s group being organized and supported by Aung San Suu Kyi.

National League for Democracy General-Secretary
Aung San Suu Kyi walks to the NLD headquarters in Bahan Township,
Rangoon, on Tuesday before a meeting with young people from across
the country during which she urged them to study the weaknesses of
Burma's judicial system. Photo: Mizzima

The outreach effort is called ‘The People’s Network’.

All current NLD social activities will be linked up and connected, and others added, leaders of the National League for Democracy said on Wednesday, following a meeting of young people from across the country in Rangoon.

The two-day meeting held at NLD headquarters was attended by young people from NLD branches in states and divisions including Shan, Kachin, Chin, Rakhine, Mandalay and Magwe and about 200 young people who were not NLD members.

‘The People’s Network proposed by auntie [Suu Kyi)] means a network built around the principles of democracy and human rights and loving people from all walks of life. It will work not only in urban areas but also in rural areas too’, said Myo Nyunt, who heads the program.

He told Mizzima that a Gmail account, pushingtogether.myanmar@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ,  has been created to link up and talk with young people.

‘This Gmail account will connect all people from states and divisions. They can log on to this account and they can say what they want to do, how they can help, what they need…’, Myo Nyunt said.

A lawyer from Taunggyi in Shan State, who is not an NLD member, told Mizzima that she believed the social network could have an affect on civic life.

‘I don’t know about other places, but there are about 20 people who will take part in this movement in Taunggyi’, she said. ‘We [lawyers] represent many cases there free of charge, and we will continue this work and tell other people to join us if they want to help.

‘For lawyers, we cannot advertise for our work. So people who suffer injustices and have grievances, they need to contact us. We can do our work only after receiving contact from them’, she said.

Myo Nyunt said that a focus of the network also will be the creation of a second Panglong conference, referring to the conference held by Suu Kyi’s father, Aung San, with ethnic group leaders, which expressed the need for principles of equality and independence for ethnic groups within the nation. He said preparatory work for such a conference has begun, but more organisation is needed.

Source :http://mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/4865-nld-starts-social-networking-for-youth.html

First Facebook talk given at Mandalay Medical University

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A formal talk about Facebook, the popular social networking site, was presented at Mandalay Medical University in Mandalay Division on Tuesday, February 8, according to sources.

Rector Dr. Than Win delivers a formal talk about
the Facebook at Mandalay Medical University on Tuesday,
February 8, 2011. In Burma, it was considered to be
the first formal talk about a social networking site at
Burmese academic institutions. Photo : Than Win Facebook

The talk is considered to be one of the first about a social networking site presented to a government-backed institution.

Rector Dr. Than Win delivered a talk to students, lecturers and government employees about the the site, which has been cited as an important factor in organizing the demonstrations in Egypt. The site is generally used by friends to keep in touch with friends.

Dr. Than Win, a prominent obstetrics and gynecology doctor, has a Facebook account and his page was widely seen by doctors and medical students inside Burma and in foreign countries, sources said.

Up-to-date information about Mandalay Medical University has been published on his Facebook page regularly.

Some consultants and retired consultants also have Facebook accounts. Among them, Dr. Thein Oke Kyaw Myint, a senior pediatrician and former official of UNICEF; and Dr. Maung Manug Nyo, a retired professor of anatomy and a writer; both are well known users of Facebook.

There are two well known Facebook groups organized by Burmese doctors, who are alumni of  the Myanmar Institute of Medicine and the Institute of Medicine Retired Teachers Fund. Most of the members of the two groups are professors and students from the four medical universities in Burma and the Defense Services Medical Academy.

Similarly, Burmese academics from other fields also have created Facebook groups.

Source : http://mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/4868-first-facebook-talk-given-at-mandalay-medical-university.html

Sky Net Comes to Mon State

MOULMEIN—– Burma’s Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) Company has introduced the Sky Net phone program, which includes Internet, phone, and fax service.A MPT official, who sells the Sky Net phone program in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, said one Sky Net package will sell for 800,000 kyat.

 “There is also TV line. But, you have to deposit 108,000 kyat per year. For the phone, you have to pay 50 kyat per minute. If you deposit 10,000 kyat, you will get 300 minutes for one month,” she said.

She also explained that “if you join Internet line 123 you have to pay 35,000 kyat per month. For Internet line 256, the customer has to pay 45,000 kyat and for line 512 it is 55,000 kyat per month.”

Internet speed for 1MB requires a 95,000 kyat fee and a 145,000 kyat monthly fee for 2MB.

Customers are forced to apply to the Burmese authorities in order to get permission for using the Internet.

“Because they will use the Internet, everyone has to apply first,” the MPT saleswoman said.

Many residents in Moulmein are interested in the Sky Net phone, which they hope will get high speed Internet.

An Internet trainer for students at Mawlamine [Moulmein] University said, “IP Star [satellite broadband service] sometimes was not able to open G-talk because of the extremely slow connection.”

“Therefore, I hope this Sky Net will be better,” he said.

“We plan to open an Internet shop if this [Sky Net] is really good. But, we are checking how fast it is [first],” said the Hthin Oung Internet shop supervisor in Thanphyuzyart Township.

Burma introduced a cellular phone system in 1993, followed by the CDMA system in 1997, the GSM system in 2002 and CDM-450 MHz in 2008.

MPT remains the only mobile phone service provider in Burma. According to available statistics, Burma had 375,800 GSM subscribers at the end of 2008, up from 211,812 in 2007.

CDMA-based network subscribers numbered 205,500 in 2008.

Central Marketing Company, a division of Htoo Trading Company, is owned by wealthy businessman Tay Za. He introduced a one-use prepaid GSM mobile phone service and CDMA-450 MHz mobile phone SIM cards jointly with state-owned MPT early this year. Tay Za is close to Senior General Than Shwe and his family.

Source :  http://www.bnionline.net/news/imna/10099-sky-net-comes-to-mon-state.html

Over 6,000 leaders receive UN ICT training

A UN hub for ICT capability development has already trained over 6,100 government executives, policymakers and educators across the Asia Pacific region since 2008. 

The government leaders underwent Asian and Pacific Training Center for Information and Communication Technology for Development’s (APCICT) eight-module programme dubbed Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders, Director Hyeun Suk Rhee told FutureGov Asia Pacific.

Rhee said that the program has been launched in 17 countries in the Asia Pacific which includes Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The training program deals mainly with using ICT for socio-economic development which includes modules on project management and e-governance.

“The Academy aims to equip government officials, decision-makers and development stakeholder with the skills and knowledge to leverage ICT opportunities for socio-economic development,” said Rhee.

Rhee said the Academy has been receiving positive feedback from the participants on which “80 per cent of them noted their Academy training experience in a favourable light.”

To reach a wider audience, the centre also made APCICT Virtual Academy in 2009 and have recorded 3,600 enrollments to date.

Rhee said several partner countries have adopted Academy as a fully accredited training programme for senior-level government officials international partners.

The Academy is being integrated into the Technical Guidance for Chief Information Officers Programme of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology in Indonesia.

In the Philippines, an ICT component using the Academy was also added in the qualifying examination for civil servants.

This year, the Academy’s short term objectives launching of the Academy and First National Training of Trainers in India and Second National Academy Workshop in Myanmar and Academy Workshop in Philippines in March.

Localisation of the Academy by partners is also an ongoing activity. Currently the Academy’s training modules that are available in English, Russian, Bahasa Indonesia and Vietnamese.

“Translating Academy content and including local case studies will increase the sustainability of the programme and support from national governments.”

APCICT is also working to enlarge the beneficiary group of Academy training to include students, youth, local and provincial government officials, and civil society organisations.

Source : http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2011/feb/09/over-6000-leaders-receive-un-ict-training/

Egypt demonstrations heavily censored in Burma

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – News relating to the people’s uprising in Egypt against Hosni Mubarak has been heavily censored in Burma’s state-run and private media. 

Egyptian anti-government protesters fill Tahrir Square in Cairo on Sunday,
February 6, 2011. Behind the makeshift barricades surrounding the square,
protesters voiced determination to stay put on the 13th day of protests
against Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak. PHOTO/ AFP, PATRICK BAZ

While stories about the mass demonstrations have dominated coverage in the international media for 14 days, the Burmese government’s censorship department under the Ministry of Information has severely restricted what Burmese citizens can read or see.

 “Photos about the news are not allowed’, said the editor of a private journal in Rangoon. “But, we can publish a little news with tight restrictions. We are not allowed to use phrases such as “trying to overthrow the dictatorship”. We cannot report about the riots. But, we can report about the discussion between Mubarak and the opposition. And the news about the uprising, we are not allowed to display it on the covers’.

Another editor told Mizzima, ‘We were not allowed to call it a mass political movement’.  

The state-run media in Burma have not used any stories about the daily demonstrations in Egypt. 

A private journal editor told Mizzima, ‘We want to give the people comprehensive information, but our articles are heavily censored and we have guilty consciences’.

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman met with opposition leaders on Monday, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood. One of the issues under discussion was media freedom.  

Anti-Mubarak protestors have occupied Tahrir Square and other areas of the capital. Unconfirmed reports say that up to 300 people have been killed in Egypt as a result of the demonstrations by the anti-regime and pro-regime groups, and up to 3,000 people have been injured, according to Human Rights Watch.

Mubarak, who has refused to resign, has declared that he will not participate in the elections in August. The protestors have said that they would continue the demonstrations till Mubarak resigned.

In a BBC interview, Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi offered a message to the anti-regime protesters in Egypt on Tuesday that it was necessary to keep cool heads and strong hearts, not to lose hope and to keep up the pressure.

Source : http://mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/4855-egypt-demonstrations-heavily-censored-in-burma.html

Myanmar Seeking Stronger Ties With Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan - Even as Brunei and Myanmar enjoy close relations, the country's ambassador to the Sultanate, Thura Thet Oo Maung, has stressed the need for closer cooperation between the two countries in vital sectors.

In a recent interview with The Brunei Times, the envoy said there are many areas of bilateral cooperation that the two nations should emphasise on in the future.

"We hope that the two countries can strengthen cooperation in vital areas such as education, health, agriculture and communications," said the ambassador, who did not elaborate.

Bilateral relations between Brunei and Myanmar were established on September 21, 1993. Brunei set up its embassy in Yangon in February 1997. Since then both countries had been cooperating in various fields such as trade and education.

Myanmar, together with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, have received training assistance in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector, provided by Brunei Darussalam.

Last Friday, Myanmar's Parliament named Thein Sein as president after getting 408 out of 659 votes.

Following his appointment as Myanmar president, Sein received a congratulatory message from His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

In the message, His Majesty wished Sein much success in his new post, adding that he looked forward to working with the president to strengthen the close relationship between the two countries at the bilateral, regional and international level, especially in pursuing shared interests within Asean. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Source : http://www.brudirect.com/index.php/2011020739359/Local-News/myanmar-seeking-stronger-ties-with-brunei.html

Young blogger gets 12-year jail term

Insein prison, built by the British, houses the majority of
Burma's political prisoners
(Europa Technologies/Google Image/DigitalGlobe)

A man arrested last year in connection with the Rangoon bombings and later sentenced to two years’ in prison was yesterday given an additional 10 years under Burma’s draconian Electronics Act.

Courts alleged that Kaung Myat Hlaing, 22, had also been involved in various poster campaigns calling for the release of political prisoners in Burma prior to his arrest in April 2010.

But it appears that his role as an underground blogger eventually came to the attention of authorities, whom last month brought him from his cell in Rangoon’s Insein prison to stand in a closed court and hear the verdict.

A family member who spoke to DVB on condition of anonymity said that Kaung Myat Hlaing had blogged under the name of Nat Soe (‘dark angel’) following the September 2007 uprising. Authorities had been looking for him since, he said, adding that “in 2010, he was arrested under the pretext of being connected to the bombings that he didn’t have anything to do with.

“He was interrogated for 10 days and authorities found out that he took part in the poster campaigns, sticking up posters on police and army trucks calling for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners.

“He was not allowed to sleep and also denied food and water during the 10-day interrogation.”

A decade-long sentence is the minimum punishment for being found guilty under the Electronics Acts, which has been used on a number of occasions to silence dissenting media outlets.

Burma was recently ranked as the world’s fourth biggest jail for journalists by the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ). It also came 171 out of 175 countries in Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index last year.

Kaung Myat Hlaing joins nearly 2,200 other political prisoners in Burma’s jails, more than 20 of whom are journalists.

Whilst under interrogation, the family member said, he allegedly admitted to being a member of activist group The Best Fertiliser, which has organised a number of anti-regime campaigns in the past.

Five other youths arrested in connection with the bombings are also awaiting verdicts.

Three separate grenade attacks hit the X20 pavilion in Rangoon on 15 April 2010 as revellers celebrated the Thingyan festival. Nine people died, making it the most deadly attack on Rangoon in half a decade. A 31-year-old has been charged with murder for his role in the bombings.

Source :http://www.dvb.no/news/young-blogger-gets-12-year-jail-term/14039