About the Oxford Burma Alliance

_Created by two Oxford students and former volunteers on the Thai-Burma border, the general aim of the Oxford Burma Alliance is to spread awareness about Burma issues and create a long-lasting advocacy movement in Oxford supporting the movement towards change within Burma.

Students have always been an important force in the pro-democracy movement in Burma, and as fellow students we feel that it is our duty to stand in solidarity with them in their struggle. Their campaign for freedom, peace, and democracy has meant the end of an education system that was once the best in South-East Asia, and they are fighting against a government that wants to keep them ignorant and in the dark. Their courage and resilience in the face of brutal oppression is such an inspiration and is what keeps us going and makes us refuse to leave them behind. Burmese opposition leader and Oxford University alumna Aung San Suu Kyi once said, "Please use your liberty to promote ours." We hope that Oxford students will use their liberty and education to promote that of all Burmese people and students.

Our work includes:

• Awareness-raising projects and campaigns - We hope to raise awareness in Oxford and other universities about the human rights situation in Burma, with a focus on education, political prisoners, and the refugee crisis and ongoing ethnic conflicts. We host various events during term time, and use our website and social media to help educate the Oxford community about Burma issues and our various campaigns. Through our events and projects, we hope to help the Oxford community begin to see the situation in Burma on a more human and personal level, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of the reality of life for the more than 55 million people who live there.

• Email Friend Project - This project, launched in the summer of 2011, links Oxford students with Burmese students on the Thai-Burma border so that they can have regular email contact in the hopes of facilitating the exchange of ideas, perspectives, experiences, and knowledge (as well as creating lasting friendships!).

• Fundraising - The OBA is currently in the process of setting up various fundraising campaigns for Burma-related causes. Thanks to our contacts in the border area, we have already launched a campaign to help fund university scholarships for Burmese students to help them gain the skills and knowledge needed to promote sustainable development in their communities, and we will soon be launching a campaign to sponsor the families of political prisoners in Burma.

• Volunteering - As former volunteers, we strongly believe in the value of donating your time and knowledge to the democracy and development movement. Therefore, we will act as a link connecting Oxford students to reputable long- and short-term volunteer opportunities in Burma and the Thai-Burma border area. We will also be a source of information and assistance to students preparing to embark on their volunteer experiences. For queries, or if you would like to be kept up to date about new volunteer placements, contact volunteer@oxfordburmaalliance.org.

• St. Hugh's College - The Oxford Burma Alliance is also closely partnered with St. Hugh’s College, Oxford. Aung San Suu Kyi studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at St. Hugh’s, and was made an honorary fellow in 1990. In recognition of this important link, the OBA Central Committee includes a Special Representative to St. Hugh's (Simon Mcdonagh - 2013-present, Dan Di Francesco - 2011-2013), tasked with promoting the partnership between the OBA and St. Hugh's. This year, summer guests of the St. Hugh's Ball have the option of making a small donation to the causes of the Oxford Burma Alliance.