Young Generations' Note
 (©Frederick Gaughana, Charlie Inprogress and Henri Ismail / Poros Photos)
Burma is home to one of the world’s longest-ruling military
dictatorships and the world’s longest-running civil war. Education is
limited, the media is tightly controlled and many young people –
refugees, migrants, students – flee through the jungles to Thailand’s
border towns, seeking a better life.
Instead they find that their prospects are poor. Working and sleeping in factories, farms and shops, or living in the numerous refugee camps, they have little chance to improve themselves or learn about the world. In mid-2011 a small group of young migrants in Mae Sot, on the Thai-Burma border, wanted to change things for the better. So they began making a monthly magazine - The Young Generations' Note (YGN) - full of content created by and for migrants and refugees – news, stories, articles, poems, photography, cartoons and more. YGN has also started offering free media training for migrants and refugees in creative writing, photography, video-production and more. Students go on to train other migrants and refugees, as well as those back in Burma. |
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THE CAMPAIGN
YGN needs your help to improve the futures of young Burmese migrants and, by extension, their communities and Burma as a whole!! They need your support to help their project become financially sustainable!
Without your support, an entire generation of young people risks being lost in Thailand’s refugee camps, factories and within Burma itself – a generation who find it difficult to pursue their dreams, who don’t recognize the power of the media and are unable or afraid to express themselves through it.
THE MAGAZINE•Distributed every month to refugee camps, factories and migrant schools •Brings news to divided families about what’s happening in Burma •Inspires vulnerable young people by sharing stories and experiences •Publishes the writing of refugees and migrants, giving them a voice •Provides free media training for migrants and refugees in creative writing, photography, video-production and more. |
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YGN Staff Meeting (© Frederick Gaughana, Charlie Inprogress and Henri Ismail / Poros Photos)
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THE IMPACT•Strengthens the fractured Burmese community •Creates a sustainable future of creative and empowered young people •Trains people to think analytically •Helps people understand the power of the media •Empowers young migrants with the right training so that when they return to Burma they can help build a strong national media, encourage better systems of government and help their country to develop. |
FUNDRAISING GOALS•Printing 500 copies a month for refugees and migrants for 1 year: $4,200 (≈£2,600) •Photocopier: $1,600 (≈£1000) •Year's office space: $2,000 (≈£1,240) •Taxes and fees: $1,000 (≈£620) TOTAL = $8,800 (£5,450)(Enough to establish a self-sustainable future) 
School in a refugee camp. YGN would like to be able to supply these schools with copies of the magazine to give the students more resources to learn. (© Frederick Gaughana, Charlie Inprogress and Henri Ismail / Poros Photos)
MORE INFORMATIONFor more information about YGN, please click on the following links. And please SPREAD THE WORD by sharing these pages with your friends, families, and networks Indiegogo Page: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-aspiring-burmese-journalists-to-empower-refugees-migrants?c=homeFacebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/ygnote |
WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES£3 will print 7 copies of the magazine. That means they can reach 7 more migrant schools, orphanages and refugee camps.✶Printing more magazines will also help bring in potential advertisers, helping to ensure financial sustainability. £93 would provide office space for a month, where the team could work and provide training in a safe, secure environment.£1,000 would buy a photocopier, allowing self-printing and our own photocopy service - meaning an independent, guaranteed source of income.HOW YOU CAN HELP•Buy a bracelet or coin purse from the OBA at one of our events•Donate cash through the OBA•Visit their indiegogo page to donate and learn more•Spread the word!!The OBA will be selling bracelets and coin purses - made by ethnic minority women in refugee camps in Thailand as part of a women's economic empowerment initiative - at our events this term. The OBA will donate the proceeds from the sale of these products to YGN. Please see below for photos of the bracelets and coin purses for sale.
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