Created by Shannon Anicas Copyright of Global Ties Akron & Know Your Community - Know Your World

1. Burma-MyanmarBurma-Myanmar
KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY –KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY –
KNOW YOUR WORLDKNOW YOUR WORLD

2. INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER PROFILEINTERNATIONAL SPEAKER PROFILE
• Name, Photo of yourself, family if possible
– Topics:
– Why are you in Akron
– What are you studying
– What city are you from
– Career- future plans

3. COUNTRY MAPCOUNTRY MAP

4. COUNTRY QUICK FACTSCOUNTRY QUICK FACTS
• Full name: Burma
(long form) Union of Burma , however since 1989 the name
Myanmar is the recognized name throughout the world.
• Population: 60,280,000 (2010 est.)
• Capital: Rangoon, Nay Pyi Taw (Administrative capital)
• Largest city: (by population) Rangoon, Mandalay, Mawlamyine,
Bago, Pathein
• Area: 676,552 sq km (261,218 sq miles)
• Major language: Burmese, indigenous ethnic languages
• Major religion: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%,
Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%
• Life expectancy: 64 years (men), 68 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: Kyat (MMK)
• Main exports: Teak, pulses and beans, prawns, fish, rice,
opiates, oil and gas
• GNI per capita: n/a

5. Burmese History in BriefBurmese History in Brief
• First known city-states emerged in Burma around the 2nd
century
BC
• By the late 9th
century, the Bagan settlement was founded
• Throughout the 11th
century the Bagan Empire was one of the
main powers in Southeast Asia and Burmese language and
culture dominated the land
• Empire collapsed in 1287 after Mongol invasion
• Several small kingdoms were left after the Mongols left and
attempts to create another empire, but none lasted

6. History ContinuedHistory Continued
• In the 19th
century, Burma was conquered by the British and eventually
incorporated into its Indian Empire
• Burma a major battleground during WWII and faced severe devastation
• 1948 Burma gained its independence from the British, but from 1962
the military controlled the country as a one-party state
• Lots of riots and opposition resulted from the repressive government
• 2007- the administrative capital was moved from Rangoon to Nay Pyi
Taw
• 2008- massive cyclone hits and kills more than 22,000
• 2011-current president is sworn in as head of nominally civilian
government
• 2015- ceasefire agreement signed between the government and 16 rebel
groups but human rights abuses continue

7. LANGUAGE:LANGUAGE:
HELLO: မမမမမမမ (min-ga-la-ba)
GOODBYE: မမမမမမ (bhine)
YES: မမမမမမမမ (Ho de.)
NO:မမမမမမမမ(Ma ho bu.)
THANK YOU:မမမမမမမမမမမမမမမမ (cè-zù tin-ba-deh)
YOU’RE WELCOME: မမမမမမမ (ya-ba-deh)
PLEASE:Kyeizu pyu yue
I LOVE YOU: cha-ma chin go chit-the
HOW ARE YOU: မမမမမမမမမမမမမမမမမမ
(k'amyà ne-kaùn-là?)

8. GovernmentGovernment
•LEADER: Thein Sein
•GOVERNMENT: As of 2010
the government has switched
from military to parliamentary
democracy
•VOTING AGE: 18 years of age

9. Aung San Suu Kyi
• Major voice in human rights and
freedom in Burma (Myanmar)
• Activism started when she wrote a
letter to the Burmese government in
1988 after the military killed
thousands of civilians at an uprising
• She wants democracy for her country
• She spent many years on house arrest
or in prison for her activism
• Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1991
• She is currently a chairperson for the
National League of Democracy (NLD)
and serves on the Burmese
parliament

10. CURRENT EVENTS OR KEY ISSUESCURRENT EVENTS OR KEY ISSUES
• One of the poorest countries in Asia, nearly 1/3 of
population lives in poverty
• Poor infrastructure
• Corruption
• Ill treatment of ethnic minorities (like of the Karen people)
• Stateless persons (government doesn’t recognize those of
certain ethnicities as citizens)
• Remaining border disputes
• Human trafficking
• drug trafficking

11. ECONOMICSECONOMICS
 Since transition to a civilian government in 2011,
Burma has been trying to attract foreign
investment and reintegrate into the global economy
 Economic sanctions by Western countries are
slowly being lifted as economic reforms are taking
place
 Foreign investment in the energy, garment,
information technology, and food and beverage
sectors have increased in the last few years because
of strategic location in Asia, young labor force, and
abundant natural resources

12. CurrencyCurrency
• Burmese kyat (Myanmar kyat)
• 1 US dollar= 1233.75 Burmese kyat (August 2015)

13. GENDER- ROLE OF GIRLS / BOYS –GENDER- ROLE OF GIRLS / BOYS –
MEN/WOMENMEN/WOMEN
• How is it growing up as boy or girl in family and
society
• Dress
• Gender rites / rituals
• Education- College-Grad
• At Work
• At Home
• Roles in Society

14. NATIONAL FESTIVALSNATIONAL FESTIVALS
• Manoa Festival in Myitkyina (Jan. 10)
• Anandar Pagoda Festival (Jan. 23-29)
• Thingyan New Year Festival (April 13-16)
• Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival (Oct. 5-22)
• Kyaukse Elephant Dance Festival (Oct. 18-19)
• Balloons Flying Festival (Nov. 12-17)
• Tazaungdaing Light Festival (Nov. 16-17)

15. Light Festival
New Year
Elephant Dance

16. Burmese FoodBurmese Food
• Ngapi- fermented fish or shrimp paste, used as a
condiment or mixed into a dish
• Mohinga-noodle soup from fish broth and chickpea flour
• Salads, but especially tea leaf salad
• Curries- much milder than those in Thailand or India
• All kinds of different street food
• Lots of tea
• Fresh fruit at the market, like dragonfruit
• Toddy palm sugar-sweet sap from certain palm tree
used to make candies

17. Mohinga Dragonfrui
Ngapi
Toddy Palm sugar candy

18. Traditional DanceTraditional Dance
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-x2wulxMEM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Bsp7rp9n4

19. TRADITIONAL CLOTHINGTRADITIONAL CLOTHING
• Traditional clothing worn by people throughout Burma
depends are the ethnic group they are part of because
the culture changes from group to group
Kachin Kayah Kayin Chin

20. Mon Bamar Rakhine Shan

21. EVERYDAY LIVINGEVERYDAY LIVING
• Typical Day- schedule
• A School Day/Week- 11-12yrs old
• Study-Homework
• Extracurriculars
• Family Life- traditional housing- extended family-
• Pets / Wildlife- Attractions to visit-amusement
parks-zoos-parks etc.

22. SIMILARITIES-DIFFERENCESSIMILARITIES-DIFFERENCES
• Wrap up with what they notice- similar their
country to us- different-
Future- Where do they see themselves- 5-10 years
from now
Why is the international exchange important to them
Conversation- what has the class learned from their
presentation- most surprising-

23. Fun FactsFun Facts
• Burma is one of the three countries in the world that has
still not fully adopted the metric system (along with USA
and Liberia)
• At least 90% of the population in Burma does not have a
surname (last name)
• The largest book in the world can be found in Burma
• Being heavier in weight is considered a sign of health in
Burma
• There is lots of superstition in Burma about cutting one’s
hair- no one gets their hair cut on Monday, Friday, or
their birthday

24. LINKSLINKS
• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geo
• http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/mm2.htm#
• http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12992883
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/28/burmese-food_n_60
• http://www.myanmar.cm/arts-literature/traditional-
costumes.html
• http://www.ohio.com/news/local/stores-in-north-hill-neighborho
• http://www.panoramicjourneys.com/burma-festivals.php