About the university
The military coup on 1 February 2021 has severely disrupted Myanmar in all dimensions. Thousands of activists, youths, and politicians are detained, and no one is exempt from arbitrary arrests and human rights abuse by the junta. The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) has emerged as one of the most effective forefronts against the dictator. This non-violence initiative is led by government staff from education, healthcare, law, banking, infrastructure and telecoms who refuse to work under the regime and have risked their jobs and livelihoods to withstand the threats of the military council. The CDM activities reach far beyond the public servants, and encompass students refusing to go back to school, customers boycotting military-affiliated businesses, and the general public ignoring the decrees and orders by the military council. The CDM movement has been financially sustained by donations from the public and the Myanmar diaspora abroad. The contributions are still ongoing but appear to be in decline as the revolution drags on for months. Meanwhile, many youths in urban areas are turning to personal development schemes and still have a sizable amount of spending capacity. They have been, after all, disconnected from academics for over a year since the pandemic in 2020. Spring University Myanmar aims to establish a revenue model to bridge the current market demands in the education sector and the growing financial needs for the CDM support.
Objectives
Catalysing civic engagement and pro-democracy narratives
Fundraising for emergency response toward vulnerable communities
Offering alternative and vocational education for students
Granting economic opportunities for academics and young professionals