Myanmar’s youth face challenges amid conflict, Parami University offers hope through education

Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun, President of Parami University, delivering his talk at the NYSEAN Conference

On October 24, 2025, Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun, President of Parami University, gave a talk as a panelist at the NYSEAN Conference on Intellectual Freedom in Southeast Asia and the United States, a hybrid event held at New York University, where he talked about authoritarianism and threats to academic freedom.

In his discussion, Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun highlighted the devastating toll that Myanmar’s ongoing conflict has taken on education. “Hundreds of thousands of students have left universities in protest, and according to a recent UNDP report, three out of four young people aged 18 to 24 are no longer in school or training,” he noted. He added that Myanmar’s Academic Freedom Index has plummeted, placing the country among the lowest in the world, just above North Korea and Nicaragua. “These trends point to a generation at risk of losing access to meaningful education and skills development,” he said.

He also shared a reflection on his return to Myanmar in 2014 after completing his Ph.D. in the United States and Parami’s initial plan to establish a residential campus in Myanmar. “Myanmar was hopeful. You could feel hope in every corner of the street,” he recalled.

Due to the political unrest that began in February 2021, Parami transitioned to an online institution, emphasizing youth empowerment through liberal arts education. Amid these challenges, Parami University has become a beacon of hope for displaced and marginalized students. Serving more than 300 undergraduates, the university combines advanced online learning technologies, strong local partnerships, and a network of international collaborators to deliver quality higher education. Its mission demonstrates that even in times of crisis, opportunities for learning, growth, and empowerment can continue to thrive.

Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun concluded his talk with a hopeful message: “I am hoping that in the next 20 years, the president or prime minister—or whoever they are—or a parliamentarian of the future democratic Burma, will come out of Parami University to help shape the future of Myanmar.”

Alongside Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun, the event featured other distinguished panelists, including leading scholars, activists, and policymakers from across Southeast Asia and the United States. Among them were Leon Botstein of Bard College (Parami’s partner institution); Bencharat Sae Chua from the Southeast Asia Coalition on Academic Freedom; Rachel Cooper of the Asia Society; Jonathan Friedman from PEN America’s Free Expression Program; Sol Iglesias from the University of the Philippines – Diliman; Pita Limjaroenrat, a senior fellow at Harvard University and former leader of Thailand’s Move Forward Party; Tom Pepinsky of Cornell University; Asli Peker of New York University; Kenneth Roth of Princeton University and former head of Human Rights Watch; Ashutosh Varshney of Brown University; and Herlambang Wiratraman of Gadjah Mada University.