Local Voices, Global Impact: Our Myanmar Researchers at GDC 2025

Researchers we’ve supported continue to take their work to global stages, shaping conversations and policy on digital rights and inclusion.

Three contributors to our Myanmar Digital Research (MDR) series—co-produced with IDRC-funded Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM)—are taking the stage this October 28-30 at the Global Development Conference 2025 (GDC 2025) in Clermont-Ferrand, France. This year’s event explores how inclusive digital transformation can drive equitable, sustainable development.

These researchers are part of a rising generation of analysts working under extraordinary constraints in and around Myanmar. Through the MDR series, they’ve delivered sharp, courageous insight into one of the world’s most digitally repressive and fast-changing environments. Now, they’re stepping onto a global platform to share what they’ve learned, and why it matters.

Here’s who they are—and what they’re bringing to the conversation:

• Htaike Htaike Aung, Director of  Myanmar Internet Project, speaks in Plenary Session 5: “Digital Sovereignty or Digital Imperialism: Power and Control in Our Digital Future. Htaike is one of Myanmar’s best recognized voices on digital inclusion, internet shutdowns, surveillance, and platform accountability. She co-authored “Fandom and Freedom Fighters” for MDR, exploring how online fan communities became fundraising forces for the post-coup resistance.
• Khin Nway Nway Hlaing will join Plenary Session 6: “Beyond Access: Achieving True Digital Equity and Inclusion for All.” As an analyst at the Myanmar Internet Project, Nway tracks digital repression, online harms, and platform accountability. She also serves on the independent National Youth Congress steering committee, advocating for youth participation in civic life. She co-authored “Fandom and Freedom Fighters“ with Htaike.
• Ei Shwe Sin Phyo speaks on a  panel exploring how digitalization is transforming research systems and their role in policy-making. A research fellow at the Center for Arakan Studies, she focuses on women’s rights, ethnic identity, and media resilience in Rakhine State. Her MDR contribution, “Fight for Survival,” documents how local media are adapting to survive censorship, surveillance, and internet blackouts.

Together, these researchers represent what the MDR series stands for: timely research that resists silence and guides practical responses. From platform accountability to grassroots media resilience, their work connects local struggles to global digital debates.

Their presence at GDC 2025 isn’t just a milestone. It’s a signal that researchers from fragile contexts are ready to shape international conversations about digital inclusion, power, and policy.

We’re proud to support them and to see their work resonate across borders.