At this very minute, students in Myanmar are deprived of learning opportunities. Public education was suspended due to military coups and civil disobedience. Myanmarese students’ right to education is being violated, and this situation has continued since February this year. As such, JBNU students stood up for this situation; they decided to establish the ‘Wild Grass Online School’ to return lost learning opportunities to Myanmarese students.

JBNU Globe met three Global Eco Vision executives, who played a leading role in the establishment of the online school: Kim Hye-won, the head executive, Jo Su-min, the business team leader, and Joe Yoon-ju, the promotion team member.

About Global Eco Vision
Founded in 2014, Global Eco Vision is Jeollabuk-do’s only NGO(Non-governmental Organization) for international development cooperation. It carries out various international relief and development projects to create a better world. It has the hope of giving a vision to an ecosystem for the global community.

The executive, consisting of JBNU students, is divided into three teams; the business team, the fundraising team, and the promotion team. All three teams are needed to complete one project.

Support from South Korea to ‘MyanMAR’
Kim Hye-won, the head executive, mentioned ‘MyanMAR; Move’ as the most memorable activity she had done at Global Eco Vision. ‘MyanMAR’ is a support program for Myanmar people hosted by Global Eco Vision, JBNU Sustainable Development Center, and the Myanmarese international student solidarity ‘Myanmar’s Spring’. It was conducted in three stages: Move, Act, and Result. Among them, ‘Move’ was a talk show event designed to express that Korea is supporting Myanmar’s struggle for democratization. The event was held on July 30th through an online Zoom meeting. Kim said it was a meaningful experience to communicate with people outside of the Global Eco Vision through this event.

Jo Su-min, the business team leader, said that for her, ‘MyanMAR; Act’ was the most impressive activity. Through ‘Act’, the executives further embodied the discourse from the ‘Move’ talk show and carried out campaigns that could actually help people in Myanmar. As part of this, they held a fundraising event to buy masks at the old main entrance of JBNU. This event was exceptionally successful as not only did JBNU students participate, but also faculty members and nearby high school students actively joined in as well. As a result, the donated masks have been delivered to Myanmar to aid people living there.

The ‘MyanMAR’ project came to an end on August 27th, through a briefing session ‘Report’ held in real time through Zoom. At this briefing session, they had time to report the activities of ‘Move’ and ‘Act’ and to discuss what they could do for Myanmar from there on.

Get Over Harsh Wild Grass and Move Forward
Joe Yoon-ju, the promotion team-member, pointed out that the establishment of the ‘Wild Grass Online School’ was the most meaningful activity.

Through the aforementioned ‘MyanMAR; Move’ talk-show, they came to think that it was also important to restore Myanmar’s currently suspended public services (due to the military coups) as well as provide physical aid that is desperately needed. With teachers and students in Myanmar refusing to go to school, as part of the civil disobedience movement, a platform to give and take classes at home was in dire need. Therefore, to prevent an educational deficit among Myanmarese students, Global Eco Vision devised an online school for them.

The ‘Wild Grass Online School’, created by the Global Eco Vision executives, is operated through two platforms; Youtube and Facebook. The executives of Global Eco Vision edit the lecture videos that are recorded by local teachers in Myanmar, and then upload them onto the platforms.

Even though the school is not yet a big hit in Myanmar due to a lack of promotion, the executives say it has achieved its purpose, even if just one student has found it helpful. In addition, the online school is trying to help maintain the livelihoods of Myanmarese teachers who had been dismissed by the military, by utilizing their educational capabilities and providing them with financial payment in return. “We hope our online school will be come more and more useful in Myanmar in the future,” said the executives.
 

The executives also feel that they have expanded their perspectives through the Global Eco Vision projects. “It may be considered too obvious an answer, but I think Global Eco Vision covers almost every field, including the environment, community, human rights, education, etc. (therefore it has actually broadened my horizon.)”

Global Eco Vision is planning to carry out a *crowdfunding campaign to further revitalize the online school in Myanmar. In addition, Global Eco Vision is facing a new wind of change, as the second generation of members was recruited last September. Together, they will help map out various new projects and try to become the NGO that supports the global community.

*crowdfunding: the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people

Kim Eun-ji Reporter Photograph by Lee Won-Jun