In this Alumni Spotlight we talk to Khin Khin Mra, who studied with us back in 2010, when she was a programme officer for ActionAid Myanmar. As a consultant on gender and governance, Khin Khin now works on national strategies to promote gender equality and social inclusion.
What did you study with CIDT?
I was awarded the Chevening Fellowship for studies in ‘Government Relations with NGOs and Civil Society’ at the University of Wolverhampton in the UK. The Chevening Fellowship Course took place from 11 January to 1 April 2010.
How did this course make an impact on you?
I got a chance to learn about social exculsion and how community engagement strategies worked in practice in the deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. This is the place where I really learnt to see things critically and understand how different perspectives work on social inclusion. These have become critical aspects of my work on inclusion in governance in Myanmar.
“I can’t believe that the relationship I built with CIDT ten years ago is still going well which makes me professionally resourceful and personally fulfilled connected to people I can rely on.”
Where are you now in your career?
I am currently working as a consulant on gender and governance. I worked as a National Consultant to the Department of Social Welfare, at the Ministry of Social Welfare Relief and Resettlement in Myanmar for 17 months, influencing Gender Strategy implementation and acting as a critical bridge between government, donors and civil society. I have worked with UNESCO and the Ministry of Education to ensure gender equality within reforms for pre-service teacher education and with DFID’s Centre for Good Governance programme.
I have also worked to ensure local governance policies and systems in conflict affected areas are more inclusive of women and other excluded social groups. At the same time, I contributed to evaluation projects in Myanmar for international donors such as UNFPA, UNTF, USAID and the European Union.
Years of experience with different agencies have enabled me to leverage the important interplay between international and national commitments, and research and practice as it relates to women’s rights, gender equality, local governance and development issues. This provides me with an excellent background to understand the links between the needs of communities and the legislative and policy frameworks. As one example, I contributed to work on the development and implementation of the government’s ‘National Strategic Plan on the Advancement of Women’.
You can read the following articles by Khin Khin online:
