Guest contributor
Joseph Andersson
In the aftermath of the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, one young woman found herself among millions whose education and dreams were abruptly stolen.
Schools shut down, protests turned deadly, and an entire generation was left in limbo. As an aspiring artist, Saw Mary witnessed the junta’s brutal crackdown – one that forced her sister, a journalist reporting on the pro-democracy resistance, into exile.
Left behind in Yangon, Saw Mary clung to her sister’s reporting, igniting a desire to follow in her footsteps. She began working as a citizen journalist for DVB, and a year into the coup, Saw Mary made the same choice as her sister – she left.
Arriving in Chiang Mai, Thailand she was determined to turn her admiration for journalism into something real. That’s when she joined a Resilient Voices podcast training.
Saw Mary learned how to craft compelling stories, conduct post-production editing, and use her voice as a tool of resistance. Each episode she worked on brought her closer to her goal.
Fast forward to 2025, and she has completed three Resilient Voices training programs, including an advanced mentorship for podcasters.
Today, Saw Mary is no longer just an aspiring journalist – she is one. Working full-time for an exiled Myanmar media outlet, Saw Mary reports on the ongoing struggle for democracy while using her own podcast to raise awareness about mental health, a subject often overlooked in times of crisis.
“When I first joined the training, I didn’t have a job. I was very lost,” she said. “But through podcasting, I found my voice.”
“When people listen to something I create and tell me that it has benefited them, I feel empowered. My first podcast exposed a media outlet’s mistreatment of its employees, and it gained widespread attention,” she added.
“Podcasts have always been my source of inspiration. They were my way out of jobless and uncertain days, giving me the strength and opportunity to keep pursuing journalism.”
The Resilient Voices podcast was created to equip emerging pro-democracy activists with the technical skills and editorial guidance needed to produce their own stories of everyday resilience and resistance.
With multimedia production studios in Chiang Mai and Mae Sot, along the Thailand-Myanmar border, the podcast serves as both a training ground and a platform contributing to Myanmar’s critical discourse on human rights.
With the country’s long-standing tradition of relying on radio to receive uncensored news and information, podcasting is emerging as a similar tool for young people today – especially Generation Z who turn to podcasts as a way to access critical information.
Podcasting offers a relatively simple method, allowing one to record, edit, and share their stories with minimal resources. This makes it an ideal tool for Resilient Voices, where activists of all experience levels are trained to produce high-quality content.
The ability to share uncensored information securely through podcasts is particularly important given the challenges posed by internet shutdowns, censorship, and the difficulties older generations face in navigating Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
Despite these obstacles, a growing number of podcasts catered to a Myanmar language audience is emerging.
The Resilient Voices Podcast works with young and emerging pro-democracy activists; those who have lost access to formal education and careers due to the coup. Many of these young people in exile are searching for creative ways to contribute to the resistance movement.
Resilient Voices provides them with a platform to reclaim their voices, develop technical skills in audio-radio production, and amplify the voices of others in their communities who are resisting the regime.
Our three-month long training programs begin with lessons in scriptwriting, helping participants learn how to craft compelling narratives that resonate with listeners.
From there, they move on to the technical aspects of podcasting, including recording, interviewing, and post-production editing – skills that allow them to turn raw stories into polished, powerful episodes.
A key theme of the podcast is mental health awareness, an issue that remains critically underserved in Myanmar. The country’s mental health legislation is still governed by the 1912 Lunacy Act, a relic of the colonial era that has never been revised.
Deeply entrenched social stigma further compounds the problem as many repress their struggles rather than seek help.
Despite these barriers, interest in mental health has grown, particularly since the 2021 coup. Many young people in exile have begun taking short courses, but with no graduate-level programs in clinical psychology available in Burmese, professional training remains out of reach for most.
Recognising this gap, Resilient Voices is working to destigmatize mental health by fostering open conversations through podcasting. Our mental health awareness workshops, combined with hands-on guidance from trained Myanmar psychology practitioners, provide participants with both the knowledge and support they need.
As they create podcast episodes on mental health in the Burmese language, they receive mentorship, ensuring that they can address these topics with care, accuracy, and sensitivity.
For many producers, the experience of creating episodes on mental health is deeply personal, offering them a chance to process their own emotions while educating others.
A participant, who wanted to remain anonymous, from Season five shared that it was: “One of the most meaningful aspects was learning how to use podcasting as a medium to discuss child mental health. This is a topic that isn’t talked about enough in Myanmar, and I feel empowered knowing that my work can help raise awareness and spark important conversations.”
“The trainers guided me through scriptwriting and helped me adjust my tone of voice to make my delivery more effective. My fellow participants were also incredibly supportive, offering feedback and motivation throughout the process. Even after the training ended, we continued helping each other refine our work,” the anonymous participant added.
Trainers play a crucial role in guiding participants through the process, offering personalised feedback, technical support, and professional development.
One podcast trainer, who wanted to remain anonymous as well, said: “I was deeply moved by the resilience of the participants. An attendee had lost a family member just weeks before the workshop at the hands of the military, yet they still showed up, determined to share their story in their own podcast episode. It was a testament to their commitment to making a difference.”
“The participants’ curiosity about mental health, especially topics like trauma, sparked meaningful discussions. It became clear that they weren’t just there to learn technical skills; they were finding ways to use podcasting as a tool for healing and advocacy,” another trainer shared on the condition of anonymity.
Over the past seven seasons, Resilient Voices has focused on mental health advocacy, covering topics such as generational trauma, gender-based violence, self-care strategies, and the stigma surrounding psychosocial support. Beyond mental health, our episodes have also addressed critical human rights issues in Myanmar. Season four, for example, explored labour rights, civilian casualties from landmines, press freedom, and digital rights.
Until now, our content has been exclusively in the Burmese language, providing a vital resource for a Myanmar audience both inside and outside the country. However, with Season seven, we expanded our reach by producing nine episodes in English, ensuring that Myanmar’s struggles and stories remain part of the global conversation. By bringing these voices to an international audience, we aim to sustain awareness for the country’s ongoing fight for freedom.
The impact of Resilient Voices extends far beyond the podcast episodes themselves. By equipping young activists with the skills to tell their own stories, the initiative is not only amplifying unheard voices but also building a new generation of media makers committed to mental health and human rights advocacy.
Looking ahead, Resilient Voices aims to expand its reach by producing content in additional Myanmar languages, including Jinghpaw and S’gaw Karen. By increasing accessibility and distribution, the podcast will continue to bridge the gap between communities in exile and those inside Myanmar.
If you are interested to learn more, join us on the Resilient Voices Podcast, available on Spotify, SoundCloud, and YouTube, and connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.
If any of the episodes resonate with you, make sure to share it with others. Every voice amplified strengthens Myanmar’s next generation of storytellers and changemakers.
Joseph Andersson serves as the Studio Manager at Resilient Voices Podcast, where he oversees multimedia production, coordinates podcast training programs, and supports content development through technical skill-building and mentorship.
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