#LIFTLearning: LIFT invites partners and interested parties to the launch event of two new studies, developed in hand with the World Bank:
Livelihoods and Social Change in Myanmar : QSEM Series Round Five Report
A Country on the Move: Domestic Migration in Two Regions of Myanmar
Main authors Andrea Woodhouse and Matthew Zurstrassen will present findings and invite your questions at a #LIFTLearning event on Monday January 25th, at the Summit Parkview Hotel:
Date: Monday 25th January
Venue: Summit Parkview hotel ballroom
Time: (8:30 registration)
9:00 – 10:30 QSEM Report Round Five launch
11:00 – 13:00 Country on the Move launch, with panel discussion
RSVP: Attendance to the event is strictly by RSVP to Ma Saw Yu Nwe : sawn@unops.org by close of business on Tuesday January 12th
The QSEM Report is the fifth in a series looking into social change at village level, and investigating the causes and implications of that change.
A Country on the Move: Domestic Migration in Two Regions of Myanmar is a thematic study arising from the QSEM series. The reforms in Myanmar since 2011 have led the country into a period of significant economic growth, with many job opportunities being created in urban areas. Add to this the easing of restrictions on the news media and the falling cost of sim cards and mobile phones, allowing more freedom of expression and cheaper and easier communication among the public. These factors have led to new opportunities to work in urban areas, attracting rural people, who currently make up nearly three-quarters of the country’s population.
The draw of jobs in urban areas is having a significant effect on labour forces and the lifestyles of rural people, particularly on landless people and land-poor workers. Traditional and historical patterns of rural-rural migration for farm employment in neighbouring villages are starting to change. In place of short-term labour migration, a trend of longer-term and even permanent rural-urban migration has emerged.
These changes pose both opportunities and threats. The risks include the short-term effects of failed migration attempts, and adverse effects on the socio-economic development of rural areas in longer-term. Improving the risk coping strategies of potential migrants is crucial.
As part of the ‘stepping out’ component of the LIFT strategy, LIFT has partnered with the World Bank to study why and how people migrate. A Country on the Move provides insights that can lead to safer migration and more informed choices around migration for prospective migrants.
Using a mixed-method approach, the study identifies the patterns, dynamics and motivations for internal migration in and from the Ayeyarwady and Magway Regions of Myanmar. It also seeks to understand the relationship of internal migration with rural labour markets and the social fabric of sending communities.
The study focuses on:
• The role and importance of migration for livelihoods among both landless and smallholder farming households
• How to best support landless and land-poor households to make migration safer, and with other livelihoods means
• The links between migration and social and economic dynamics in sending villages
We look forward to discussing the main findings from QSEM 5 and A Country on the Move with you at the launch event.
