Speakers : Aw Pi Kyeh & Min Ko Naing

Sponsors include BADA, BAWA, Citizen of Burma Award, …

Date : September 15, 2018

Time : 5pm – 9+ pm

Place : Swiss Park, Newark, CA

Aw Pi Kyeh is from the Class of 81 and 82. As “Mann Bei”, he contributed and managed the RIT Cartoon Box. He served as Secretary of the RIT Cartoon Association. He spoke about “Made in Myanmar”. He pointed out that his dress sadly is made from neighboring countries. He lamented the loss of countless lives in Cyclone Nargis due to “insufficient knowledge” (e.g. about Disaster Recovery). His talk combines wit and philosophy.

During his study at Harvard, he proudly spent US$30 to buy a backpack labeled “Made in Myanmar”. His friend bought a similar backpack but labeled “Made in Sri Lanka”. The seam of his back pack broke after a week. Before his return to Myanmar, his friend gave him his backpack. He felt somewhat mad, but accepted it. He went on to use the backpack in Myanmar until it got discolored and his spouse asked him to stop using it. The message is that one not only needs Cetana but also the skills to provide “added advantage”. He gave examples of how others (nations and their companies) used our natural resources and our local talents to create products (and often sell them back at profit). He also requested those overseas to use “conversion” to understand the “thinking” of those living in Myanmar (possibly most of their lives) as a baby step to help making “Made in Myanmar” proud and reliable.