THE BURMA INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY & DEVELOPMENT (BIDD), founded in 2001, is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports Burma’s democracy movement by funding crucial democracy and human rights initiatives.

SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY

BIDD provides financial and organizational support to pro-democracy organizations, such as:

• NCUB, the National Council of the Union of Burma, unites a broad alliance of the most respected civic and ethnic groups on behalf of Burma’s democracy movement
• FTUB, the Federation of Trade Unions - Burma, works to restore democracy, human rights, and trade union rights
• MPU, the Members of the Parliament Union, established by representatives elected in Burma’s 1990 General Election, is mandated to form a provisional government in exile and continue the struggle for the restoration of democracy and human rights in Burma
• NLD-LA, the National League for Democracy - Liberated Area, supports and implements the mandates of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP)

VOICE OF STRUGGLE

BIDD provides the international community with current and critical information about the democracy movement and the atrocities committed by the junta.

STEPS TOWARD DEMOCRACY

BIDD funds key steps to strengthening the democratic process and promoting the human rights of the Burmese people.

1. Constitution Building
   The Federal Constitution Drafting and Consultation Committee created a Federal Constitution for the Union of Burma, adopted on January 4, 2007.
   • The Constitution is translated into Burma's eight major ethnic languages
   • All states and divisions of Burma are drafting complementary local constitutions


2. Education
   BIDD provides funding for quality primary education in Burma, among exiled children, and for children of migrant workers.
   • BIDD sponsors approximately 2,000 children and 600 teachers annually
   • BIDD provides education and training


3. Worker Rights, Organizing, & Youth Political Engagement & Programs
   Support includes critical resources and forums to advance democracy through intensive in-the-field worker rights training and organizing sessions for Burmese labor and democracy activists working inside Burma. These projects strengthen the non-violent resistance to the ruling junta. Program alumni advise senior officials of:
   • Permanent UN Missions
   • US Department of State
   • Global Foreign Ministries

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U Maung Maung, President

Maung Maung, BIDD President, is a world-recognized voice of Burma’s pro-democracy and free labor movement. He organized the Burma Miners Union and was one of the labor leaders in the 1988 protests against the Burmese junta.

As General Secretary of the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB), Maung Maung has built alliances with Burma’s ethnic minorities to adopt the Federal Constitution for a Democratic Government of Burma. The majority of the Members of Parliament elected in Burma’s 1990 General Election have signed and endorsed this constitution.

Maung Maung also serves as General Secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions - Burma (FTUB), which he founded in 1991. FTUB is a federation of free trade unions working to restore democracy and enforce labor rights in Burma.

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