Looking understandably fatigued, 21 Young Leaders from Burma filed through DFW airport’s International Arrivals gate after a 14,000-mile journey from Burma, also known as Myanmar. As we greeted them, their faces lit up with contagious grins and excitement replaced weariness. The Bush Institute’s newest Liberty and Leadership Forum class had arrived in Dallas.
President and Mrs. Bush welcomed the Young Leaders and offered encouragement saying, “Here’s what’s exciting: a group of leaders can change a country. Through the Liberty and Leadership Forum, we want to provide you with the tools that will help you be agents of change.” In doing so, President Bush observed that their “great country could be a beacon” to others struggling for freedom.
These Young Leaders grew up in a place dominated for five decades by a totalitarian junta. Today, they are part of Burma’s historic transition toward democracy.
It was only last year that the pro-democracy National League for Democracy, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, swept the country’s first national elections to occur in decades.
Burma’s future pivots on the decisions Young Leaders like these will take. Among them is a new Member of Parliament, a journalist, a former political prisoner, several medical doctors, civil society activists, and other forward-leaning men and women who are trailblazers for Burmese democracy.
While the Young Leaders recognize their country’s journey is far from over, they have an opportunity to help build a free society that respects the universal freedoms of all people. No wonder they’re filled with such excitement.
Learn more about the Young Leaders of the Liberty and Leadership Forum here. Meet the 2016-2017 Young Leaders:
