Training the parliamentary visitor service in Myanmar

Eighteen months after his first visit there, Frank Burgdörfer again conducted trainings at the parliament of Myanmar in Naypyidaw. First he had a chance to find out how the role play game designed last time has been implemented. In several workshops with the parliamentary staff, possible improvements, variations and adaptations to different target groups were discussed.

Afterwards, Frank Burgdörfer coached the tour guides of the visitors’ service. Most essential topics were here how to not only present factual information but achieve a better understanding of parliamentary concepts and procedures, how to address different kinds of visitor groups in the best way possible and how to improve the procedures of the visitor service in the best way possible. The last part of his visits were meetings with the heads of the parliamentary administrations together with the local representative of the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation.

The biggest challenge here was to transfer knowledge and experience from a European context into the completely different situation of a rather newly established parliament operating in a surrounding characterized by a politically difficult situation, the absence of parliamentary experience, a lack of civic education, and the strong involvement of the army in all political matters.