Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.)

Über uns

Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1991, in Shan State. Since then, it has been publishing reports and periodicals in Shan, Burmese, English, and Thai, featuring politics, literature, human rights reporting and opinion columns

S.H.A.N. also publishes Freedom Way, an annual journal; periodic magazines such as Outlook and Knowledge; Shan-language history, literature and civics textbooks; and booklets. It additionally maintains a web page on Shan State at www.shanland.org (English) and www.mongloi.org (Shan).

Project objectives:
• To provide accurate and reliable information to the Burmese, Shan, Thai and the international community about political, social and economic developments in Shan State and Burma, and about the efforts of pro-democracy, student, ethnic and labour organizations to promote peace and democracy in Burma.
• To promote increased understanding among Shan of human rights, democracy, federalism, and ethnic rights.
• To educate the Shan people about the cultural, historical and linguistic heritage of Shan State.

Project activities:
• S.H.A.N. writes, edits, publishes and distributes its newspaper, Independence, and distributes material about Shan State on its web page and by e-mail.
• Through a network of supporters and regular correspondence with readers inside Shan State, the S.H.A.N. staff collects news and photographs from inside Shan State on a regular basis. S.H.A.N. also dispatches field reporters to Shan State to cover specific issues when conditions permit and interviews people from Shan State when they arrive at the Thai-Burma and China-Burma borders. In addition, given the proximity to Shan State, S.H.A.N. is able to monitor the military junta’s radio broadcasts.
• S.H.A.N. makes a concerted effort to translate and print relevant articles in a number of different languages.
• The target audience includes Shans inside Burma who do not have access to information from sources other than the official Burmese state-run media; Shans living in Thailand and abroad; and Burmese-speaking readers inside and outside Burma. S.H.A.N. also seeks to reach English-speaking readers and Thai-speaking readers who are interested in the situation inside Shan State. The newspaper is distributed through a network of activists along the Thai-Burma and China-Burma borders. It is also sent by courier directly into Shan State, and distributed at Shan temples in Thailand. Finally, the newspaper is distributed to international NGOs and other interested parties. S.H.A.N. prints 3,000 copies per issue monthly.
• S.H.A.N. also publishes Salween Post in Thai language jointly with Salween News Network every month as well as a Weekly Diary News online and a monthly online newsletter. S.H.A.N. also maintains websites featuring information on Shan State, at www.shanland.org for English-language and www.mongloi.org for Shan-language.

Khuensai Jaiyen ist he Director and editor in chief of the "Shan Herald Agency for News“ (SHAN).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.