Starting at the end of January 2010, U Maung Maung Soe, a professional photographer based in Rangoon, will commence leading a highly unorthodox style photography training in the city. The course, which will merely be titled “Photo Training”, is free, and open to interested youth throughout the whole of Burma.

Attendees will ideally gain the skills necessary to work in news agencies as photojournalists, or as private photographers.

U Maung Muang Soe informed IMNA that admittance to the training program hinges upon age rather than educational level. Only students between the ages of 18 and 30 years old will be allowed to participate; he indicated that he felt that individuals over 30 would be more likely to attend the program for the training’s economic, rather than scholastic, benefits.

“Why do I want to open this training? The main goal is that youths who are interested in photography can find jobs [in the field]. The trainees can own photograph shops, and they can focus their minds on a job they like, instead of on less important things.”

In early January 2010, U Muang Muang Soe was contacted by over 10 individuals interested in the training, but unfortunately was only able to accept students capable of purchasing their own cameras; high-quality cameras can cost upwards of 500,000 kyat apiece in Burma. Currently, 6 students are confirmed members of the training session, although U Muang Muan Soe informed IMNA that he will accept as many as 20. The training’s length has deliberately not been set; U Muang Muan Soe explained that he will end the course when his students become proficient in photography.

“I will never teach in the classroom, I will teach in the outside, and I will be practical, for example, we will shoot at the parks and at the Kandawgyi lakes. The students will flower under me and learn from me, if they are proficient and finish the training, I will not prohibit them from being any kind of photographer when they are finished,” he informed IMNA.

In an article published by the Burmese news source Khitlunge on January 5th, U Muang Muang Soe explained “when the training is finished we will organize a photo agency [from the trainees], and when there is a graduation party, a wedding party, a reception party, a birthday party and or any other party, people can contract this photo agency for pictures [of the event]”.

Ultimately, U Muang Muane Soe hopes that an agency created from former trainees might be able to fund the purchase of cameras for future trainings, thus opening up the sessions to individuals unable to handle the cost of purchasing their own equipment.

“While at present those who are interested photographs but can’t buy cameras cannot attend, in the future maybe this agency can help these students, and they can be accepted as new students in the course,” U Maung Maung Soe told IMNA.

U Muang Muang Soe is currently funding the entire 2010 training himself – he informed IMNA that he was not relying on program donors. His hope is that future trainees can become involved in journalism, news agencies, or private photography studios.

This training emerges at a time when Burma is relying more and more on private media as sources for information. In an article published on November 10th, 2009, by The New Mandala, Burma’s private local media industry was quoted as employing upwards of 10,000 individuals, and remains one of the countries few growing industries. In a heavily monitored and increasingly censored society ( the article in question pointed to Burma’s recent ranking of 5th worst in the Reporters without Borders “press freedom index”), training programs like U Muang Muang Soe’s contribute to the growth of an increasingly skilled, and increasingly restive, population of private journalist and photographers within Burmese society.