I write this letter – as a proud founder, current Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director of Mizzima – to our readers, audiences, those who consistently lend their support to Mizzima and to those who can contribute to and further help Mizzima.
Mizzima originated in the mind of a Myanmar refugee while living in New Delhi, India in 1998 with the intention of founding an independent media outlet for the people in Myanmar who were at the time under complete censorship and in a media Dark Age. Today, Mizzima is 21 years old.
We named our media house ‘Mizzima’ as we liked the idea of being free from extremes, while espousing an independent and impartial media.
After the political landscape started to change in Myanmar, we returned to our country in early 2012 where we established Mizzima Media Company as a registered entity, the first exile media group to do so, with the intention of continuing our pursuit of free and independent media.
Backed by our motto of ‘Free, Fair and Responsible’, Mizzima has since expanded our media services to include an English magazine, mobile phone news service, Facebook page and Free-to-Air Mizzima Digital TV Channel. These are in addition to our original Myanmar and English websites.
As we have expanded our media services, the staff of Mizzima has also expanded. From just below 30 staff in 2010, Mizzima has now become a well-established media house with over 100 staff working in our news room; over 50 percent of whom are youth between the ages of 20 and 30, with most leading staff under the age of 40.
However, along with our growth and many successes, we have encountered difficulties, including when it comes to maintaining our Yangon headquarters. Currently, we rent our Mizzima Yangon Office with the yearly increase of 15% for rent. As a result, we are in need of our own premises and building with a long-term permanent address to overcome the strains of rising costs in general expenses, frequent and long power outages and huge burden of rent.
To meet this challenge, we will soon start our ‘Mizzima Key Campaign’ to assist in securing the requisite funding to acquire a new Mizzima headquarters.
Own a Key to independent media
We would like to offer our staff, those who support our beliefs in media, our readers, Mizzima TV audiences, people throughout Myanmar and those from around the world a chance to demonstrate their support for Mizzima Media by buying Mizzima Keys.
We will engrave the name of the buyer on each Key. And each buyer can keep their original Key, while a duplicate Key will hang at the impressive new Mizzima Media building. With money raised through this crowd funding effort we will secure our new Mizzima office building in Yangon where Mizzima staff will work and our Mizzima readers and audiences can visit.
- Objective – To buy a plot and build the Mizzima Yangon office on it
- Required funds – 750 million kyats (US$ 500,000)
- Fund raising period – June 21, 2019 to June 21, 2020
- Name of Campaign – Mizzima Key Campaign
- Motto – Own the Key to Independent Media
- Individual Contribution Type A – 30,000 kyats (US$ 20)
- Individual Contribution Type B – 75,000 kyats (US$ 50)
- Individual Contribution Type C – 150,000 kyats (US$ 100)
- Institutional Contribution Type A – 750,000 kyats (US$ 500)
- Institutional Contribution Type B – 1,500,000 kyats (US$ 1,000)
- Institutional Contribution Type C – 3,000,000 kyats (US$ 2,000)
Currently, Mizzima staff, their friends and relatives have already bought (83) Keys and have contributed (3,930,000) in Myanmar kyats. Their names and other details can be seen on our website.
I would now like to briefly elaborate as to why we chose Key as our fund-raising theme. Key is a sign of luck and carries many meanings and is very important. For starters, Key is an icon for freedom and liberty. Moreover, you can’t enter your house without a Key to it, let alone build a house and a family without a Key. You can’t start the engine of your car if you don’t have a Key, while a safe also requires a Key for opening. Further, Key represents knowledge, curiosity and bravery. And you also need a Key for success, while lovers show their integrity and loyalty by exchanging Keys. Finally, and crucially for Mizzima, language is the Key to the heart of people.
So, let me conclude by requesting our readers and audiences to show your much-appreciated continued support for Mizzima and our work through the purchase of as many Keys as possible. I thank you in advance and look forward to seeing you next week!
For contact and further details
Email – [email protected]
Mobile – +95 – 942 1010 100
Website – http://building.mizzimafoundation.org
