Laboratories are closed meetings for scholars to develop innovative cross-disciplinary plans, hence they are not open to the public. However, results will be presented during the final session.

The focus of the laboratory will be an interdisciplinary discussion towards creating a space of collaborative, engaged scholarship on the prospects for federal democracy in Myanmar. Special emphasis will be placed on shifting dynamics within and between different heterogenous groups and stakeholders in the county in the wake of the February 1, 2021, coup. The aim of this laboratory is to bring together scholars and scholar-activists conducting research with diverse groups in Myanmar, to facilitate ongoing engaged scholarly collaboration and the transfer of knowledge.

In the wake of the coup in Myanmar and the ongoing struggle for political legitimacy, the important political role of ethnic minorities and Indigenous groups, religious minorities, women, LGBTQ individuals, and other socially marginalized groups has come into clearer focus. The struggles and aims of these diverse and internally heterogenous groups are crucial
to the prospects for foraging federal democracy in Myanmar. The inclusion of perspectives and experiences from these groups is also a pressing issue for engaged research in Myanmar. As such, potential topics addressed in this laboratory include gender, religious groups and institutions, land and the environment, the peace process, ethnic armed organizations, civil society, young people, refugees and IDPs, military and police defections, humanitarian aid and
international development, border politics, COVID 19, and more.