Open Mic: First in Myanmar to Voice Your Story

Call Me Today, together with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, organized the Open Mic program with the aim of raising awareness in mental health and social issues along with mental health cares. At Open Mic, we welcomed everyone to share their overcome stories of their traumatic memories to the public. Open Mic has welcomed speakers from following topics; handling stress after a traumatic event; addressing a social barrier and how you came out of your comfort zone to overcome it; stereotypes and supportive system in families; gender-based violence and discrimination in families; women to women support.

The Open Mic final event was held on October 23 at the Auditorium of Goethe Institut, Yangon. At the event, eight speakers personally shared their stories with the audience while one of them joined virtually and recounted his story through Zoom call. It was evident that the stories of Open Mic speakers struck a chord with the audience and touched them deeply.

The Open Mic program is intended to give the message to the public “we are not alone in these hardships” with the stories of those who have overcome life challenges and obstacles. We are happy to say that we have successfully achieved the goal. Even though it is hard to break the social norms and community stereotypes, we are on the track to tackle these social issues by giving a voice to the stories that would not reach the public otherwise. Call Me Today is proud to have a collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Myanmar for the Open Mic program which brings the community together to address mental health stigmas. We are certain that the Open Mic will create a ripple effect on the society.

We are to inform, inspire, de-stigmatize and encourage putting mental well-being at the forefront and we are very excited to share these moving stories from Open Mic stage with you.