Drum Activities

Educational materials
Drum publishes a wide variety of educational materials in Sgaw Karen and Burmese languages suitable for all ages from pre-school to vocational training level. Along with more general topics, special emphasis is placed on producing publications which include traditional knowledge and cultural aspects. The current catalogue contains over 200 publications.

Story Writing Competitions
With the aim of promoting creative writing skills and to give the opportunity for local authors to publish their stories, Drum conducts annual story writing competitions for Karen students and adults in and around the Thai - Burmese border refugee camps. Award certificates and small gifts are presented to the winning authors and their stories are published in small books and distributed to all camp schools, libraries and centers of education.  

Bilingual Dictionary Development
An all new English - Sgaw Karen Dictionary is currently being developed which will include over 25,000 English head words with their translations and or definition in Sgaw Karen. Upon completion it will be the largest dictionary of its kind every produced.

Resource Center
Drum maintains a resource center where valuable books and documents concerning Burma and its ethnic minorities are preserved. These resources are available to all interested in researching the history or current affairs of the area.

Drum Translation Service
With the goal of assisting other humanitarian organization to produce educational materials and to generate income to help fund Drum Publication Group, Drum Translation Service (DTS) was formed. DTS provides assistance in translating English, Burmese and Sgaw Karen languages as well as in type setting and printing materials. All proceeds from the services provided go towards helping to fund the Drum Publication Group.

Mission Statement

The Drum Publication Group was founded in May 1998.  The goal of the Drum Publication Group is to promote literature in both Karen and Burmese languages with the overall objectives of developing education for Burmese people wherever they might reside.

The Group wishes to establish contact with as many other groups and individuals as possible who are involved in literature and education, and to be involved in all aspects of literacy development and the ensuing work of printing suitable books and teaching aids.  As well as translation and typesetting we would like to assist those NGOs involve in education work at all stages.  

The Group will promote, through its own practice, transparency and accountability, in all dealings.  The Group is not affiliated with any political or religious organization and stands for racial and sexual equality. The main aims and objectives of the Drum publication Group are:

To preserve and promote the linguistic forms of the Karen and other indigenous peoples of Burma while promoting national, second languages through publishing and disseminating educational materials.

• To document traditional knowledge, practices and cultural forms of expression of the Karen people.
• To promote the empowerment of the Karen people to contribute towards maintaining, protecting and developing manifestations of their culture, language and literature.
• To assist organizations working for the benefit of the Karen people by providing translation and type-setting services.
• To maintain a library and documentation center to preserve valuable books and documents relating to Burma and its' indigenous peoples.

A catalogue of our publications is available on this web site. Publications are distributed at cost price, or less, to groups and individuals involved in formal or non-formal education or training. Those ordering large numbers of books as well as overseas institutes are requested to pay the full cost of the order plus postage costs