The International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies was first organized in July 2015 at Chiang Mai University in collaboration with the University of Mandalay and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in Leiden, The Netherlands. ICBMS was attended by 543 participants from 29 countries, with 48 sessions of paper presentation and 7 roundtables. The conference brought together scholars, researchers, journalists, NGO workers and observers from Burma/Myanmar, as well as from around the world to engage in discussion on Myanmar’s transition.
It was agreed that ICBMS will be organized every two years, with Chiang Mai University and the University of Mandalay taking turn as the host of the conference, and with the possibility of extending collaboration with other universities in both Myanmar and Thailand. ICBMS2 will be held in Mandalay 16-18 February 2018, hosted by the University of Mandalay. ICBMS is expected to be organized in Chiang Mai in 2019.