New Karen Community Radio Station Launched in Melbourne

A new weekly current affairs program in Karen language is now available each Wednesday morning, 7am - 8pm Australian local time. Click here to listen now!

Listening to Voices from Inside: Ethnic People Speak

This insightful new study published by the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies showcases the voices of the people of Burma from civil society, and of different ethnic groups, who are rarely heard. Available to download here

New Karen Language Pages Added

New Karen language version web pages are being added to the Drum web site. For the first time ever, Karen language text, (not images of text) is available on a web site without the need for Karen fonts installed. This new method will allow Karen language to be viewed from any PC, the text can be copied and pasted and the content of every page will even show results from internet search engines. To view the Karen language version pages, click on the Karen flag icon at the bottom right corner of a page.

*Please note that due to these changes the web site will be temporarily under reconstruct. Please report any bad links or problems here

Drum On-line Book Store

New Sgaw Karen Language titles have been added to the Group's on-line bookstore. Click on the icon above to visit our storefront and remember to check back often as new books are being added regularly. The gift of a Drum publication makes for a perfect present for your Karen friends and also helps to support those Karen back home as all proceeds from their sale go towards supporting Karen community based projects.

Karen Language Ebooks

An ebook reader has been added to the Drum site which will allow visitors read Drum materials on-line or preview them prior to downloading. Visit the download page or click on the book icon to see an example:

Results of the Recent Drum Opinion Poll : "Would you recommend resettlement to a third country?" 75% Yes, 25% No

In the most recent Drum Opinion Poll, visitors were asked: "Would you recommend resettlement to a third country?" Of the 102 replies 75% said Yes, they would; 25% said No, they wouldn't. 19 of those taking part were from Thailand, 2 from Burma and the remain 81 were from resettlement countries

Please take a moment and visit our homepage to give us your opinion in our current poll: "Do you think efforts to preserve Karen culture are working?"

Dictionary of the Sgaw Karen Language: published in 1896 now available on line

Drum has recently added a searchable copy of the Dictionary of the Sgaw Karen Language: complied by Rev. J. Wade, published in 1896 to this web site. It is now available for viewing on line HERE.

Additional head words added to the on line Dictionary
As part of our on going development of our English - Sgaw Karen Dictionary, over 800 new English head words were recently added to our on-line dictionary database. Many of these new entries include an English definition as well as the Karen translation. Drum would like to thank all those who assisted with the editing of these new words and to ask those knowledgeable in Karen language to help us by joining our network of Karen editors from around the world. For more information on how you can help, please contact us

Revised and expanded links page
Drum has recently revised the links page of this web site to include many new links to sites and information on the people of Burma. Please take a moment to view this new page and any comments or suggestions for additional links would be welcomed.

Writers needed for the Drum English  Sgaw Karen On-line Dictionary Database
The purpose of the Drum dictionary database is to establish the means by which Karen communities and individuals around the world can contribute towards the preservation and development of the Sgaw Karen language through the internet in cooperation with the Drum Publication Group and other community based organizations in Thailand.
Those knowledgeable in Sgaw Karen and English wishing to contribute to this project are encouraged to contact Drum and join our team of Writers which will work together to expand and develop English  Karen bi-lingual dictionaries.
This database will allow Writers to:

• Conduct more detailed dictionary database searches
• Add new entries to the on-line English  Sgaw Karen Dictionary
• Edit existing entries
• Be assigned lists of suggested new entries for editing and comments

Those interested in becoming a Writer, contact Drum here

Drum on line survey

To assist in evaluating this web site, please take a moment to complete our short on line survey here

Launch of a new Burmese language Youth News TV program

The Democratic Voice of Burma recently launched a Burmese language weekly news program targeting kids10 - 15 years old. More information can be found on the lastest Burma news video page of this site or see the programs on line here

Letter From Rangoon; Drowning

An informative article on the situation in Burma from THE NEW YORKER, August 25, 2008 available on line here

New Video Web Pages

New pages have been added to the Drum site which includes a collection of videos highlighting the current situation in Eastern Burma and a collection of Karen music videos. Click here to learn more.

More audio files from the English - Sgaw Karen Picture Dictionary

Hear both the English and Karen pronounciation of selected word lists from the Drum Picture Dictionary here.

New Pronounciation Guide for Transliterated Sgaw Karen available here

Drum's 10th anniversary: May 28th, 2008

May, 2008 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Drum Publication Group. Over the last decade, over 180 publications have been produced and the group would like to take this opportunity thank all those who have contributed to these works. We would also like to thank all donors and individuals who have provided financial support making this work possible. Ten years and the beat goes on.

New on-line interpreter service now available

An on-line interpreter service for English, Sgaw Karen and Burmese languages is the latest addtion to our site. In recent months, Drum has had numerous requests from social workers, teachers and volunteers working to assist the recently resettled refugees in third countries for assistance in finding interpreters. Using Skype, the free PC to PC telephone service, those needing an interpreter can now speak to a member of Drum free of charge from anywhere with internet access.

How you can help!!

With the assistance of our partner organization Drum Education and Cultural Heritage Outreach (Drum ECHO), we are now able to receive online donations using Paypal, a confidential, secure and encrypted payment service that enables you to use your credit card to make a donation straight into our account. All donations are tax deductable in the US and Canada with an emailed receipt provided for tax purposes.

Please help support the ongoing work of the Drum Publication Group by making an online donation. Any amount, however large or small, provides vital support to our work. All the money we receive goes directly to furthering our activites and projects.

Information for donor organizations interested in supporting the work of Drum is now available here

To all translators

Drum is ever working at increasing the number of words in our on-line English - Karen Dictionary. This is a huge and on going task which is a real challenge for our small team. The current dictionary contains approximately 7,000 English head words and the Group is working to increase this to over 20,000 words and could use your help. We are seeking the assistance of translators and native speakers of Sgaw Karen to comment on and make suggests for our expanded word lists. If you would like to help, please contact us via email.

Drum ECHO

To help raise support for the work of Drum and our partner organizations, members of the Drum Publication Group have recently established Drum Education and Cultural Heritage Outreach, Inc., (Drum ECHO). Drum ECHO is a registered 501(c)(3) tax exempt charity in the USA and will work to provide financial and technical support to community based organization working for the benefit of the displaced peoples of Burma. A new website has been established at www.drumecho.org andprovides the means to make online, tax deductable donations toward our work. Feel free to contact us for more information.

New Publications

The Drum team has added several new publications recently which include a collection of Traditional Karen Folklore, the Karen translation of George Orwell's classic Animal Farm and the first of its kind Eastern Pwo Karen Alphabet teaching aid poster. The Group is also proud of the latest health education materials including the widely aclaimed Fact for Life book which is available in both Karen and Burmese. These titles are now available from our download page.

Your comments on existing publications or suggestions for new publications are always appreciated and can be sent by the following contact us link.

Also, be sure to check out the latest edition of our quarterly newletter for children, "Drum Kids" which is now available from our download page.