Yangon, the former capital city of Myanmar and the seat of British colonial government, has some of the last standing colonial heritage in Asia. Emilie Röell inspires the audience with her talk about conserving heritage buildings and areas in Yangon as well as cleaning up the back alley streets of the city to build happier communities.

Emilie Röell is a development consultant and social entrepreneur based in Yangon since 2013. An anthropologist by training, she is interested in creating solutions that make use of and preserve cultural and natural capital while creating sustainable community impact. Emilie is the founder of Doh Eain (“Our Home”), a social enterprise aimed at heritage conservation and urban renewal, and of Yangon City Growers, an urban farming collective aimed at stimulating local and organic food production. She is the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network’s representative in Myanmar, and previously worked for the EU, UNDP, WWF, IUCN and a number of other organisations in Myanmar, the Pacific and Tanzania. She enjoys climbing, hiking, (motor)cycling and meditation. Emilie studied at Leiden University, University of California at Berkeley and University College Utrecht, holding Masters degrees in Anthropology, Philosophy and Religion Studies, and a Bachelor degree in Development Studies.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx