About me
I studied mechatronics. I ended up keeping children's voices alive through a civil war, a communications blackout, and an earthquake.
The path wasn't straight. In 2013, while studying engineering at Yangon Technological University, I founded the university's first-ever student union and served as its first president. Building something from nothing, making institutional voices legible to real people — that turned out to be better training for leadership and communications than any curriculum could offer.
I joined UNICEF's youth engagement platform U-Report in 2017 as a Partnership Focal Person — mobilising youth voices across conflict-affected regions, building partnerships with over 20 organisations, and eventually managing a platform of 50,000+ users as Youth Engagement Consultant from 2019. In December 2021, with the country a year into military rule, I moved into a core communications role as Communications Officer — fixed-term UN staff.
Doing communications in Myanmar since then means navigating three forces simultaneously: access constraints, a deeply polarised media landscape, and an ongoing social media ban — in a country where Facebook was the internet for most people.
What this environment taught me is how to move carefully and still move fast. How to build trust across fractured institutions. How to find the story when the story is actively being suppressed.
None of that stopped UNICEF Myanmar from reaching 16.9 million people on social media in 2025.
AI tools are reshaping the communications landscape faster than most organisations can track. I've watched it happen in conflict environments — narratives engineered at scale, misinformation amplified algorithmically.
The Chevening Scholarship gave me the space to go deeper. I went to Sussex to study Strategic Innovation Management — how organisations create, resist, and scale change. What I found was that AI had become the defining challenge of that question, and most institutions were navigating it without a map. My dissertation examined how Microsoft and Alphabet use corporate venture capital to shape the AI sector — it gave me a framework for thinking about AI not just technically, but structurally: who builds the infrastructure, who sets the agenda, and what that means for the rest of us.
Founded YTU Student Union
University's first-ever student union. Elected first president.
U-Report Partnership Officer
Mobilised youth voices across conflict-affected regions. Built partnerships with 20+ organisations.
Youth Engagement Consultant
Managed U-Report platform (50K+ users), RapidPro operations, and stakeholder engagement.
Communications Officer
Fixed-term UN staff. Navigating communications through conflict, blackouts, and civil war.
Chevening Scholar
MSc Strategic Innovation Management, University of Sussex — Distinction
Earthquake response
First UN agency to report on social media. Field video published in under 48 hours.
AI ethics & next chapter
Studying AI ethics. Looking for where these skills travel next.
Founded YTU Student Union
University's first-ever student union. Elected first president.
U-Report Partnership Officer
Mobilised youth voices across conflict-affected regions. Built partnerships with 20+ organisations.
Youth Engagement Consultant
Managed U-Report platform (50K+ users), RapidPro operations, and stakeholder engagement.
Communications Officer
Fixed-term UN staff. Navigating communications through conflict, blackouts, and civil war.
Chevening Scholar
MSc Strategic Innovation Management, University of Sussex — Distinction
Earthquake response
First UN agency to report on social media. Field video published in under 48 hours.
AI ethics & next chapter
Studying AI ethics. Looking for where these skills travel next.
I'm a Gen Z professional who has lived through a pandemic, a military coup, a civil war, and an earthquake — all while trying to make sure children weren't forgotten in the noise. I care about children. I care about peace. And I believe that how we communicate in a crisis — who gets heard, whose story gets told, what tools shape that process — matters more now than it ever has.
I'm looking for the next place to prove it.
Here's what the people I've worked with say.
“In the highly restrictive, sensitive and operationally complex context of Myanmar, Saw Wai Moe has consistently demonstrated exceptional performance and leadership as National Communications Officer... I am confident that he is ready to take on more senior responsibilities, including in international contexts, where his skills and experience would contribute meaningfully to UNICEF's broader communications and advocacy efforts.”
“What sets Saw apart is his creativity and adaptability — he constantly embraces new technologies to deliver tasks effectively. He persevered by focusing on the children in Myanmar and becoming their voice even when it was difficult to do so. I highly recommend him for any endeavour he pursues.”