Yangon

The Yangon Branch Office, Myanmar

Currently closed

 

Head: Gregory Kourilsky

EFEO
c/o Institut français de Birmanie
340 Pye Road, Sanchaung township
Yangon, Myanmar
Tél : + 95 (1) 536 900 / 537 122 / 535 428

Assistant: Ms Khin Khin Zaw
gregory.kourilsky@efeo.net

History

The EFEO has been active in Burma with the inventory of the Pagan monuments since the 1980's. Work on this site was undertaken by Pierre Pichard from 1980 - 1987 in the framework of a UNESCO project. In 2002, with the arrival of Jacques Leider, the School opened a Branch Office in Myanmar. Up until 2008 it was located in the Regional Centre for History and Tradition (CHAT), an institution founded under the international aegis of SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization). Currently the EFEO branch office has been relocated to the French Cultural Centre.

Current projects:

Today the EFEO Burma Centre, enjoys limited access to cooperative activity, although, considerable opportunities exist for individual projects.

Since 2002, the Centre's projects have focused, above all, on transcribing the previously unpublished Arakan manuscripts that have provided new data in historiography and political history and offered better understanding the Arakan culture and religion during the Mrauk-U epoch. Since 2005 a project to collect the Arakan inscriptions has contributed to the first systematic collection of lithographs from the region of Burma.

Since 2007 research on the first period of the Konbaung dynasty has led to the reexamination of the royal chronicles by comparing them to the royal orders, more precisely the chronicles issued under the reign of Alaungmintaya.

Despite its limitations the EFEO Yangon Branch Office - a unique facility in a complex environment -- members continue advising doctoral students and welcoming French and international scholars.

The Yangon centre
Head: Gregory Kourilsky

EFEO
c/o Institut français de Birmanie
340 Pye Road, Sanchaung township
Yangon, Myanmar

Tél : +95 (1)536 900 / 537 122 / 535 428

Assistant: Ms Khin Khin Zaw
gregory.kourilsky@efeo.net

Visit the Yangon blog
News from the Yangon centre
Jacques Leider @ DW
25 AUGUST 18 Quotes from Jacques Leider's interview, cited in the DW: "Inciting hatred against Rohingya on social  ... Read more
Jacques Leider @ CRISEA meeting & conference, Hanoi
28 MARCH 18 Between 28-30 March, Jacques Leider went to Hanoi, Vietnam, for the 2nd CRISEA Steering Committee meeting (28 March) and the 1st CRISEA Research Workshop (29-30 March), held at  ... Read more
Jacques Leider @ Rakhine Days - The Rohingya Conflict and its Implications, DGAP
09 MARCH 18 Dr. Jacques Leider was invited by the DGAP (Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik / The German Council on Foreign Relations) to participate in the  ... Read more
EFEO News
Welcoming delegations to the EFEO 2026-2027
Paris, France, 14 October 2025
The recruitment campaign for delegates to the EFEO for the year 2026-2027 is now open. Applications must be submitted no later than 14 October 2025.

Learn more (in French)
Library
Paris, France, 26 June 2025
The EFEO library in Paris will be closed until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 1 July 20025.

It is open at its usual times, from Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm.

Please make your book reservation requests via the catalogue, and your archive consultation requests via the form on https://archives.efeo.fr/ (bottom left of the home page).

Consult the catalogs and digital tools:
Books and periodicals catalog
- Archives and manuscripts catalog
- Digital heritage library

Please check the EFEO's Facebook page and Twitter account regularly for any updates to the conditions of public access.
Direction of Resources
Paris, France, 26 June 2025

Reporting to the Director General of Administration, , you will be responsible for managing the Resources Department. You will manage the activity of the support functions and implement the public policies in your field, with a view to efficiency and innovation. You will also perform the duties of Prevention Adviser.

Application deadline: 20 July 2025: https://bit.ly/4epSXeT
Lecture
Paris, France, 18 June 2025
On the occasion of the exhibition Angkor Royal Bronzes: Art of the Divine presented at the Guimet - Musée national des arts asiatiques until September 8, of which he is co-curator, Brice Vincent will present "Bronzes royaux d'Angkor, un art du divin: nouveaux regards sur la métallurgie du cuivre dans le Cambodge angkorien". This lecture is organised jointly by the Association des Amis d'Angkor and the EFEO.

At 5.30 p.m. in the Grand Salon of the Maison de l'Asie, subject to availability.
Conference
Paris, France, 12 June 2025
On Thursday 12 and Friday 13 June, Fabienne Jagou, in collaboration with Cameron Warner (University of Aarhus, Denmark) and Nicole Willock (Old Dominion University, USA), is organising a conference entitled ‘Succession in Times of Change in the Tibetan World’ at the Maison de l'Asie.