"Tea Circle reviews the first of four panels from a recent Oxford workshop on the Karen... On Thursday, 15th June researchers and practitioners working with Karen communities within the context of the Myanmar?s ongoing democratic transition joined together for a special one-day workshop, ?The Karen in 2017: Resilience, Aspirations and Politics?, convened by the Programme on Modern Burmese Studies (MBS) at St Antony?s College. In a unique collaboration between research fellows and students from the University of Oxford and the Australian National University?s Myanmar Research Centre, the event brought together students, academics and commentators with development practitioners and activists working in a range of fields and interventions in Karen State, Karen refugee and diaspora communities. As Dr Matthew Walton, MBS Director, made clear in his opening address, the workshop set out to take stock of the promise and pace of substantive change and progress for these communities since the signing of a ceasefire between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Myanmar government in January 2012, and the long-awaited accession of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?s National League for Democracy government in March 2016. Participants were specifically asked to reflect on the adaptive strategies, politics and aspirations of ordinary Karen people and ethnic leaders navigating Myanmar?s often uneven and uncertain transition to peace and democracy over recent years. The workshop was structured around four main themes and panels: (1) Aspirations, Education and Health; (2) Livelihoods and Social Protection; (3) Migration, Conflict and the Borderland; a plenary session considered (4) the Future of Karen in Myanmar/Burma and the Diaspora..."