Burma News International (BNI) was founded on February 11th, 2003 in Kolkata, India, by four media organizations based on the Myanmar- Bangladesh and MyanmarIndia borders. The founding members of BNI are Mizzima News, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press Network and Khonumthung News. Later, BNI expanded to include other news organizations on the Thai-Myanmar border and in Myanmar. Currently, BNI consists of 16 ethnic and local media groups. BNI's goal is to promote news about Myanmar and reports in South and Southeast Asia. In addition, BNI bridges the gap of understanding between independent media organizations in Myanmar, works to share skills and resources, and enables them to cooperate with each other.