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Programmes Home
Burundi
Shortly following the genocide in Rwanda and in the midst of increasing ethnic tensions and violence in Burundi, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) launched a series of media and community projects in Burundi. Over the past 12 years, throughout the Crise and through the transition period, elections and the first two years of democracy, SFCG has sought to strengthen the capacities of all segments of Burundian society to manage their conflicts collaboratively, promote dialogue within diversity, and facilitate coexistence and reconciliation. SFCG has a vision for Burundi: In 2015, Burundi is a fair and equal society grounded in citizens’ inclusive, effective and responsible participation in national and local management and decision-making processes. SFCG’s goal toward this vision is to promote inclusive, effective and responsible participation in a process of social transformation toward a fair and equal society through three main program areas: reintegration, governance and transitional justice.
SFCG’s strategy through these program areas is aimed toward five key objectives:
- Foster effective participation among women and men, both youth and adults, within the democratic governance framework;
- Facilitate the reintegration and inclusion of marginalised social groups, namely demobilised combatants, returnees, displaced persons, victims, ex-prisoners, and members of the Batwa ethnicity;
- Encourage effective and responsible freedom of expression in all aspects of Burundian society;
- Reduce the instances of violence in response to land conflicts linked to the crises in 1972 and 1993; and
- Promote ownership of the transitional justice process among all Burundians.
Our approach links grassroots activities with national dialogue, while promoting peace and reconciliation through sensitization, dialogue and capacity building. Using complementary and mutually reinforcing tools of community outreach and media with targeted stakeholder groups, SFCG multiplies the individual effects of its projects, ensuring that a broad cross-section of Burundian society is engaged in and affected by the program’s activities. Furthermore, the Burundi program is a vital component of SFCG’s overall regional strategy in the Great Lakes & Angola, launched in 2007.
Studio Ijambo
Media has been one of SFCG’s main conflict transformation tools since the Burundi program opened more than a decade ago. SFCG’s Studio Ijambo is a radio-production studio that employs an ethnically balanced team of journalists to produce high-quality radio programs that promote reconciliation, dialogue, and collaboration. The Studio is known for its credible, unbiased programming, which includes news, special features, round-tables, telephone call-ins, music, and a highly popular soap-opera series. In total, it supplies six different original programs, as well as spots and sketches to four of Burundi’s principal radio stations, including the state radio, every week. These programs examine different sides of various conflicts and highlight the concerns that unite, rather than divide. The Studio Ijambo slogan, “Dialogue is the future,” captures the essence of SFCG’s radio work in Burundi. [more]
Community Outreach Team
In 2006, Search for Common Ground's (SFCG's) Women's Peace Centre and Youth Project merged to become the Community Outreach Team (COT). The COT carries out community interventions and supports efforts of local people to promote reconciliation, dialogue and collaboration. The COT aims to capitalise on the possibilities Burundi's new constitution offers for all people, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, economic standing, religion, or age. [more]
The Integrated Victims of Torture Project
Despite the ratification of the U.N. Convention Against Torture in 1994 and the introduction of a revised Code of Criminal Procedure in Burundian law in 2000, the incidence of torture and the impunity with which it is carried out persist across Burundi. [more]
Ziggy Marley Public Service Announcements for Studio Ijambo
We are grateful to Ziggy Marley for the enthusiasm with which he responded to our request to record Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for Studio Ijambo in Burundi.
[more]
Heroes Summit 2004
In early 1995, shortly after the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda and in the midst of increasing ethnic tensions and violence, Search for Common Ground launched a series of media and community projects in Burundi aimed at reducing ethnic violence and supporting peacemaking efforts.
[more]
The Spirit of Sangwe: Burundi's Largest-Ever Peace Festival
From July 10-13, 2002, Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi, rocked to the rhythms of dancers and swayed to the sounds of musicians during the Sangwe Festival.
[more]
Public Pardon and Reconciliation Day: Nyamurenza Commune, Ngozi Province
Saying, "I'm sorry," is not always easy. [more]
Women's Peace Center
We established the Women's Peace Centre in January 1996, in recognition of the fact that Burundian women must be included as key players in the process of ethnic reconciliation- and must have access to the tools necessary to fulfil that role. [more]
The Youth Project
The Youth Project (YP), established in 1999, works with at-risk populations that often take part in violent conflicts as a result of political manipulation. The Youth Project brings together youth from different ethnic and geographical backgrounds for recreational and solidarity-building activities
[more]
Please click here if you would like to make a donation to support our projects.
Search for Common Ground in Burundi
B.P. 6180 27 Avenue de l'Amitie
Bujumbura, Burundi
Phones:
+ (257) 217 7194 / + (257) 217 7195
Fax:
(257) 217-189
E-mail:
burundi@sfcg.org
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