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. Organized by Search for Common Ground in Burundi, which included Studio Ijambo, the Youth Project, the Women's Peace Centre and the Integration Initiative, and in partnership with USAID and many local and international NGO's. The four-day event was a resounding success.

Never before has the African Great Lakes region seen so large and diverse a gathering of artists. Artists came from all corners of Burundi, from the diaspora, and from neighbouring Congo, Rwanda, and beyond. 500 musicians, 250 dancers, 50 actors, and 6 poets performed for four days in six "quartiers" of Bujumbura. The activities united people for peace, reconciliation, and a better life.

From 10 in the morning to 9 at night on the final day of the event, more than 10,000 people crowded into the Bujumbura football stadium to hear music groups, comedy troupes, and other performance artists. The audience was as diverse as the artists, with local youth, street kids, women's groups, street vendors, and the elderly all taking part in the Festival's activities.

The Sangwe Festival gave a voice to the mute. It represented a chance for everyone to speak loud and clear that, "Hutus, Tutsis and Twa are all Burundian." One of the animators tapped the potential of this event when he asked, "all those who believe that music can bring peace, raise your hand." In response, thousands of hands shot up. In contrast to the increasingly alarming security situation in other parts of the country, people in Bujumbura enjoying the Sangwe Festival sang and danced together in peace, united by melodies drawn from national folklore.

Born of the Studio Ijambo radio programme Sangwe, the festival embodies the important role of performing artists in our search for peace in Burundi, Africa, and around the world. Too often, we assume that peace is a question to be resolved by intellectuals, politicians, and officials. We forget that peace comes from the hearts of each and every one of us. We believe that it is exactly that spirit in our hearts - amplified through our songs, dances, drumming, and storytelling - that will bring us closer to the peace we all seek.

In addition to recognizing the hard work of its own dedicated team, Search for Common Ground applauds the efforts of all those who helped make this possible and acknowledges its numerous partners in making this event a success. Ranging from local and international NGOs, public and private institutions, the Centre Culturel Français de Bujumbura, le Centre Jeunes Kamenge, le Centre de Kiyange, le Centre Wallis de Musaga, Lawyers without Borders, Catholic Relief Services, Concern, The Scouts, Jamaa, Oxfam Great Britain, University students, FECHOR, la Protection Civile, La Havana, Archipel, Radio Scolaire and many more partners were all an invaluable part of the Festival's success.

However, in the meantime, the spirit of collaboration and cooperation will continue with activities begun during this year's Festival. In the margins of the Sangwe Festival was a special day-long workshop for 100 of the participating musicians. This workshop tackled two important themes: the protection of the intellectual property of performing artists; and the use of traditional musical instruments and culture in the performance of contemporary music. Artists including authors, composers and music editors met with a view to create a society to continue dialogue on these issues. This workshop and other meetings and fledgling organizations, fuelled in part by the energy of Sangwe, continue to strengthen Burundi's civil society and foster cooperation among citizens.