SFCG Burundi

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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.