BUJUMBURA July 11th (ABP) – The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr. Séverin Barushimana, held, Monday July 10, 2023, in Bujumbura, a n exchange meeting for youth from 10 EASF (Eastern Africa Standby Force) member countries to discuss and share information and experiences on best practices in peacebuilding initiatives led by young people.
On that occasion, Mr. Barushimana said that youth is one of the six priorities of the Burundian government. This is justified by many initiatives that show a remarkable place given to Burundian youth.
He pointed out, for example, that youth occupy an important place in the National Development Plan (PND) 2018-2027, the National Youth Policy (PNJ) 2016-2025 and its strategy. He also mentioned the establishment of the Economic Empowerment and Youth Employment Program (PAEJ) as well as the creation of the Burundi Agency for Youth Employment (ABEJ).
Mr. Barushimana indicated that the East African standby force was created to respond to security challenges in the region, hence the commitment of ten member States from the region, in the spirit of the regional integration for peace, to come together and work for a peaceful and stable East Africa, with particular attention to the role of young people in building peace on the continent.
For any society to enjoy peace, cohesion and inclusion, it is essential that young people are involved in all aspects, including decision-making processes, he said. He did not fail to point out that the objective of the meeting was to allow the young people present, to create a platform in order to discuss and develop together the strategies on the means of being able to strengthen their roles in the efforts of the peacebuilding at the local, national and regional levels. Note that the 10 EASF countries are Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Seychelles and Uganda.