BUJUMBURA December 12th (ABP) – The permanent secretary at the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr. Séverin Mbarubukeye officially launched the activities of the third edition of the week dedicated to youth innovation, from December 11 to 16 in Bujumbura.
That activity was organized jointly by that ministry, in collaboration with the National Youth Council and the Youth Economic Empowerment and Employment Program (PAEEJ), under funding from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), under the theme “Youth innovation: Pillar of accelerating economic development for an emerging Burundi”.
On that occasion, Mr. Mbarubukeye indicated that that week dedicated to innovation aims to share experiences and good practices, to motivate each other so that everyone is a source of inspiration for others. He also underlined that the theme of that week dedicated to youth innovation fits perfectly into the necessary contribution that young people, in general and young entrepreneurs, in particular, must make to the realization of their ambition, to make of Burundi an emerging country in 2040 and developed in 2060.
According to him, young Burundian entrepreneurs must bear in mind that innovation is not an end in itself but a means of ensuring that their economies and businesses develop in a sustainable and competitive manner. It is through innovation that companies design new products and services that respond to the assessment of market needs and expectations, he stressed.
To that end, he recalled that the crucial role of innovation, both in the transformation of national economies and in the response to global and regional challenges, is increasingly perceptible and makes technologies and innovations key points of the agenda of several organizations such as the United Nations and the African Union, through its 2063 vision.
He also specified that entrepreneurship, which consists of creating one’s own job, is the best response to unemployment. It is the engine of economic growth because it creates jobs and wealth for the country and it promotes innovation and thereby contributes to the influence of Burundi.
For his part, the resident representative of the United Nations Development Program in Burundi, Mr. Mathieu Ciowela, declared that the objective of that initiative called “Innovation week” is to highlight the talents of young Burundians and to show that They are the engines of the country’s development, thus corroborating with that commitment of the Burundian State to put young people at the helm of development so that they prepare the Burundi of tomorrow that they themselves will have created.
According to him, the third edition of the innovation fair is being held at that time when Burundi is organizing dialogues on youth, peace and security because, he recalled, they are all convinced that without peace nor security, there is no development and vice versa.
According to Mr. Ciowela, the involvement of young people in the processes of prevention, conflict resolution, search for lasting peace and achievement of development is a concern on two levels, at the global level with the adoption in 2015 of Security Council Resolution 2250 and at the continental level with, firstly the adoption in 2006 of the African Youth Charter and, finally, in 2006 of the Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security. He added that young people are the drivers of change and their ability to innovate and think differently is essential to address the complex development challenges facing the country.
He also highlighted that young innovators have the potential to transform key sectors of the economy such as agriculture, information technology, communication, renewable energy, tourism, etc. Their creativity and ability to think differently allow them to propose innovative solutions to improve the productivity, sustainability and competitiveness of those sectors. Those solutions contribute to the creation of jobs for young people and the reduction of unemployment.
Note that several activities are planned during that week, panel sessions on various themes, the youth forum of the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement mechanism, and the intergenerational dialogue of the African Union.