POSTED: Tuesday September 27th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sport helps social inclusion and good governance in Burundi

A youth centre is opened in Gitega thanks to unprecedented cooperation between local, European and international stakeholders

Gitega, Burundi, 27 September, 2011 - Disadvantaged youngsters in the town of Gitega, Burundi, can now enjoy many sports, cultural and educational activities aimed at improving their social, personal and professional development.
This positive development has been made possible by the new youth centre in the town, the culmination of a program launched in 2007 aimed at putting sport and its pedagogic values at the service of education for vulnerable youth and community development.
Sport for reconciliation
Burundi is on the United Nation’s list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and is still suffering from the aftermath of ethnic conflict, enforced population displacement and extreme poverty. Sport is an important means of reconciling communities and bringing about peace. It promotes diversity and social integration by teaching values such as self-respect and respect for others, solidarity, tolerance, perseverance and non-discrimination.
A unique partnership structure
Municipal authorities in Gitega, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture and the international organization Peace and Sport have been committed to the plan to open a youth centre.
Together, they mobilized the European Union delegation in Burundi to release the necessary funds to completely renovate the centre and ensure its running until 2013. As a result, nearly €250,000 have been invested into this ambitious program, €150,000 of this amount by the European Union Delegation.
The objective of this operation is to use it as a pilot project for Burundi since this is the first time that the EU has supported a project with a partnership involving government, a local authority and an international organization.
Coherent actions for youth
Now that the buildings and sports facilities have been renovated, the centre will offer a variety of sports activities for the benefit of the entire community, offering football, basketball, judo, karate, athletics, volleyball, netball, table tennis and petit tennis. Activities will focus on development and personal growth with the aim of boosting each participant’s self-esteem and making a positive impact on individual and collective behaviour.
The new centre will also offer programs to prevent health risks and teach civic education, and it will act as a gateway to the local business world (trade apprenticeships, training courses…). To ensure the sustainability of the centre, income-generating activities will be developed alongside sporting and educational activities.
The program will train seven socio-sports instructors, two art teachers and two supervisors in charge of educational and social integration activities.
A strong partnership between state and private stakeholders
Mr. Stéphane De Loecker, Ambassador of the European Union Delegation in Burundi announced:
"Today I have pleasure in looking at the young people who are the main beneficiaries of this project; youth in Gitega will now have more opportunity to take part in sports and cultural activities in their community. But over and above the physical activities themselves, youngsters from 15-35 years old, who make up the majority of the population in Burundi, also have a responsibility: to build a future for the Burundi nation founded on tolerance, acceptance of others is spite of differences, and on compassion - values which form the base of sustainable peace and harmonious community life. Sporting and cultural activities are a good example of action to foster peaceful cohabitation among young Burundians, whatever their political convictions. We are very happy to award this grant of 271,014,000 BIF to the Community of Gitega which is implementing the program with the help of its partners: Peace and Sport, and the Ministry of Youth and Sport.”
HE Mr. Jean-Jacques Nyenimibabo, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, said: "The universal values that sport conveys are rallying and unifying, especially in countries such as ours that have long suffered from conflict. Sport is one of the pillars on which we want to rebuild our country, promote national reconciliation and enable young people to access the education system. The Gitega youth centre will be one of the flagships of this policy.”
Mr. Valentin Nahimana, Municipal Administrator in Gitega added: "I thank the European Union and Peace and Sport for giving us their full support in this project. Improving our education system and making it more efficient is a priority for the development of our community. The sports activities provided by our new Youth Centre will help us achieve this goal. Sport is a structuring influence for the youth of our country. It provides valuable pedagogic support. This centre makes the future look brighter for the youth of Gitega.”
Mr. Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, said: "Peace and Sport is extremely proud and happy to have coordinated the project for the centre in Gitega. I would like to thank our partners for their confidence in us. Young people in the region will be able to find benchmarks and goals in life through the activities offered by the centre. This project will also strengthen partnerships between local and international decision makers, between state and non-state stakeholders, between municipal authorities and civil society organizations with expertise in the field of sport and youth. It is these kinds of synergies that will make a real difference to the lives of disadvantaged youngsters. The experience of Gitega can serve as a model for other towns and regions in the country, and also for the Great Lakes region of Africa.”
Peace and Sport has been involved in Burundi since 2007, working alongside the government and the National Olympic Committee, to support a national policy aiming to place sport at the service of national reconciliation, peace and environmental conservation.
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For more information, contact press@peace-sport.org / +33 (0) 6 83 37 66 21

ABOUT PEACE AND SPORT
“Peace and Sport, L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport” is a neutral and apolitical international initiative based in the Principality of Monaco and placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Peace and Sport puts sport and its values at the heart of local development projects conducted within communities in crisis around the world. Exercising its missions in post-conflict zones, areas of extreme poverty or lacking social cohesion, Peace and Sport makes sport a vehicle for tolerance, respect, sharing and citizenship at the service of sustainable peace.
Supported by governments, world sport governing bodies, international organizations, major international private companies and international sports champions, Peace and Sport creates synergies between different stakeholders based on four different activities:
- The annual Peace and Sport International Forum (next edition in Monaco from 26-28 October 2011)
- A co-operation platform for peace and sport,
- The Peace and Sport Awards, to reward individuals and initiatives contributing to peace,
- Locally-Based Projects; concrete actions in different regions of crisis in the world
Today, Peace and Sport has operations in Cote d'Ivoire, Burundi, Israel-Palestine, Timor Leste, Colombia and in Haiti.
Peace and Sport was founded by Joel Bouzou, current President of the organisation. Joel Bouzou is an Olympic medallist, world champion of Modern Pentathlon and current Secretary General for the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM). He is also Advisor to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.

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Keywords · Peace and Sport · Joel Bouzou · Prince Albert of Monaco · Gitega · Burundi

Name: Valerie Amant
Organization: Peace and Sport
Email:
Phone: 330683376621
URL: http://www.peace-sport.org

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