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DATES: |
April 9 th – April 21st, 2007 |
Population: 8,090,068
Capital: Bujumbura
Area: 10,740 sq miles
Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili
Religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs
Life expectancy: 42 years (men), 44 years (women) (UN)
Main exports: Coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides
Wedged between Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda in east-central
Africa, Burundi occupies a high plateau divided by several deep valleys. It is equal in size to
Maryland.
CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE & CONFLICT RESOLUTION
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNESCO (U.N. EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC & CULTURAL ORGANIZATION)
FACT:
Since independence in 1961, Burundi has been plagued by tension between the dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu
majority and has been the scene of one of Africa's most intractable conflicts. 439,000 people
have been displaced because of the internal conflict. As a result, land reformation is one of
the biggest dilemmas Burundians face.
SOLUTION:
Take a workshop with Barefoot and make a difference in the world by using your knowledge
coupled with DV technology to make a positive change. This class is structured for individuals
who are interested in mixing travel, social activism, and documentary filmmaking in a twoweek
workshop in Bujumbura, Burundi. The workshop is set up for beginning to advanced
students, with varying degrees of experience in media, who feel the pull to contribute to agrassroots non-profit organization (NGO) working in the arena of land rites and conflict
resolution.
Barefoot will pair students through UNESCO’S Division for the Freedom of
Expression, Democracy, and Peace, with local youth organization JAMAA, to contribute to a
documentary project on the subject of conflict resolution, as it relates to land rights and
struggles for reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi families, struggling to resettle after living
in the wake of conflict and ethnic violence in refugee camps.
What is an NGO?
The World Bank defines NGOs as "private organizations that pursueactivities to relieve suffering,
promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or
undertake community development" (Operational Directive 14.70). In a wider usage, the term NGO
can be applied to any non-profit organization which is independent from government. NGOs are
typically value-based organizations which depend, in whole or in part, on charitable donations and
voluntary service. Although the NGO sector has become increasingly professionalized over the last
two decades, principles of altruism and voluntarism remain key defining characteristics.
WORKSHOP STRUCTURE:
Students will work with twelve local youth from the organization JAMAA and receive video
training together, to highlight mediation options in land rites claims at three stages, from
initial to advanced stages of resolution. Students coming from abroad will collect field
interviews and testimonials from government representatives, legal experts, community
leaders and human rights activists, to build a greater understanding of peaceful processes that
can circumvent court appeals and diminish ethnic tensions between conflicting parties. Several
fact-finding missions and overnight stays to the southern province of Makamba, will give
students a chance to interact directly with affected families, and to support youth from JAMAA
to compile surveys and field testimonials.
The resulting documentary will be screened at JAMAA’s youth center, and will be distributed as
a radio program by Burundi-based organization Search for Common Ground.
The workshop is intended to give international students a unique and intensive experience in
the art of documentary storytelling, and the use of video to affect social change. In addition, it
offers a hands-on opportunity to collaborate with local NGO’s and government agencies, and
to support youth from Bujumbura to use video as a constructive tool in their communities, to
open new pathways for dialogue, resolve land disputes, and spread solutions.
Barefoot’s goal is to create responsible filmmakers who care about the world around them and
who make it a point to give back to the people they work with. The point of the workshop is to
enrich and empower communities at a grassroots level, through learning and exchange.
Barefoot encourages students internationally, to find their voice as filmmakers, while
improving conditions locally by passing on their knowledge and skills others.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Week 1 - Students will review equipment, learn about the topic of land rites and conflict
resolution and develop a structure/script.
Week 2 – Students will shoot & edit a short documentary film in collaboration with UNESCO
and local youth.
CONTACTS/WEBSITES/RESEARCH
NGO’s in Burundi
JAMAA is a member of GPAC, for prevention of armed conflict, and has used sports,
cartoons, and books to facilitate peace-building. Their first cartoon book, called Le
Meilleur Choix ("The Best Choice"), produced in collaboration with The Youth Project
(YP), is now in the national school curriculum. It describes the real-life experiences of
two young men who participated in the violence of the mid-1990's in Burundi, and
their efforts to reconcile with the families of their victims. The project led to the
production of a feature-length movie based on the same story, and was awarded an
honourable mention by UNESCO for excellence in peace literature. JAMAA was founded
in 1993 by Director, Adrien Tuyaga, with his friends when they realized that many
peace-building organizations were having little affect, so they went into the streets
and to practice direct intervention, approaching youth, families and communities in
conflict and orchestrating processes for peaceful resolution.
www.peoplebuildingpeace.org/thestories
Suggested Reading
"Land and Violence in Post-Conflict Situations" Jean Daudelin, 2003, North-South Institute and World Bank
"1,000 Hills for 9 Million People" Land reform in Rwanda, March 2006, Swisspeace FAST Country Risk Profile
"Conflict-Sensitive Development Assistance: The Case of Burundi" Juana Brachet and Howard Wolpe, June 2005, conflict prevention and reconstruction
"Burundi's Endangered Transition" Rene Lemarchand, Swisspeace FAST Country Risk
Profile Burundi
Background/Research/Info Website Links
• https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/by.html
• http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107374.html
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1068873.stm#facts
• http://www.burundiembassy-usa.org