Africa UP Close

By Tina Robiolle-Moul, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

In 2009 and 2010, I had the great opportunity to be involved with the Burundi Leadership Training Program (BLTP) in the development of a conflict resolution curriculum designed to instill a culture of dialogue and non-violent conflict management among secondary school students in Burundi. Funded by USAID East Africa at the request of the Burundian Minister of Education, through both the Wilson Center’s Africa Program and CMPartners, this initiative’s main goal was to complement efforts already underway within the Ministry to promote citizenship and human rights education through its national civic education curriculum.

By Elizabeth McClintock, CMPartners, LLC

Between April and September 2012, I was involved in two initiatives in Burundi: the design and execution of a capacity building program for local implementing partners assisting ex-combatants to reintegrate into their home communities; and the oversight of an evaluation of a construction project meant to facilitate community reconciliation via job provision, training, and the building of community-police relations. The implementation of each of these initiatives raises a number of issues – some of which are obvious and recurrent, others that are particular to the project – and all of which are important to keep at the forefront of any development work in Burundi. The two issues I’d like to comment on here are the role of perceptions in program design and implementation, and the advantages and challenges of partnership.