Generation Equality: more than 80 young girls and boys empowered and sensitized to advance the economic empowerment of women and girls in Burundi
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As part of the Generation Equality Campaign, the UN Women office in Burundi in partnership with the Youth Investment Bank, gathered more than 80 young girls and boys in Gitega from 29 November to 1 December. They were members of cooperatives, associations, businesses, and universities, from all the provinces of the country, as well as some twenty agents of the Youth Bank and Microfinance institutions.
The first group, consisting of young people, was trained on the development of bankable business plans and their role in advancing the achievement of the Beijing goals, with a particular focus on the economic empowerment of women and girls for peace building in Burundi. The second group, officers from financial institutions, was trained on how to integrate gender into their project financing policies.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of the Interior, nearly 450,000 young people who have attended school are unemployed. The creation of a youth bank is aimed at mitigating this challenge, by contributing to the financing of economic development projects initiated by young people organized in companies, associations and cooperatives under Burundian law. Currently, the number of girls and women benefiting from credit from banking and microfinance institutions is very low. This workshop was designed to encourage young people to create and launch their own projects, and to sensitize them to commit themselves to promoting gender equality, the economic empowerment of women and girls, all for the capitalization of peace in Burundi.
“The government is aware of the role that young people and women must play in the development of the country,'' said Jean Claude Kanene, Assistant to the Minister of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture, at the opening of the workshop. He was speaking about the establishment of the investment bank for young people (BIJE) and an investment bank for the development of women.
“Seize all these opportunities offered by the government of Burundi and take advantage of them," said UN Women Representative in Burundi, Jennet Kem, calling on young people to have an entrepreneurial spirit, to be creative, and honest. “Have a clear vision for yourselves, your community and the country, and always look for inspiration from the most experienced in the field of entrepreneurship," she added.
Thanks to rich and diversified exchanges, facilitated by professionals, group work and a guided visit to the Youth Investment Bank (BIJE), participants were able to discuss innovative projects likely to benefit from financing from banks and microfinance institutions.
The young group were then made aware of the Generation Equality Campaign and the Mexico and Paris Forums, which launched a series of concrete, ambitious and transformative actions to bring about immediate and irreversible results in terms of equality between women and men, all over the world. The objective of this sensitization session was to encourage these young people to make concrete commitments in favor of women's rights and their economic empowerment contributing to the acceleration of the implementation of the commitments made since the 4th Women's Conference in Beijing. This follows a workshop in September 2021 for women's organisations and the media. Given national priorities, particular emphasis has been placed on women's economic empowerment and leadership, for peace building in Burundi.
“We are going to be ambassadors for other young people," promised Elizabeth Itangishaka, a participant from the Tuzamurane Cooperative. She thanked UN Women and BIJE for initiating the training which enabled her, and her friends, to learn how to develop bankable business plans and contribute to the empowerment of women and girls for peace building in Burundi.