President Évariste Ndayishimiye on Monday opened the fifth African Union Continental Dialogue on Youth, Peace and Security and Women, Peace and Security, bringing African youth leaders, women peace-builders and policymakers to Bujumbura for three days of discussions on conflict prevention, resource governance and political participation.
The Aug. 10-12 dialogue is being held under the theme “Water, Peace and Inclusive Leadership in Africa: Institutionalizing the Strategic Role of Youth and Women in Conflict Prevention, Crisis Management and Sustainable Peace Consolidation through Responsible Resource Governance.”
The theme puts water and natural-resource governance at the center of this year’s discussions, reflecting growing concerns about the relationship between resource pressures, climate-related challenges and conflict.
The African Union said the meeting will examine the links between water, peace and security, while looking at ways to strengthen the participation of young people and women in resource governance, peace processes and decision-making.
Ndayishimiye, who currently chairs the African Union and serves as the bloc’s Champion for the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda, is hosting the dialogue under his patronage.
The meeting brings together African Youth Ambassadors for Peace, representatives of youth organizations and national youth councils, women peacebuilders, members of the AU Panel of the Wise, regional organizations, international partners, academics and other stakeholders.
According to information presented at a pre-event press conference on Aug. 7 by Nancy-Ninette Mutoni, spokesperson for the Burundian presidency, delegations from several African countries had begun arriving in Burundi ahead of the opening.
Mutoni also recalled that Bujumbura was designated the African Capital of Youth through an African Union decision adopted in 2024, which also institutionalized the continental youth dialogue as an annual event in the Burundian capital.
The designation followed Burundi’s hosting of earlier discussions on youth, peace and security, including the second Continental Dialogue in Bujumbura in 2023.
This year’s meeting is expected to focus on how youth and women can move from being participants in peace and development programs to having a more formal role in decisions affecting conflict prevention, crisis management and resource governance.
The AU has increasingly emphasized the need to institutionalize youth participation in peace and security structures rather than treating young people only as beneficiaries of peacebuilding initiatives.
Water is a particularly significant addition to this year’s agenda because competition over natural resources can intersect with climate pressures, displacement, livelihoods and local conflicts.
The dialogue is also expected to examine the relationship between the AU’s Youth, Peace and Security and Women, Peace and Security agendas and assess progress in implementing the bloc’s continental framework on youth, peace and security.
According to the organizers, recommendations and commitments emerging from the discussions are expected to be consolidated into a continental communiqué at the end of the meeting.
Youth entrepreneurship event planned
The final day of the dialogue, Aug. 12, will also include Inkerebutsi Day, a Burundi initiative focused on youth entrepreneurship and innovation.
According to the Burundian presidency’s spokesperson, winners of the initiative will be recognised in the presence of African delegations, with the day’s activities also expected to include a concert featuring Burundian artists.
The event coincides with International Youth Day.
For Burundi, the gathering also provides an opportunity to demonstrate its role within the African Union’s youth, peace and security agenda, while placing Bujumbura at the center of continental discussions on how young Africans can participate in addressing conflicts and resource-related challenges.
