The Fourth Eastern Africa Youth Forum (EAYF) came to a close on 22 February, 2014 where young people from across the region met for a week that had been so informative and educative. The forum, which was attended by 67 participants from the region, opened on 18 February, 2014 at Hotel Source Du Nil in Bujumbura, Burundi. The theme for the forum was ‘Responsible Youths; Bridge to Sustainable Peace and Development’. The forum had in attendance young people from East Africa and beyond. Representatives came from Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Cameroon, Brazil and Burundi, the hosting country.

Burundi is widely known as a drumming country and the opening ceremony gave the participants an amazing drumming ceremony and the participants happily danced to the hard kicks of the traditional drumming. This occasion marked what would be a week full of energy.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth had the honour of opening the forum where he encouraged and urged all the youth to keep the vision of uniting the region. In the same ceremony, Mr Leonidas Nijimbere, the chief of the Peace and Reconciliation Commission of Burundi and a leader in the Project of the Great Lakes Region, called for more youth to come out and spearhead projects of development and the advancement of peace in the entire region.

During the week, the young people were addressed by different speakers who inspired and encouraged them to be focused on activities for Nation building. Sharing their experience, most of the youth expressed their excitement by being very active throughout the sessions. ‘It is my first time and I think this is a very great initiative,’ said one participant. The energy in the sessions was contagious and every day was a moment of great experience and learning.

At the closing ceremony, the guest speakers emphasised the need for youth to be vessels of peace and responsible development. Speaking at the closing ceremony, Madam Justine Nkurunziza, the President of the Coalition of the Social Civil for Monitoring Election (COSOME), encouraged the youth to be ambassadors of peaceful elections and agents of peace. She stressed the need for more involvement by young people in the development of nations and specifically addressed the Burundian youth challenging them to be at the forefront of being peace agents, especially at this time when Burundi is preparing for general elections to take place next year.

At the same occasion, the IofC president in Burundi encouraged everyone in attendance to carry a candle to light the path to a region that is going to be a hub of peace.

Previous Eastern Africa Youth Forums took place in Kenya (2011), Uganda (2012) and Rwanda (2013).