Partnership Baden-Württemberg Burundi
For more than 40 years, Baden-Württemberg and Burundi have been linked by a state partnership. In cooperation with the state of Baden-Württemberg, the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) and the Baden-Württemberg Global Partnerships University Network (GloPart), the ACT and the Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institute (ABI) are involved in the partnership, including in the anniversary year 2024.
On November 18 and 19, 2024, a scientific symposium “Burundi in East Africa: Opportunities and challenges” took place at the ABI. In five panels, over 40 participants from Burundi, East Africa, Germany and Europe discussed historical and current developments in Burundi and the country's relationship with Germany. Placing Burundi in the wider East African context provided valuable points of comparison. In addition to generating the contextual knowledge on Burundi that is necessary for the partnership, the symposium also succeeded in bringing together European and East African, English and French-speaking academics in a purposeful exchange. The course of the symposium was documented in a report which is also available in French.
As part of the symposium, a public evening event was held at the University of Freiburg on the topic of “Global partnerships - challenges and perspectives for universities and civil society”. In their contributions, Vice-Rector Melanie Arndt (University of Freiburg) and MdL Nadyne Saint-Cast (Freiburg) emphasized the need to focus more on the Global South in internationalization. State Secretary Rudi Hoogvliet pointed out that it is important to define both individual and common interests in partnerships. Successful examples, but also difficulties of global partnerships were discussed in a panel discussion. A report (in German) provides an overview of the event, which was attended by around 70 people in Freiburg as well as many more - including in the partner country Burundi - following the livestream.
(PDF) Report Evening Event (DE)
In addition to the written reports, both the symposium and the evening event were covered through various media. In a German podcast interview by iz3w, Burundian communication scientist Daniella Niketa (University of Burundi) describes the current situation of the media and press freedom in Burundi. On YouTube, a video (7min) documents the most important impressions of the symposium and the evening event.
The library of the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute also contributed to the partnership anniversary. As Baden-Württemberg's most important reference library on the Global South, the library updated its collection of social science literature on Burundi. Important articles on the East African partner country were compiled in a literature list (in German).
With financial support from the State Parliament and the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg via the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation as well as the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts.
