The Burundi Youth Education & Development Summit
“Establishing a Sustainable Education Development Program in Africa”
(Bujumbura, Burundi; July 17-20th, 2013)

• Summit Overview

Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in the field of education, and many African countries are making significant headway in the struggle to realize the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education. Since the turn of the Millennium, enrollment in secondary education has more than doubled and the net enrollment rate in primary education now stands at just other three-quarters of the child population. Despite these achievements, however, there remains much work to be done, with other thirty million children out of school and the highest illiteracy rate on earth.

The Organization for Youth Education & Development, in cooperation with the Burundian government, will therefore offer participants the opportunity to gather in one of Africa’s most affected countries in order to discuss central issues and potential solutions for many of the challenges Africa faces regarding social development and educational reform. Key diplomats, politicians, academics, and activists will come together to lecture and debate the matter at hand, allowing participants a unique and varied insight into this major issue.

• Summit Participants 

Participation in the conference is open to governmental & diplomatic officials, academics, artists, journalists, civil society practitioners, private sector representatives, young professionals and students as well as other interested individuals from across the world.

• Certificate of Attendance – All Conference participants will be awarded an official certificate of attendance upon completion of the program, which will provide details of the high-profile speakers who took part in the event, and list the topics which were discussed.

If you would like to reserve a position and participate in the conference, please click on the "Apply Now" 
and fill out the online application form

• Summit Locations

Based in Bujumbura, the Summit will be hosted at the Presidential Palace and a number of other important political, historic, and cultural locations across the city. Participants will also have the opportunity to partake in excursions to several important institutions and landmarks in the city, including various foreign embassies and governmental institutions.

• Summit Speakers

The speakers during the Summit will include human rights activists, academics, dignitaries and heads of state and ministers, as well as leading figures and experts from international politics and education, the diplomatic community and civil society from across the world.

These speakers will include a high number of individuals from the ICD Advisory Board. To learn more about the ICD Advisory Board, please click here.

• Summit Agenda

The Burundi Youth Education & Development Summit will bring together major players from a wide variety of disciplines and professions with the intention of discussing and debating African social and education reform and establishing potential policies on and solutions to these major issues. The Summit will welcome participants from government, the media, activist groups, philanthropy organizations and the private sector to offer a diverse range of viewpoints and opinions.

The principal aim of the Summit is to use diplomatic means to achieve novel, effective resolutions to the problems currently facing Africa in the field of education. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from experts in their fields and make contributions to a real change on the continent. Through a combination of lectures, seminars, and interactive panel discussions, the OYED aims to collate a comprehensive dossier of possible solutions to many of the issues in the African education system.

The Summit will focus in particular on the following areas:

• “The Need for Cooperation in Making Progress towards the MDG: Key Successes and Core Challenges”
• Teaching Reform: Advancing Education Quality & Equality across Africa’s Schools
• Sustaining & Accelerating the Success of Contemporary African Education Policy
• Major Challenges to Social & Educational Reform: Poverty, HIV/AIDS & Corruption
• Opportunities for Cooperation with the Private Sector & Philanthropy Groups