YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH AND LEARNING AMAHORO IWACU – Peace in My Home YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH AND LEARNING ACTIVITY USAID AMAHORO IWACU PROJECT: – PEACE IN MY HOME CONTACT: Cécilia Suarnet, Consultant Adrienne Lemon DM&E Specialist – East and Southern Africa Diego Murangamizwa, DM&E Coordinator Search for Common Ground Janvier Ndagijimana, DM&E Assistant N˚32 Avenue Kunkiko - Bujumbura Paul Vincent Ntiranyibagira, Project Coordinator +257 72 148 553 [email protected] Joséphine Ntahomvukiye, Project Assistant Floride Ahitungiye Country Director - Burundi Search for Common Ground N˚32 Avenue Kunkiko - Bujumbura +257 72 148 553 [email protected] YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH AND LEARNING AMAHORO IWACU – Peace in My Home TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 5 Abbreviations 5 Partners of implementation 5 Executive Summary 6 Youth-to-Youth Research Approach 6 Key Findings 6 Conflict management: mechanisms that empower youth attract youth 6 Community engagement: youth want to and do participate 7 Available livelihoods for youth: the impact of poverty 7 Recommendations 7 1. Background Information 8 Project Context and Conflict Analysis 8 Project Overview 9 2. Methodology 11 Research Team: Identification of 42 Youth Leadership Committees 11 Approach to Research 11 Research questions 12 Target Population and Sampling 12 Researchers’ Data Collection Activities and Tools 15 Data Analysis 15 Limitations and programmatic challenges 16 4. Findings 17 Description of the respondents 17 Topic 1: Conflict situations management by the youth 18 Majority of Youth Claim Not to Have Resorted to Violence 18 Manipulation is the Main Driver of Youth Political Violence 21 Youth are Involved in Different Types of Violent Conflicts 23 Youth Recommend Dialogue and Training to Improve Their Peers’ Management of Political Conflicts 25 Topic 2: Opportunities and Obstacles for Youth Community Participation and Engagement 25 Youth Do Engage Actively in Their Community 25 Politicization and Poverty are the Main Brakes to Community Participation 28 2 SEARCH FOR COmmON GROUND | BURUNDI YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH AND LEARNING AMAHORO IWACU – Peace in My Home Youth Bring Ideas for Community Participation and Development 30 Topic 3: Available Livelihoods for Youth 30 The Large Majority of Youth Consider that hey are in a Situation of Extreme Poverty 31 Unemployment is the Main Cause of Youth Poverty 33 Poverty is Creating a Vicious Circle with Other Negative Phenomena 35 Family Support is the Most Used Resource to Avoid Falling into Poverty 36 5. Conclusions 37 Conflict Management and Resorting to Violence 37 Community Engagement 37 Youth poverty and livelihoods 38 6. Recommendations 39 Recommendations from the Youth Leader Committees 39 SFCG and partners’ recommendations for future youth programming 40 6. Appendices 41 Annex A: Additional Information on Training 41 Annex B: Chosen Research Questions 44 Annex C: Additional Information on the Young Researchers 47 3 SEARCH FOR COmmON GROUND | BURUNDI YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH AND LEARNING AMAHORO IWACU – Peace in My Home TABLES Table 1: Number of Interviewees per Province 13 Table 2: Types of Community Participation Activities 26 Table 3: Reasons for Not Participating in Community Life 28 Table 4: Perception of Representativeness of the YLCs, Disaggregated per Group Represented 49 FIGURES: Figure 1: Map of Burundi with the project’s communes of intervention 10 Figure 2: Age of Interviewees 13 Figure 3: Types of Key Informants 14 Figure 4: Level of Education of the Interviewees (%) 17 Figure 5: Occupation of the Interviewees (#) 17 Figure 6: Have You Ever Resorted to Violence to Solve a Conflict? 18 Figure 7: Have You Ever Seen Youth Resort to Violence to Solve a Conflict? 18 Figure 8: Declared Use of Violence, per Province 19 Figure 9: Map of Perception of Insecurity from the Conflict Scan 20 Figure 10: If You Did Resort to Violence to Solve a Conflict, Why? 21 Figure 11: If You Did Not Resort to Violence, According to You, Why Do Some Youth Do It? 22 Figure 12: Local Specificities About Violence and Conflict Management 24 Figure 13: Do You Engage in Your Community Life? 26 Figure 14: Youth Active Community Participation, per Province 29 Figure 15: Do You Consider that You are in a Situation of Poverty? 31 Figure 16: Youth Considering Themselves in Extreme Poverty, per Province 32 Figure 17: Most Cited Causes of Poverty (#) 33 Figure 18: Most Cited Livelihoods (#) 36 Figure 19: Pre- and Post-test Results 43 Figure 20: Level of Education of Youth Leaders (%) 47 Figure 21: Occupation of Youth Leaders (#) 47 Figure 22: Perception of the Representativeness of the YLCs by the Youth Leaders (%) 48 4 SEARCH FOR COmmON GROUND | BURUNDI YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH AND LEARNING AMAHORO IWACU – Peace in My Home AcKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was made possible by the many young people and other stakeholders who participated and supported the Youth-to-Youth Research and Learning Activity in Burundi. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ideas and suggestions. ABBREVIATIONS CPAJ Collectif pour la Promotion des Associations de Jeunes (Collective for the Promotion of Youth Organizations) CRS Catholic Relief Services FGD Focus Group Discussion IGA Income Generating Activity KII Key Informant Interview L&L Conversations Listening & Learning Conversations REJA Réseau des Jeunes en Action (Youth in Action Network) SFCG Search for Common Ground USAID United States Agency for International Development YLC Youth Leadership Committee PARTNERS OF IMPLEMENTATION RéSEAU DES JEUNES COLLECTIF POUR LA PROMOTION CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES EN ACTION DES ASSOCIATIONS DE JEUNES 5 SEARCH FOR COmmON GROUND | BURUNDI YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH AND LEARNING AMAHORO IWACU – Peace in My Home EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In a context of post-electoral political crisis in Burundi, USAID and SFCG – partnering with CRS, REJA and CPAJ – began a peacebuilding project in September 2015 called “Amahoro Iwacu – Peace in My Home,” aiming at enhancing the resiliency of urban and rural youth against political, communal and inter-personal violence. YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH APPROACH Youth-to-Youth research provides an opportunity for youth explore their communities through research. The approach combines research and praxis, providing a platform for youth leaders to build critical skills and share their ideas and knowledge about local and national issues concerning youth with political and traditional leaders. 1 The Youth-to-Youth research took place between March and June 2016 in 42 communes across seven different provinces. SFCG identified 223 youth leaders to study three main topics, selecting for political, ethnic, and gender representation: 1. Youth approaches to conflict management 2. Opportunities and obstacles for youth community participation/engagement 3. Available livelihoods for youth In total the team reached 596 people through questionnaires, conducted 193 interviews and organized 44 focus groups. The youth leaders analyzed data and made recommendations that SFCG then aggregated to make programming 2 recommendations and share with Burundian youth, donors, partners and authorities. KEY FINDINGS CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: MECHANISMS THAT EMPOWER YOUTH ATTRACT YOUTH 52% of youth said that they have never had to resort to violence to solve a conflict, an important indicator that other mechanisms do exist for youth to solve conflicts. The degree of violence reported depended on the location and the timing. The periods directly before, during and after the elections were the most violent. Acts of violence were related to political conflicts, “love” and land issues. However, the analysis reveals that political manipulation is by far the main driver of youth violence. Qualitative data shows that youth are likely to be manipulated to perpetrate violence because their strength and dynamism are useful for politicians. They are vulnerable to political manipulation due to their high rates of poverty and unemployment. Involvement in political groups makes youth feel strong and valued in a context where they are often marginalized and lacking access to power. 1 “Communes” refers to a specific administrative unit within Burundi. The country is divided first by provinces, then communes, then collines (hills). 2 This research has some specific limitations inherent to the fact that it was carried out by more than 200 non- professional young researchers in a short period of time. During fieldwork, youth had to navigate a climate of insecurity; in some communes people were less willing to talk because they feared for their safety. However, the young researchers still reached more people that they were expected to. 6 SEARCH FOR COmmON GROUND | BURUNDI YOUTH-TO-YOUTH RESEARCH AND LEARNING AMAHORO IWACU – Peace in My Home COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: YOUTH WANT TO AND DO PARTICIPATE More than 75% of respondents said they are engaged in their communities. Community works attract the largest 3 portion of respondents, although solidarity and aid works also account for around 29% of the activities mentioned. Politicization of community works is still the main obstacle to participation for some youth who feel excluded or threatened. Moreover, the level of poverty among Burundian youth is high and prevents some from engaging in their community, as they must focus on securing daily income. AVAILABLE LIVELIHOODS FOR YOUTH: THE IMPACT OF POVERTY There is a strong interest in associations for Income Generating Activities (IGAs) and lending-saving in solidarity groups. Almost two thirds of interviewees said they were in a situation