Conflict, Reconciliation and Peace Education ― Moving Burundi Toward a Sustainable Future

"When the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States occurred--causing that nation to wage wars of revenge in Afghanistan and Iraq--the people of Burundi were recovering from nearly forty years of violence, genocide and civil wars that had killed nearly one million and produced another million refugees. Here in this small East African nation, one of the four poorest nations on earth, however, was a desire for reconciliation--not revenge--and it still runs deep today. The University of Ngozi in northern Burundi was created in 1999 and is now dedicated to peace, reconciliation and sustainable development. People in this region tell remarkable stories of tragedy and recovery amid these horrors. Their stories can inspire others to preserve their humanity and resist the urge to continue the violence, focusing instead on forgiveness, reconciliation and a better way forward. This volume presents case study analysis while pointing to the promise of a new kind of education that is committed to sustainable peace and development. The lessons here for the rest of the world are deep and inspiring"--

William M. Timpson is a professor in the School of Education at Colorado State University, USA, and received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has served as a National Kellogg Fellow and as a Fulbright Senior Specialist on peace and reconciliation studies at the University of Ulster’s UNESCO Centre in Northern Ireland and at the University of Ngozi in Burundi, Africa.

Elavie Ndura is a professor of education and the founder and coordinator of the Shinnyo Fellowship for Peacebuilding through Intercultural Dialogue at George Mason University, USA. She is the recipient of many awards including the 2010–2011 Woodrow Wilson Fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the Peace and Justice Studies Association’s 2011 Peace Educator of the Year Award; the 2008 United Burundian Community Association Imboneza Award; and the 2004 Reno- Sparks NAACP Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Award. She is a Fulbright Senior Specialist for education, peace education, and conflict analysis and resolution.

Fr. Apollinaire Bangayimbaga is the Rector of the University of Ngozi in Burundi, East Africa. He received his Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Madrid in Spain. Born near Ngozi in northern Burundi and educated in a Catholic seminary, Apollinaire captured the attention of senior church leaders and was awarded the opportunity to study for his Ph.D. at the University of Madrid in Spain and serve that community as a priest for eighteen years prior to his appointment as rector in Burundi.