As part of Peace and Sport’s ongoing efforts to use sport to promote peace around the world, the 8th edition of the Friendship Games in the Great Lakes region of Africa will be held in Burundi from 11 to 13 August.

This year, the Games will mark the 12th anniversary of the end of the Burundi civil war, and will take place in Bujumbura, the same city as the ceasefire was agreed. These three days of trans-border sports events designed to promote peace will bring together 9-15 years-old from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.

To guarantee the good organisation of the event, a Peace and Sport delegation is in Bujumbura, Burundi, from the 19th to 25th of June 2017 to meet with partners and actors supporting the Friendship Games.

During the pre-visit, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the President of the National Olympic Committee of Burundi, Lydia Nsekera.

Iris Vlachoutsicos, International Relations & Field Programs Director at Peace and Sport said: “The Friendship Games provide a unique opportunity for the young participants to forge friendships and learn to live together by embracing the cultural, ethnic and national origins of each person through sport activities. All this, strongly contributes to create more educated young people, who will be able to become role models and, thus, play a fundamental role in the development of their region”.

This year, Peace and Sport Champions for Peace, Jean Francois Tordo and Jean Baptiste Alaize will attend and contribute to making the event unforgettable.