Prof. Dr. Aloys Misago and Philipp Keil at the BW-Burundi Conference 2022 in Stuttgart (© SEZ/ Amani Papy).
Our long-term partner Prof. Dr. Aloys Misago from Burundi visited Baden-Württemberg and the SEZ in November. In the interview, you can get to know him and his important work at the German Center.
Hello Prof. Dr. Misago, can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your work and the German Center in Burundi?
I am the chairman of the board of the German Center in Bujumbura. The center was founded in 2022, but German courses have been available since 2014.
In 2014, a delegation from Baden-Württemberg came to visit. At that time, I was the dean of the Institute of Economics. During the trip, the delegation saw the circumstances under which we had to work: at that time, there were two teachers with a PhD who had to supervise more than 2.000 students. The delegation then decided to offer five students per year the opportunity to complete a PhD in Germany. The problem: in 2014, I could not find five people who had sufficient knowledge of German. So I only sent two teachers to Germany. These two teachers were my first two German students.
In 2015, unrest followed in Burundi and the partnership somewhat died down. But in 2017, the partnership was revived and we were able to start with 79 new German learners. At that time, the SEZ stepped in and financed the first German course after 2015. Since then, the number of learners has grown rapidly, so that today we have 2540 students enrolled in the German courses. In 2014, we started "small" - today we have several campuses where German is taught:
- four in Bujumbura,
- three in Gitega,
- one in Ngozi,
- one in Rumonge and
- three locations in Nyanza Lac.
The interest in the German language in Burundi has increased so much that we have to limit the number of participants. Because we have two problems:
The first problem is the small number of teachers. The first people to teach German were those who studied in Germany and therefore learned the language. As the number of interested people increased, we had to motivate former students with B1 and B2 to become German teachers. Today we can meet this demand.
The second problem is the space. From the beginning, we used the university's rooms. Today, we still use these rooms or rooms in schools. But that only works with evening courses. It takes four years to reach level B2 with evening school. That's too slow for people who are in a hurry. For example, they have a scholarship or want to go to their family in Germany. These people cannot study for four years. That's why we also offer intensive courses in which students and pupils study from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. But the institutions also need their rooms at these times. So the question for us is: How can we find new rooms so that we can continue with the intensive courses?
Thank you for this insight – the development from 79 learners to over 2.500 is very impressive. But yes, of course, this also brings with it other requirements in terms of the premises.
There is a Burundian saying: "Inzira ntibara inkuru - On a journey you come across a multitude of stories." You have been teaching German for many years and are part of the AMAHORO! national partnership. Can you think of a story or anecdote from the partnership that you experienced and would like to share with us?
That's a difficult question, I've experienced so many different things in relationships. Could you give me some direction?
How about a highlight? Or an encounter where you met someone special?
What really impresses me about the partnership is that it is not just numbers, not just buildings, but a personal encounter. I have made a lot of friends through the partnership, so that when I travel to Germany I feel at home. And I have also experienced that many partners feel so comfortable with each other that they invite each other to their homes. That is what I love most about the partnership.
Do you think that's also because of the German courses on site? That it leads to new encounters and people being able to exchange ideas? That it leads to new friendships and families being formed because people can talk to each other?
Yes, of course. There are many German learners who become friends through exchange. Even in the extended network, i.e. people who have not been actively attending German courses for a long time, come to network meetings. Unfortunately, there are few visitors from Germany who come to Burundi to get to know the German learners. But I think in the future more interested people will come from Germany and this can of course lead to new friendships.
Maybe in the future there will be more exchange in both directions …
Yes, in Burundi we learn German. I dream that one day German students will also learn Kirundi.
Yes, of course. Then we must build a Kirundi centre here and perhaps one day we will have over 2000 students learning Kirundi.
Yes, it would be enough if schools or universities offered voluntary Kirundi courses.
Exactly, then you could speak both languages in exchange - German and Kirundi. That's a nice idea.
Our last question is along similar lines: do you have a wish for the partnership?
Yes, I would like to see more back and forth in the partnership. It is often still a one-way street. For the future, I would like to see more back and forth in the areas of culture and business. For example, that the partnership supports more companies to establish themselves in Burundi.
We are happy to continue to work for more exchange, more back and forth. Thank you for your commitment and the interview!
