Danny-Claire Sankima from BDD eV welcomed the guests at the 2023 benefit concert. Photo credit: SEZ/Fotonoid
Stuttgart, November 05.11.2024, 40 | For more than 13 years, the AMAHORO! state partnership has connected people between Baden-Württemberg and Burundi. To mark this anniversary, the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) is inviting people to the AMAHORO! anniversary celebration on November 2024, XNUMX in Stuttgart, followed by a benefit concert.
The year is 1984. Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" is playing on the radio and conquering the charts. But it's not just Wonder who is celebrating a milestone this year, but also the AMAHORO! state partnership between Baden-Württemberg and Burundi: It is the year in which the partnership sees the light of day. Today, in 2024, the heart of this partnership beats stronger than ever. Numerous people from both regions are involved every day in various areas: from education to health to research.
To celebrate this commitment and to look back on the last 40 years, the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) invites you to the AMAHORO! anniversary celebration with a benefit concert on November 13, 2024 at 18 p.m. in the New Palace in Stuttgart. The patron of the evening is Astère Hatungimana, Chairman of the Burundian Diaspora in Germany eV. The association plays an important role as a bridge builder between the two regions and, through its commitment, makes a significant contribution to strengthening relations. The Burundian musician Arthur Nimpaye will open the evening with music.
A journey through stories: 40 years of AMAHORO!
Under the Burundian proverb "Inzira ntibara inkuru - On a journey you encounter a multitude of stories", those involved look back on the past four decades, in which countless encounters and projects have been created between people from Baden-Württemberg and Burundi. The focus of the anniversary celebration is on civil society, which has always been at the heart of the AMAHORO! partnership.
Following the festival program, guests can look forward to a benefit concert with the Camerata Europeana chamber orchestra. Under the direction of Radoslaw Szulc, the orchestra will present works by great masters: in addition to Handel, Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" will also be heard. Solo contributions by Anissa Baniahmad (flute), Tamara Bueno de la Torre (soprano), Bernhard Lörcher (cello) and Doren Dinglinger (violin) promise a musical treat.
The donations from the evening will benefit projects from the AMAHORO! partnership, such as the educational project on sustainable agriculture and microfinance for small farmers in Kirundo and Muyinga by the association Burundi und Wir eV
Press contact: Anna Leicht, Telephone: 0711-2 10 29-11, Mobile: +49 176 76419208, kommunikation@sez.de
Background to the AMAHORO! State partnership between Baden-Württemberg and Burundi
For more than 40 years, partnerships between people from Baden-Württemberg and Burundi have built a bridge across national borders and continents. Political visits and return visits marked the beginning. After the then President of the National Assembly of Burundi, Prof. Dr. Emile Mworoha, traveled to Stuttgart in 1983, the then President of the State Parliament, Erich Schneider, was invited to Burundi in 1984. Over the years, these initial contacts between the two regions developed into a broad network of active and committed people. The heart of this partnership has remained the same over all these years: the exchange between people. In 2009, the SEZ set up a coordination office for the partnership on behalf of the state of Baden-Württemberg, and in 2014 a partnership agreement was officially signed to work on joint development in both regions. Nine years later, State Secretary Rudi Hoogvliet for Baden-Württemberg and Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro for Burundi signed a declaration of intent to deepen the partnership in Burundi in 2023. Regular exchange visits between the governments and those involved, as well as the opening of a liaison office in Bujumbura to complement the SEZ contact point in Stuttgart, are intended to bring people from both regions together.
Here you can find out more about the AMAHORO! state partnership: www.bw-burundi.com
Background to the SEZ
The Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) wants to sensitize the population of Baden-Württemberg for globally responsible action and show how everyone can do something for a fairer world. The foundation promotes and networks private, municipal and regional initiatives to improve and deepen partnerships with countries in the so-called Global South. In doing so, it strengthens the awareness of people in Baden-Württemberg for the global connections of local actions.
