“Twigishanye”, a platform that aims at informing and training the youth and the adolescents

The Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture officially launched on April 18^th in Bujumbura, the IoGT platform (Internet of Good things) initiated by the UNICEF in Burundi. This platform aims to inform but also to train young adolescents on different subjects to promote a better and healthier life.

Organized with UNICEF support, this launch took place in the presence of Mrs. Jeanne Niyonzima, advisor for youth affairs and Mr. Sindayigaya Zabulon, director of youth at the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture, as well as Nathalie Meyer, UNICEF's Deputy representative. The event also saw the participation of 82 young adolescents between 15 and 24 years old, enthusiastic and ready to learn.

On behalf of UNICEF, Nathalie Meyer gave the audience an overview of the functionality and importance of the IoGT platform, which has been renamed by the young people of Burundi, and thus called in Kirundi " Twigishanye”.
This platform includes information on topics such as health, hygiene, climate change, water, etc. Subjects that aim at promoting a better and healthier life among young people. “..… IoGT is present in 60 countries and territories around the world and is helping to bridge the digital divide and empower young people to access information and learn life-saving and life-enhancing skills,” added Nathalie Meyer.

With a slogan, "ubumenyi bwacu, kazoza keza (our knowledge, a bright future)", this platform “Twigishanye” is part of capacity building to participation and commitments of adolescents to, not only, promote a better and healthier life but also a harmonious and integral development.

“This platform IoGT comes at the right time as it will help to mobilize adolescents and young people through information and trainings that it offers.” said Jeanne Niyonzima, youth affairs adviser to the minister in charge of the youth. She added that this platform is in addition to other technical and financial support that UNICEF offers for the empowerment of young people and adolescents in Burundi. IoGT is a digital approach, in addition to other approaches to reinforce competences of adolescents and young people. 

It was then up to Belinda Ndabaneze, consultant at UNICEF, to present IoGT, by showing advantages and opportunities offered while navigating the platform.

At the end of the launch, a competition called “May the best win” was organized to initiate the youth into navigating on the platform and choose a topic to present while respecting the criteria of the competition:  timing and eloquence.

Kasimwa King Etienne, 21 years old, poet and winner of the competition will mention that the platform “Twigishanye” is a very good initiative. He will insist that today young people, lack information especially concerning their sexual, physical and mental health. “Many young people and teenagers perish, they don't take care of their physical health, they use narcotics to ease the sorrows or drive away the worries but that is never a solution as we all know, therefore, the information found on “Twigishanye” helps to educate us and work on the psychological and spiritual side as it is even the basis of life”.

At the end of the IoGT launch, Burundian adolescents and young people expressed their satisfaction to have a new tool to improve their skills. They suggested to the ministry and UNICEF to keep on feeding the platform with useful themes for young people while making it more attractive, interactive, and fun with many audio-visual contents. The platform Twigishanye, counts more than 30 million users globally since its first launch in 2015. In Burundi, 115 thousand users aged between 13-24 years use this platform since its first launch in 2021.