A delegation composed of AGANZE MUSAFIRI Arnold, BAHARANYI BUSIME Guilaine and BIRUMBA NYEGEZI Daniel, three students and members of the Catholic community of Université Catholique de Bukavu met Pope Francis during his meeting with Congolese youth at the Nunciature on February 2, 2023.

BUSIME BARAHANYI Guilaine, a student in the first year of her degree in the Department of Environmental Sciences, spoke on behalf of the youth of catholic universities of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On this occasion, the Congolese youth, through their peer from Université Catholique de Bukavu, asked the Holy Father to raise their voices so that special attention be given to the humanitarian chaos through which the East of the DR Congo is passing. They also raised the issue of human rights violations that plague the population throughout the country.

The students praised Pope Francis message of hope by committing themselves to the cause of peace and reconciliation. They concluded their remarks by pleading for the restoration of peace while denouncing the silence of the international community.
During his speech, Pope Francis called on young people to transform society. His Holiness emphasized the restoration of peace by asking the students to wear the hat of peacemakers in their respective communities.
Serving the community is one of the three missions of the Catholic University of Bukavu that our students take to heart throughout their studies.

Olivier SHUKURU and Patient MURHI, two students enrolled in the final year at the Faculty of Law of Université Catholique de Bukavu with a particular interest in issues related to sexual violence, have worked in pairs with two students from Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) on a North-South dialogue project.

This project consists of an analysis of Congolese court decisions and aims to highlight the intercultural exchange. This collegial work is the fruit of a diversity of opinions reflected in the results of different student research. To facilitate the exchanges, the project favors face-to-face work by involving field actors. The UCL students visited Bukavu in September. A trip by UCB students to Belgium is planned in the coming days.

The research and daily reports of the visits are posted on this blog which was created in the Rosa Parks law clinic of Université Catholique de Louvain.

Our students motivated their interest in the issue by a bitter observation they made about the armed conflicts in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. For them, the armed conflicts being at the base of the repetitive wars have caused sexual violence, an issue that has become horrifying in view of the denomination of the world capital of rape.

Driven by the desire to produce quality work on such a crucial issue, the students set out to update the issues of sexual violence depending on realities and contexts.

During their field works with their UCL peers, under the guidance of Prof Trésor MAHESHE MUSOLE, SHUKURU and MURHI deplored the lack of interest and information on the issue of sexual violence. For them, this experience is a great opportunity because the issue of sexual violence alerts more than one person regardless of their background. It also allows them to go deeper into certain questions while creating a critical and collegial spirit.

During his appearance on the American podcast The Redline, Professor BOSSISSI NKUBA, professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and researcher at the Mining and Environmental Governance Center (CEGEMI) of Université Catholique de Bukavu painted a picture of the mining boom in the DRC, focusing on its impact on local communities.

What infrastructure are multinationals seeking to improve? How does the central government enforce its regulations at the provincial and municipal levels? What other factors lead to regulatory conflicts between national and provincial authorities? These are the questions that Professor BOSSISSI answers with expertise.

Discussing with Michael Hillard (The Red Line Podcast), Jason Stearns (Simon Frazer University), Ben Radley (University of Bath & CEGEMI) and Emilia Columbo (CSIS Africa & Voxcroft), Prof Bossissi shows how the DRC, having the bulk of the world’s cobalt and being affected by multiple wars, can still help in the global fight against climate change.

Find the podcast on:

Red Line podcast: https://www.theredlinepodcast.com/post/d-r-congo-dirty-metals-for-clean-energy-the-green-line

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/d-r-congo-dirty-metals-for-clean-energy-the-green-line-ep-4/id1482715810?i=1000586874029

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/68nqOOThz37kPFrDfyVfxU?si=n3KGrRzsQqCsrUeZy0thxQ

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkDkXfHTWbw