Since its independence in 1962, the small central Africa nation of Burundi has been home to one of the world's most intractable and deadly conflicts, with over 300,000 killed and one-and-a-half million displaced. This paper (see below and at right) reports on a novel capacity-building initiative that has been launched by the Wilson Center's Africa Program, designed to restore the ability of Burundian leaders to collaborate effectively in advancing the country's reconstruction and securing a sustainable
peace.

(Pictured above are Burundian leaders participating in a six-day leadership retreat in the town of Ngozi. Pictured at left is Howard Wolpe, director of the Africa Program, with Fabien Nsengimana, the BLTP Office Manager and General El Hadji Alioune Samba, Deputy Force Commander for the United Nations Military Observer Mission in Burundi.)