Bujumbura is the economic capital, largest city, and main port of Burundi. With more than 370,000 inhabitants, Bujumbura is one of the fastest-growing cities in continental Africa, which calls for new jobs, innovation, and bettering the livelihood of the people.
CEDICOM, the diocesan communication center of Bujumbura Diocese, is a key player in promoting Christian formation and raising awareness of truth, justice, peace, and reconciliation through its video production studio in Bujumbura and beyond the city limits.
Since its establishment in October 2017, the studio has been providing essential tools for Christian communication and promoting a society that respects human dignity. However, the studio’s equipment was becoming obsolete, and it needed an upgrade to continue its critical mission. This is where SIGNIS came in, supporting the renewal project with funding and technical expertise.
The project’s primary goal was to replace the existing equipment in CEDICOM’s production studio and train young people who would later lead the activities of the center. The new professional audio-video studio is dedicated to Cardinal Foley, a pioneer in using modern communication technologies for evangelization.
“This is the first Catholic studio of the country. It’s dedicated to music production in the hopes of saving liturgical and popular music. We’ve reached out to highly talented young people who can come here and improve their skills”, affirms Fr. Dieudonné Niyibizi, director of CEDICOM.
The upgraded equipment has enabled CEDICOM to create high-quality productions that are engaging and attractive to the target audience. The project also offers a unique opportunity for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to acquire new skills in video production, empowering them to contribute to society and earn a living. “This is a great opportunity as a lot of young people have talent but have nowhere to develop it”, says Diomède, one of the young producers at the center. Odrade, a journalist at CEDICOM, adds that “the new equipment is key to producing higher quality content”, as in the past they were constantly interrupted by outside noise and didn’t have the necessary software to try and fix it.
CEDICOM’s Cardinal Foley studio has become a key tool for promoting Christian communication, evangelization, and social development in the Bujumbura Diocese. In this video, directed by Valeria Boldnar, discover its story and how it has impacted the lives of the people of Burundi.
Watch the video here
Inspiring hope: a SIGNIS project empowering new voices is a campaign sponsored by SIGNIS with support from the Catholic Communication Campaign aims to share stories of hope that inspire and generate social transformation from new communication resources—a journey through Burundi, Liberia, Belize, Mexico, and Tanzania.