Poni: Governor calls on young people to embrace their culture to build a peaceful future. The Governor of the Southwest region, Siaka Barro, yesterday Thursday invited the young generation to embrace their culture and be proud of it, in order to build a future of peace and cohesion. “Customs and traditions are not relics of the past, but living markers for building a future of peace and cohesion,” said the governor of the Southwest region, Siaka Barro.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the governor continued, “I appeal to all generations, especially young people, to embrace their culture and be proud of their origins.” The governor spoke on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Gaoua, at the opening of the commemorative ceremony for the 2nd edition of the Day of Customs and Traditions, before followers of the region’s traditional religion and others from C´te d’Ivoire, Mali, Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria.
The region’s top official emphasized that young people must also contribute to the transmission of indigenous knowledge. “In these times when social, economic, and security challenges call for solidarity and unity, it is essential that we rely on respect, tolerance, solidarity, and ancestral wisdom to face them and triumph over adversity,” he stated.
The Southwest region boasts a mosaic of cultures, languages, rites, and knowledge passed down from generation to generation. It includes the Dagara, Lobi, Birifor, Gan, Djan, Loron, Pougouli, and many other communities.
As a reminder, of the 875,442 souls living in this region of Burkina, 48.1% practice the traditional religion, compared to 23.1% of Catholics and 19.5% of Muslims, according to the results of the latest census by the National Institute of Statistics and Demography.