Francine Furaha Muyumba (born 18 February 1987) is a Congolese activist and politician serving as Senator in the Senate of Congo. Previously, she served as the president of the

Panafrican Youth Union The Panafrican Youth Union (PYU) is the apex body for National Youth Coordinating Bodies and Mechanism in Africa. Known formerly as the Panafrican Youth Movement (PYM), it was transformed into the PYU at the organisation's 2003 congress in Windho ...

, the official youth body of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

from November 2015 to April 2019.

Early life

Muyumba graduated with a Bachelor of Arts honors degree from the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the follow ...

in 2011. There she was also active in student government and in her final year she was elected president of the Student Representative Council, the UNAM SRC, becoming the first ever international student to hold the position. During this time in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, Muyumba served as the acting country coordinator of the United Nations Association. After her studies and tenure as country coordinator, she returned to serve the youth of her native DRC from 2012 to 2014. Based on her experience of youth activism around the world, she is a regular speaker on youth issues, including before the United Nations. She has also served as the president of the Administrative Board of the National Federation of Youth Entrepreneurs of the DRC, country coordinator for the National Youth Forum DRC, and bilingual secretary of the DRC government peace talks with M23 rebels in Kampala, Uganda. She helped to mobilize the youth of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region of Africa to participate in peace and stability forums, and became an advocate for youth rights. This contributed to her becoming the first female president of the

, representing all African youth under the

President of the Panafrican Youth Union

Muyumba was elected president of the

(PYU) in 2014. The PYU functions as the elected representative body for all African youth (defined as those under 35 years of age)—a demographic that consists of 65 percent of Africa's population. During her tenure as president of the PYU, Muyumba strengthened the relationship with the

African Union Commission The Commission of the African Union acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union (and is somewhat analogous to the European Commission). It consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of ...

, in order to bring African youth to the center of decision making; and facilitated intergenerational communication and the inclusion of youth voices in political matters across Africa. She serves as the primary representative of youth issues to the African Union and associated heads of state. Muyumba worked with the African Union chairwoman

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma (née Dlamini; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Cong ...

to establish continental youth development funds. She has been a peace advocate both locally and globally. In her role, Francine Muyumba advocates for youth entrepreneurship and youth job creation to support peace and stability on the African continent. She has also advocated on behalf of African youth to UN Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

. She is the first Pan African Youth Union president, since the creation of the organization in 1962, to be given an opportunity to speak at the UN General Assembly on behalf of African Youth. She has been working closely with the United Nations Envoy on Youth to voice issues affecting youth around the world. Also, in her role as president of the PYU, Muyumba has increased collaboration and goal-setting with international bodies and the African Union through her work with African Union Agenda 2063, the African Youth Charter, and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of the United Nations. Muyumba is a frequent presenter in international youth and women's forums; in 2015, Muyumba spoke at the Global Summit of Women in São Paulo, the United Nations General Assembly, the first World Youth Forum on peace and security in Amman, the African Union Heads of State and government summits, and the Millennium Campus Conference at the United Nations. She has also met with the United States Department of State and the World Bank in Washington D.C. in order to strengthen partnerships for African youth development. On 30 May 2018, Muyumba attended the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg Russia where she stressed that the need of globalisation and that the World needed Africa as much as Africa needed the world. On 30 November 2019, she resigned as President of the

to resume her new role in the Congolese senate.

Political career

In March 2019, Muyumba was elected to the Congolese

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by the provincial assembly of

Haut-Katanga Haut-Katanga (French for "Upper Katanga") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, and Tanganyika provinces are the result of the dismemberm ...

. At the age of 32, she was one of the two youngest persons elected to the body.

Personal life

Muyumba lives in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. In July 2019, she married long time partner and spokesperson of Congo's former ruling party,

Patrick Nkanga Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick o ...

, in a traditional wedding in Kinshasa.https://pourelle.info/page-rose-francine-muyumba-unis-a-patrick-nkanga/ Francine Muyumba unie à Patrick Nkanga – PourElle.info

References

External links