Abuja: The official kickoff for the mandatory patriotic immersion activities of the 2026 session took place this Tuesday at the L©o municipal high school. A total of 1,082 high school graduates from the Sissili and Ziro provinces, including 569 girls, are participating in this 30-day program designed to forge disciplined, aware, and nationally engaged youth.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the young graduates were welcomed from July 27th and attended the official launch, which included performances from artists, speeches from administrative and customary authorities, and a symbolic planting of trees. In his launch message, the President of Burkina Faso addressed the youth, congratulating them on their success and emphasizing that this initiative is part of a specific national context. He urged the young people to become a bulwark, both materially and morally, and never to betray the nation, stressing the importance of teaching history and economic sovereignty.
On the ground, the organization ensured comprehensive arrangements for the participants. The High Commissioner of Sissili Province, T©windIsaac Sia, reassured everyone that the conscripts from both provinces would be fully taken care of, particularly in terms of meals and training instructors. The Provincial Director of Secondary Education, Vocational and Technical Training, Lawabien Serge To©, highlighted the maturity of the 2026 edition after the pilot phase of 2025, noting the separate sites for boys and girls at the provincial and municipal high schools.
Training modules, led by Adjutant-Chief Drissa Napon, deputy commander of the L©o gendarmerie company, include close-quarters combat tactics, the history of National Service, and military security, aiming to mold disciplined and patriotic Burkinab¨ individuals. Local customary authorities, such as His Majesty Lio-Pio Dan-Zw¨, Chief of the Canton of L©o, expressed support for the immersion program and called for solidarity from local populations in the form of donations.
The participants expressed enthusiasm for the program. Lorraine Tankoano, a graduate from the Cassou departmental high school, praised the program's smooth start and reaffirmed her classmates' ambitions to cultivate solidarity, patriotic commitment, and a love for their neighbor. The ceremony concluded with the planting of three trees by provincial authorities, combat forces, and the conscripts of the mandatory patriotic immersion 2026.