RWANDA - PAVILION
As part of the Festival of Cultures of the Biennale of Luanda 2021, discover the content proposed by Rwanda!
Labor of love
"Mashirika released a play in a way to pay tribute and express gratitude to everyone who contributed in the fight for freedom and liberation of Rwanda. Mashirika Performing Arts and Media Company which is known for being at the forefront of using theatre for development and using art in various forms to tell the message of Rwanda, especially, made a play which is so ‘touching and heart melting’." [The New-York Times]
The National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide
The National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) is a Rwandan organisation that is concerned with the 1994 Rwanda genocide. They are involved with studying what happened. Their mission is to prevent and fight against Genocide, its ideology and overcoming its consequences.
One of their actions was to create the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre which they achieved in collaboration with the City's council and the Aegis Trust. The Aegis Trust now manage the centre

Gacaca - The Heart of the Matter
June 18, 2012 | Documentary on the legacy of the Gacaca courts
The word Gacaca refers to the small patch of grass where a community would traditionally meet to discuss questions that worried that community. People of integrity in the village would facilitate a discussion that any member of the community could take part in. Once everyone had spoken, the elders in the community would reach a decision about how the problem would be solved. In this way, Gacaca acted as a traditional court. Gacaca courts were revived in Rwandan society as a way to process the millions of cases that arose following the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.
Contemporary Gacaca draws inspiration from the traditional model by replicating a local community-based justice system with the aim of restoring the social fabric of society. In total, 1,958,634 genocide related cases were tried through Gacaca. The courts finished their work in June 2012.
Rwanda Peace Education Programmes

Rwanda Peace Education Programme (RPEP) : Successful stories
The overall aim of the programme was the promotion of social cohesion, positive values such as pluralism and personal responsibility, empathy, critical thinking and action in order to build a more peaceful society in Rwanda.
Building on the expertise of each partner organisation, the Rwanda Peace Education Programme was a multi-faceted effort with a variety of components, including a travelling Peace Exhibition, debates in high schools and universities, teacher training, youth leadership capacity-strengthening, advocacy, radio drama production, and capacity-building support to the staff of the Kigali Genocide Memorial and the Genocide Archives of Rwanda.
The Education for Sustainable Peace in Rwanda (ESPR)
The Aegis Trust has developed a successful model for peace education in Rwanda, supporting tens of thousands of young people across the country with the knowledge and skills to overcome the legacy of genocide.
From 2016 Aegis Rwanda’s Education for Sustainable Peace in Rwanda (ESPR) programme supported the curriculum change, embedding peace and values education in the classroom, while strengthening the skills of teachers through Peace Schools. A major shift of the new competency based curriculum is the emphasis on skills: critical thinking, empathy, personal responsibility and trust are strengthened through interactive teaching methods. This 3-year programme focused on Teachers and Parents as educators as well as Youth.
Disclaimer
The ideas and opinions expressed on this page are those of the Member State; they do not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO and the Organization hereby declines all liability. The designation employed and the presentation of material throughout the National Pavilion or this webpage do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Organization, concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries.