Never Again Rwanda, in partnership with International Alert through the support of the Swedish Embassy in DRC, hosted young people from Rwanda and DR Congo as part of a 2-day joint exchange on stereotypes and manipulation in the Great Lakes region. This exchange aimed to inspire young men and women to use their leadership skills for effective and innovative dialogue and advocacy initiatives in their communities.
The exchange included presentations and speeches that were centered on reminding youth from Rwanda and DR Congo that no matter the religion, race, ethnicity or country of origin, people deserve to be treated as human beings and not ill-treated or resented based on stereotypes or even prejudices.
In their opening remarks, Immaculate Mukankubito, Head of Strategy and Impact at Never Again Rwanda and Bazigaga Gloriose from International Alert Rwanda, both urged young participants to develop a deep sense of critical thinking, if sustainable peace within their communities is to be achieved, “Peace is in your hands”, they reiterated.
Interactions between young Rwandans and Congolese allowed them to start a constructive dialogue and especially, to learn from each other. Sorre Bisimwa from the DR Congo shared the lesson he learned from the exchange. “Before attending this cross-border exchange, I could not think that I can sit on the same table with my Rwandan brothers and sisters because of stereotypes. Now I am learning that through dialogue we get to know each other”, he said. Dialogue and tolerance are thus effective ways of deconstructing stereotypes and preventing violence escalation.
According to Wilondja Yuba Josué from DR-Congo and Umutesi Marie Josée from Rwanda, young people must become aware of their responsibilities and engage themselves through art (poem, musical sculpture, etc.) or community dialogue associations in order to fight against all forms of discriminations related to identity.
Rosette Ngoga, through the experience gained from her involvement in NAR-affiliated peace clubs said, “By collecting 100 Rwf per student in my school, we were able to help an old lady who survived from the 1994 genocide against Tutsis, to rebuild her house. NAR teaches us that with less, we can do a lot. “
Uwimana Jacqueline, from UMUSEKE organization cautioned the participants on active citizenship and the role of young people in the fight against generalization, discrimination, prejudice, and rumors while Hategekimana Jean Baptiste, Governance & Rights Senior Program Officer at Never Again Rwanda reminded them on the role of young people in mediation and youth participation in community governance.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Joseph Ryarasa Nkurunziza, called on all participants to fight against all forms of manipulation and, above all, to take advantage of Rwanda’s experience in peace building in order to positively change their communities, their country and the Great Lakes region.
“You have the potential and you should use that potential in the positive ways. You cannot change your history, but you can learn from it towards positive change”. Dr Joseph said.
Among other activities, a documentary film produced in the framework of identifying stereotypes and manipulation in the Great Lakes region was shown and a visit at Gisozi Memorial Center as well as an opportunity to share experiences in peace building interventions within their respective communities.