Creativity and innovation in African schools were prominent themes at the opening of the first Africa Youth Summit in Kigali yesterday.

The summit brought together more than 100 select African youth and about 300 additional representatives from an array of African countries.

The summit was a combined initiative of the Forum of Rwanda Students Association, the All African Students Union, and International Hope Week. 

The summit saw outings, group discussions, film screenings and presentations by guest speakers.

The slogan for the summit, "Self-reliance for Africa’s Prosperity,” was embedded in the panel discussion under the theme, "Creative and Innovative Generation.”

The first panel was moderated by Naleli Rugege, a Rwandan fashion entrepreneur who posed the question to five panellists: "How can we unleash the creative power of the youth?”

The answers from speaker Jean-Michel Habineza, a teacher and founder of the I-Debate organisation, triggered applause from the audience.

"We need to scrap the current education system that we inherited from colonial times,” Habineza  said.

‘Banking system of education’

Referring to the work of the Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire, he said the conventional education format is a "banking system” through which information is merely deposited into the minds of learners, rather than encouraging debate and critical thinking.

"Innovation comes from a process of rigorous intellectual battle. Unless we are able to change this system, then innovation will not happen,” he said.

Habineza said debating issues is one of the best ways to engage with them. 

"Through I-Debate, we train students to be better critical thinkers. I have been able to do something with the simple gift of talking,” he said.

Rosemary Mbabazi, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Youth and ICT, admitted that the education system needed to improve. 

"Creativity is not yet streamlined in our education system. We need to stop complaining and make some changes,” Mbabazi said.

Rwandan designer Amin Gafaranga testified of how schooling experiences shaped his creative path. 

"I failed every subject besides for art. It is a misconception that someone who is creative is not smart,” the designer said.

The other panelists included Stephen Mugisha, a Rwandan author and activist, and Akaliza Keza Gara, the founder of Shaking Sun, a multimedia company based in Kigali.

Today, the participants will conclude the summit with group discussions, a gala dinner and a session with President Paul Kagame.

International Hope Week coordinator Hawa Dème-Sarr said the summit was conceptualised six months ago, and that Rwanda was an automatic host choice because of its history and commitment to youth empowerment.