REGIONAL YOUTH need to dialogue on issues surrounding the region and understand them in a bid to come up with constructive views to build a peaceful, tolerant and violence-free region.

The call was made Thursday  by Prof. Nasson Munyandamutsa, the Country director of Never Again Rwanda at the  Great Lakes film festival held in Rubavu District.

It brought together participants from Rwanda, DR Congo and Burundi.

The event was organised by the Never Again Rwanda and Pole Institute, an intercultural institute for peace in the Great Lakes Region.

The festival aims at deconstructing stereotypes and prejudices among regional members and promote values of peace, tolerance and non-violence, officials said.

Through the films, participants reflect on various issues hampering peace and tolerance in the region and suggest possible solutions to bring an end to violence in the region.

Munyandamutsa said the region had similar history of conflicts based on ethnicity and tribalism, among others, and welcomed the fact that people from the region were brought together to discuss their issues.

"Apart from bringing people together, this film festival has a great importance because films have the capacity to transfer a more profound message than verbal communication alone,” said Munyandamutsa, adding that the films are targeting to an audience who lives in a region that has experienced high conflict in recent history.

"Film is a catalyzer of thought,” Munyandamutsa added. "It facilitates interaction. The images seen in film have power of transferring important messages to the people, messages that last, messages that words sometimes miss.”  

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