A documentary film on Rwanda’s reading culture will be premiered tomorrow, Rodriguez Iragena, the producer of the documentary, has confirmed. The event will be held at Impact Hub in Kigali, on Wednesday evening, at 6pm.

Iragena said the documentary aims to highlight the state of the reading culture in Rwanda in relation to the different initiatives that have been undertaken by the government, NGOs and other stakeholders in an effort to encourage reading among the Rwandan population.

"As a social activist, I would like to see more people in Rwanda adopt the culture of reading since it is from reading that one is able to acquire knowledge in different aspects of life and also knowing what is going on all round us,” said Iragena

He noted that after traveling to different East African countries like Kenya, he observed that more people read newspapers, novels, magazines and even sign posts on the streets, which is different in Rwanda, where most people have no time to read.

"I am surprised by how hard it is to get a newspaper, book or magazine stall in any corner of town without moving a long distance to certain points. We also have well equipped libraries and book stores but just a handful of people are able to walk to these places to buy or read a book, here in Rwanda,” he added.

The 23-minute documentary will feature perceptions from various key players in the country, as they share their views on why the reading culture in Rwanda is still low compared to neighbouring countries like Uganda and Kenya.

After the premiere, there will be an open discussion between the audience and panel members who will be able to discuss the question at hand; how can we improve the reading culture in the country?

Members of the panel include Umutesi Gasana, the General Secretary of Book Sellers and Publishers Association, and Arthur Barigye Mugunga, the CEO of School Books Distributors.

Other topics that Iragena plans to document this year will include unemployment and labour market, modern technologies versus Rwanda’s society, among many.

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