This week, at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Aegis Trust hosted one hundred national and international experts to discuss the role of Peace and Values Education in preventing conflict and mass atrocity. The New Times sat down with Aegis Trust Country Director, Yves Kamuronsi, to find out more about the work of the organisation and why teaching peace is essential for Rwanda’s development.

What is the Aegis Trust? Tell us about the work that you do.

Aegis Trust works in Rwanda and around the world to prevent genocide and educate the next generation of champions for humanity. For more than ten years, Aegis has supported Rwandans to build lasting peace through education programmes that teach about the history of the Genocide against the Tutsi and share stories that promote unity and social cohesion.

To date, this work has been mainly through the Rwanda Peace Education Programme and Genocide Research and Reconciliation Programme, which have reached more than 60,000 educators, young Rwandans and community members.

In partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Aegis Trust also helped to establish the Genocide Archive of Rwanda and the Kigali Genocide Memorial. We now run the memorial on behalf of the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG).

Why is peace and values education important?

Peace and stability are vital to the development of every community, city and country. If we live together in harmony, free from the fear of violence, then we are able to create the prosperous lives we want and deserve.

In Rwanda, we know the terrible consequences of hatred and violence. The Genocide against the Tutsi was the result of a systematic campaign of dehumanisation and division over many years. Just as people were taught to hate one another, we can also teach people to love one another. When we teach peace, we develop a generation of peacemakers.

While much progress has been made over the last 23 years, building peace is an on-going process and everyone needs to be involved – young and old.

Whichever way you look at it, peace is the foundation for prosperity in Rwanda.

What impact is peace education having on the lives of Rwandans?

Put simply, peace education is changing lives. We have seen Rwandans who harboured resentment against others begin the process of forgiveness and reconciliation.

For example, young people trained by Aegis Trust set up peace clubs and went door to door in their communities helping to solve family problems. One of these ‘Peace Champions’ in Gasabo District, Rameaux, was so inspired by what he learnt that he helped set up six other peace clubs and has run peace education workshops with more than 1,000 young people and community members.

In addition, with our partners Radio La Benevolencija, USC Shoah Foundation and the Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace, we worked with the government to include ‘Peace and Values’ as a crosscutting subject in Rwanda’s new Competency Based National Curriculum. With Peace and Values now part of the curriculum, there is an opportunity to give all Rwandan students the knowledge and tools to be agents of peace – working for a bright future just like Rameaux.

How does the work of Kigali Genocide Memorial contribute to peace education?

The memorial is a place of remembrance and learning. As the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi and a permanent memorial to the more than one million victims of the Genocide, it is a sobering reminder of the terrible consequences of a lack of peace.

Today, Rwanda has become a world leader in peace education, and peace keeping, because we know the pain of division and we have had to work so hard to rebuild our society. The memorial helps to share this message with almost 100,000 guests and students who come to visit every year.

WhileRwanda is now a model of reconciliation, but we must never forget the lessons of the Genocide against the Tutsi if ‘Never Again’ is to be a reality. That is why the memorial is also the location for Rwanda’s first Peace School, which has been established as part of Aegis’ Education for Sustainable Peace in Rwanda programme. The conference [took place] in the Peace School classrooms.

How did the conference come about and who attended?

Over the last three years, Aegis Trust has been working with our partners including the UK and Swedish governments to support peace and values education across Rwanda. We thought it was a good time to review what we have achieved, build a strong evidence base and develop new global partnerships with others working on peace education. We approached the UK government, through the Department for International Development, and they generously accepted to fund the conference.

Scholars, researchers and practitioners in peace education from Rwanda, the region and across the world attended the conference. We also had central and local government representatives including from the Ministry of Education, Rwanda Education Board and the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. Members of civil society organisations working in the peace education sector, here in Rwanda and abroad, attended along with development partners.

What did you hope to achieve through the conference?

We wanted to give a platform to peace building experts to discuss existing peace education content, methodology and tools and recommend the best ways of measuring the impact of peace and values education on individual and social change.

For three days, experts discussed best practice peace education from around the world. The outcomes of the colloquium will inform Aegis Trust’s Education for Sustainable Peace in Rwanda programme as well as the work of other peacemakers around the world.

Tell us more about the Education for Sustainable Peace in Rwanda programme.

With Peace and Values now a core part of Rwanda’s school curriculum, we need to ensure teachers know how to teach peace and that students have the materials to support this learning.

With funding from the Swedish Government, the new programme is training teachers in incorporating Peace and Values content and methodology into school subjects. It will also provide teaching materials to support educators and students in their learning.This funding will also establish a number of Peace Schools, the first of which is at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. These Peace Schools will be knowledge hubs for teachers, parents, students and policy makers on peace and values education.

With the support of the Kingdom of Belgium, the programme is also establishing a digital platform for educators, parents and students around the globe to access the teaching and learning materials needed to build an international community of champions of humanity.

What is your advice to young Rwandans wanting to build peace at home, school or in their communities?

You don’t need to be a grown up to be a champion for peace. It’s just about standing up for your values and what you believe in. For example, if a classmate is being bullied at school you can help them by telling the bully to stop it.

I would also encourage every young Rwandan to talk with their parents, teachers and friends if they see something they know isn’t right and work together to find a solution that works for everyone. If anyone wants more support, they can visit the Peace School at the Kigali Genocide Memorial and talk to one of our team members.

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