The iconic dome at the Kigali Convention Centre lit up in cyan blue Saturday evening in solidarity with children globally on the occasion of the World Children’s Day.
The dome, which usually glows in the Rwandan flag colours of blue, yellow and green, went blue at 6p.m as the country joined the rest of the world to mark the annual occasion.
The World Children's Day, which serves to highlight the rights of children globally, is marked annually on November 20. This year’s theme is, "I am the Future."
In Rwanda, as has been tradition in recent years, the day saw hundreds of children from around the country descend on Kigali for the annual National Children’s Summit.
This year’s summit, the 15th edition, was held at the Parliamentary Buildings in Kimihurura, with a view to help raise awareness about children's rights, and share best practices and ideas about policy interventions.
The event aligns with the purpose of the United Nations' Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both of which were first approved in 1989.
Rwanda joined the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991.
Like last year, the world again marks the day amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had far-reaching consequences on the health, education and wellbeing of children globally.
Speaking to The New Times on the eve of the World Children’s Day, Julianna Lindsey, the UNICEF Rwanda Representative, called for collective effort to invest in the future of children.
"As this year’s theme reminds us, we need to continue investing in children so that we will have an empowered next generation,” she said.
"Children have gone through some really tough times since the onset of the pandemic over two years ago, and celebrating such important milestones is important to let our children know that we stand firmly with them, and for them,” she said.
She pledged the UN agency’s continued support to children. "I reiterate UNICEF’s full commitment towards achieving this. Children are the future; let’s support them, leaving no one behind.”