Two German organisations, GTZ and DED, sponsored a one-day youth sensitisation workshop on conflict management over the weekend at Kimisagara National Youth Centre.

The technical assistant of GTZ, Pascal Mwema, said that GTZ in cooperation with Kimisagara youth centre are focused on training the youth on managing conflicts in their country as well as their families and societies.

The course, which attracted 100 youth from different associations that make up Kimisagara Youth Centre, tackled identity and citizenship as one of the modules which constitute conflict management.

"The youth are taught to appreciate their identity and citizenship in managing conflicts right from their groups, families up to the country level. When they are able to know their identities, they will be able to stop disagreements between factions,” Mwema said.

He further added that the training in conflict management will help in mobilising the youth in ending genocide ideology which has eaten them up.

"We believe these few youths will help perform heroic and nation-building deeds,” Mwema said.

The reason why the youth have been involved in these trainings is due to the fact that many were lured into the 1994 Tutsi Genocide in which over one million were killed on orders of the government then.

"This training helps them to know their identity and citizenship and what responsibility they hold in spearheading the development of Rwanda as a nation,” Mwema added.

The coordinator of the training, Irari Ntawurishira said that conflict management is a long-term management of intractable conflicts. 

"This course will help the youth in handling grievances by standing up for what they consider to be right and against what they consider to be wrong,” Ntawurishira said, adding that identity played a big role in the 1994 Genocide and is still creating conflicts not only in our region but world wide.

"This will help the youth to ignore what happened and focus on building peace in our country as well as the region,” Ntawurishira said. One of the participants, Godfrey Nshimiyimana said that he was unaware of the effects of segregating identities and vowed to sensitize his mates in their respective clubs.

Conflict management courses will be offered to the youth twice a month until the end of the year.

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