More than 150 youngsters have completed training on aspects of the Rwandan culture that include traditional dance, drama, music, games, and riddles. The event is organised every year by the Institute of the National Museums of Rwanda (INMR) in partnership with the Ministry of Sports and Culture, targeting holiday making students. While officiating the completion of the event at Kanombe Presidential Palace Museum this week, the Director General of INMR, Alphonse Umuliisa, said the training helps to conserve and promote the Rwandan cultural and historical heritage. “Imparting traditional norms in young people is a crucial step in grooming them into responsible future citizens,” he said. He added that past historical mistakes, like the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis, happened because society had lost track of its cultural values and principles. “If we are to define our future, we need to learn how our ancestors did things, then perhaps inherit their strengths, but also shun from their mistakes,” he said. The official added that the event offered a good platform to sow seeds of reconciliation and unity. According to Nakagwa Maryana, a student at ESSA Nyarugunga who attended the workshop, the event helped them develop a sense of cultural identity and belonging. “It helped us to trace our cultural heritage, which we believe will shape our moral values overtime,” she said. For Rosa Mukamunana, a parent who attended the closing of the workshop, the event offered a podium for imparting not only cultural and historical knowledge in children, but also kept them busy during holiday seasons. The event targets young people within the 10 to 15 age group.
