Promoting peace, unity through photography

Four hands, two white and two black, are enjoined to form a square-like shape in a sign of unity. And, a short distance away, three young people happily walk on a stony road, also holding up their hands–sending out a message of a nation and a people moving forward to the same destination and with the same vision. Those are some of the photos that were on display on Sunday in Huye District during a one-day photo exhibition that sought to encourage people to contribute to efforts to build peace and unity. Under the theme, “Promoting peace, unity and reconciliation through photography: Talking pictures. telling our stories,” the exhibition was organised by Never Again Rwanda (NAR), a peace building non-governmental organisation. It is an attempt to tell the Rwandan story–its past, present and the desired future–through the lenses of younger individuals, according to the organisers. The exhibition featured photos by ten young students, including four ladies, from local universities and secondary schools. They were shot around Huye town and are given a meaning that turns around the themes of peace and unity. They are organised in sequences, highlighting the sub-theme of resilience, perseverance, development and work-all of which are said to be important in building a peaceful, prosperous and united nation. One of the images shows a small pathway that sneaks throughout a banana and beans plantation–a photo that authors say highlights the fact that the journey to peace, which involves efforts to development, isn’t always wide and might involve going through difficult challenges. In another succession of images, young men are shown working in several workshops, with organisers saying the images demonstrate the power of work in building peaceful and sustainable communities “These images depict our stories, our lives, the way we want our country to be, our history as a country that has emerged from the disastrous consequences of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and our efforts toward building a better future,” explained Theoneste Ndungutse, NAR’s peace building programme officer for Huye. “With this initiative, we are trying to involve the youth in telling our story in a positive way that promotes peace and unity within their communities.” Ndungutse said they chose photography because it offers a powerful way to tell the way communities are living and spread messages about what is going throughout society. Divine Giramata, one of the young people who took the exhibited images, told The New Times she believes ‘images give people an opportunity to think deep’ who then try to get messages out of photos. “It is a wonderful way of communicating with society while at the same time giving people room to reflect on them and create many more messages for others,” the young woman said. The exhibition was warmly received by visitors who described it as an innovative way of telling the Rwandan story of resilience, peace building, unity and development. Innocent Ruzigana, one of the photographers, said: “Showing the ideas, aspirations and hopes of a population through images is a wonderful and powerful initiative. Through images, one clearly sees what communities are living and what they want to be.” Huye vice mayor for social affairs Christine Niwemugeni said the initiative should be extended to many young individuals “to encourage them partake in efforts to promote peace and unity.”

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Promoting peace, unity through photography