Youth set to commemorate Genocide through art

Under their ‘Sick City Entertainment Group’, several youths are coming together to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi through creative and innovative artworks. Dubbed ‘Our Past’, the event is organised annually by a group of over 30 young Rwandan people in the Diaspora. This year’s event, which is the fifth edition, is slated to take place at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre (Amphitheater) on April 10 and 11. Speaking to The New Times, Tyler Intwari, one of the organisers, said the event will feature poetry, musical performances, drama, dance, theatre, and a roundtable with leaders. “Our aim is to give a platform to the youth born during and after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis, to learn from the past of Rwanda. We do this through innovative ways such that the youth will be interested to participate.We are giving messages through dance, music and poetry, among others,” he said. The event also provides an interaction platform between the young generation and Rwandan leaders in different fields. “In this event we’ll be encouraging parents to talk to their offspring about the Tutsi Genocide and the general history of our country. We want parents to tell the truth to their children about what really happened so that whatever happened doesn’t happen again,” Intwari added. Meanwhile, members of ‘Sick City Entertainment Group’ who are based in other countries will also hold similar events in their respective countries. “It’s confirmed, our event is happening in Malaysia, China, Oklahoma Christian University and in New York- University of Leicester. We have representatives in each of these countries; we have four people in china and New York respectively, six in Malaysia, and nine in Oklahoma,” Intwari explained. The event will also be an opportunity to collect funds and other items to help the needy. “In each of our editions, we collect funds and items in order to help the less fortunate Genocide survivors. In the past three years, we worked with ‘Icyizere Village’ in Kanombe and Ntarama Sector in Bugesera district,” he said. The first edition of ‘Our Past Event’ took place in April 2012. editorial@newtimes.co.rw