Q&A: Aegis Trust CEO Freddy Mutanguha on upcoming peace conference, announcement of Isoko Peace Institute

A three-day conference dubbed “Listening and Leading: The Art and Science of Peace, Resilience and Transformational Justice” starts on July 26 in Kigali. The CEO of Aegis Trust and Director of Kigali Genocide Memorial, Freddy Mutanguha, spoke to the New Times on the significance of this conference to Rwanda. The excerpts: What's the rationale behind the upcoming conference and why is it timely for Rwanda? From 26th to 28th July, this year, Aegis Trust, together with the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement, University of Rwanda, and Tufts University, have prepared a conference; Leading and Listening: The Art and Science of Peace, Resilience and Transformational Justice. This conference will bring together around 400 people from all over the world, including scholars, policymakers and all of those people who are very much involved in building peace in their own communities. They are all coming to exchange ideas and expertise and also learn from each other. This conference is very timely because it's happening within the three months of the commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. So, it's very important to come together with the international community and remind ourselves the lessons learned 30 years ago and commit to never go back there and instead make this world a better place. Who is expected at this conference? What are some of the crucial topics that will shape the conversations? This is a three-day conference and the first day will focus on Rwanda. Participants in the conference will understand how the seed of hatred was planted in Rwanda since the colonial time and all that happened leading up to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn about the country's rebuilding journey. At the same time, Rwandans will learn other experiences from around the world. We will have professors and academics, peace practitioners as well survivors of other atrocities in the world, who will share their experiences. There are growing calls for the international community to take note of what is happening in the DR Congo where certain group of people are being targeted and killed. With this peace conference taking place in Rwanda, should there be hope that the voice of the voiceless in DR Congo will be heard? Indeed, it is time to be a voice for the voiceless. It is sad to see that the world has not learned much from the past. If the world had learned from what happened in this country, the horrible Genocide against the Tutsi, how the ideology of genocide was constructed and built and how it impacted the Rwandan community, where more than one million people lost their lives, they would say no to what is happening in the DR Congo. ALSO READ: How Aegis Trust blends peace education with economic empowerment In 1994, the genocidaires who crossed the border to DR Congo continued and are still continuing to kill and want to eliminate the Tutsi in that country and the world watches as this happens. It is quite unfortunate. Even worse, is to hear that the leadership in that country is supporting what is happening. We see leaders and opinion leaders at different levels spreading hate speech on social media and mainstream media. ALSO READ: UN Genocide prevention chief hears ‘harrowing stories’ of Congolese refugees in Rwanda At this conference, we will raise our voices against what is happening in DR Congo and we call on the international community to intervene. They should not keep silent. ALSO READ: Belgian lawyer on why genocide ideology doesn’t dissolve three decades after dispersion of genocidaires What are your expectations from the conference? One of the outcomes of this conference is the announcement of the launch of the Isoko Peace Institute. This is a huge achievement for Aegis Trust. We are trying to expand our reach and impact to the world through research and finding ways to prevent mass atrocities around the world. Having been invited by the government of Rwanda to support the establishment of Kigali Genocide Memorial, we were very much privileged to be a part of the process of the reconstruction of this country. So, today, 30 years on, it is a huge milestone for Aegis Trust to have its peace education programmes expanded to the whole country and even embedded into the national curriculum. It is now time for the peace education programme to have a home, which is the Isoko Peace Institute, from where we will reach the world. Aegis Trust is also celebrating 25 years of existence and as you know it is 30 years after the Genocide against the Tutsi. So, this is a special year for us. And that is why we decided to do something tangible, not just for Rwandans, but for the region and the rest of the world. Isoko Peace Institute will be a vehicle to take lessons from Rwanda to the world and also collect experiences and expertise from around the world and bring them to Rwanda. ALSO READ: Aegis Trust to open two peace education centres What are some of the events happening pre and post-conference? Apart from the main conference happening from the 26th to the 28th of July, we also have other events, some taking place before and others after the conference. Pre-conference, we have been having a media workshop on countering hate speech, organised by the UN Special Advisor's office on Genocide Prevention. This two-day workshop brought together journalists from different parts of the world to understand how to counter hate speech. The office of the Special Advisor on Genocide Prevention wants to draw an action plan to counter hate speech around the world. This action plan will inform the policies in all countries on how to counter hate speech, identify it, and make sure that it is prevented. After the conference, we will have the International Council of Museums, International Committee for Memorial and Human Rights Museums (ICMEMOHRI) 2024 meeting and conference taking place from July 29 to July 30. At the same time, Ubumuntu Art Festival, now celebrating 10 years, will have artists from around the world to express what is going on in their communities through art. The art festival will be taking place every evening at Kigali Genocide Memorial Amphitheatre. Participants of the conferences are welcome to come and see how arts can play a role in building peace. What do you hope people will remember after the conference? We want people to go back home with the hope that nothing is impossible. This is a country where a lot of possibilities have been showcased. It's a country that shows that even after genocide, it's possible to have people coming back together. Reconciliation, rebuilding, and forgiveness, is practical in this country. People will visit the reconciliation village where courageous people said no to hatred and went beyond their feelings and decided, as perpetrators and survivors, to come together in the same village in unity. So, we hope that the participants will go back home with hope that if it happened in Rwanda, it can happen anywhere else in the world.

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Q&A: Aegis Trust CEO Freddy Mutanguha on upcoming peace conference, announcement of Isoko Peace Institute