Rwandan wins Canadian Innovation Award

A Rwandan national, currently living and working in Canada, Lawrence Muganga, was recently recognised by Alberta, a provincial government in Canada, for initiating and successfully managing a crime prevention project the Province.After two years of implementation, the initiative he called, Injera Project, provided great results for Alberta Province, therefore emerging as the best model to rely on for crime prevention and is considered for replication throughout the country.Muganga became the first foreigner to receive such recognition.In an interview with Business Times, the 36-year-old PhD student dedicated his award to the people of Rwanda, urging the youth to be more creative.“My focus of research is on the “Creative economy and Rwanda” being my case study. I am interested in finding out how best can the education system in Rwanda instill creativity among all learners and this may be achieved through opening up our educational policies to allow creativity to thrive,” Muganga told Business Times.He is currently pursuing a PhD in Educational policy studies at the University of Alberta, specialising in education administration and leadership.“After being nominated by the people of Alberta and considered by a review panel, fortunately the Premier, through the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General, recognised my efforts and awarded me for the initiative. Rwandans are just as innovative as the rest of the world,” Muganga said.Muganga currently works as a project manager with Canada’s Edmonton Multicultural Coalition.