250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi have their final resting-place at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. We are conscious that truly honouring their memory means doing what each of us can to help protect other people from facing such atrocities in the future.
The Kigali Genocide Memorial came from collaboration between Rwandan authorities and the Aegis Trust. Aegis developed peace education at the Memorial. Promoting empathy, critical thinking and personal responsibility, it has enabled people to lay down weapons and give up revenge. Now part of Rwanda’s national schools curriculum, it has inspired leaders from communities in conflict internationally to partner with us on their own peacebuilding.
If peace is achievable after genocide in Rwanda, it’s achievable anywhere. However, we have learned that peace education alone is not enough. In communities stricken by conflict and poverty, it must go hand in hand with trauma healing and development of sustainable livelihoods.
In coming decades, hundreds of millions of people will migrate as their lands become uninhabitable due to climate change. We have already seen climate-driven migration fuel conflict in countries such as Sudan and Syria. Development of sustainable livelihoods, trauma healing and peace education of the kind pioneered at the Kigali Genocide Memorial will have a key role to play in mitigating these dangers, along with climate initiatives, good governance and accountability, swift intervention to stop incitement, and protection of civilians targeted for identity-based violence.
Copyright © 2023 Aegis Trust. All Rights Reserved. Registered Charity: UK – Aegis Trust, charity no. 1082856, US – Aegis America Inc, EIN 31-1769192, Rwanda – Aegis Rwanda
