23 years down the peace road, the government of Rwanda and the Never Again Rwanda (NAR) have made a significant strides in peace-building in the country that today Rwanda is one of the most peaceful countries to visit in Africa. Rwanda joins the rest of the world to celebrate the International Day of Peace (IDP) with the theme “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All” which is the year’s global theme but Rwanda has narrowed it to the roots of peace and unity in family.
The International Day of Peace is a reflection of the past Rwandan genocide for the country especially for Rwandan youth and draw a lesson from the country’s horrific past to maintain a peaceful society.
This year the government of Rwanda is focusing on family roots to ensure commitment to peace and appreciation of achievements gained and keep up the momentum. The theme focuses on promotion of family values – respect and dignity so as to achieve sustainable development arising from togetherness and peace
Major causes of conflicts arise due to lack of proper dialogue among family members and largely the community and peace and togetherness needs to be fostered right from family and community. According to Peacebuilding coordinators at Never Again Rwanda (NAR); the family is very fundamental for any major changes in a community.
The Never Again Rwanda (NAR)is a peace building program set up by the Rwanda fourth after the genocide to educate and empower the Rwandan young population to embrace peaceful means and approaches to solve all problems arising especially in their communities and families. The NAR aims at naturing critical thinking and peaceful dialogue to promote peaceful societies in order to prevent genocide and future conflict in their respective communities.
The NAR comprises of a group of Rwandan Regional and International University students and young professionals to explore concepts of genocide history and prevention, transitional justice processes, good governance and development as well as women, peace and security
Role of the Never Again Rwanda
The NAR offers Rwandans a platform for healing from the traumatic past by offering a safe spaces that support community members to overcome their trauma and acquire skills in mediation tolerance and trust building. At the platform students are empowered through information sharing and research which help to deconstruct negative stereotypes
