Rwandans, conservationists, global celebrities and friends of Rwanda will on Friday afternoon witness the naming of the 24 mountain baby gorillas, in an event that will be held virtually owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Named after a Rwandan tradition of baby naming, Kwita Izina is a flagship event on the country’s tourism calendar and it has been annually held since 2005.
Among others, the event aims at emphasizing the importance of the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas and also recognise the role of those who dedicate their time to conserve them.
This year, Rwanda plans to unveil a $10 million campus in a bid to boost mountain gorilla conservation efforts. The campus, which could be complete by November, is funded by American television personality Ellen DeGeneres and her long term partner Portia de Rossi.
Last year, 24 baby gorillas were named by conservation champions among others, and overall 328 babies have been named. This will be 17 edition.
The namers this year were drawn from various sectors including community health workers, youth volunteers, celebrities and renowned conservationists.
The 2021 namers:
Jes Gruner
Raised on a farm in Malawi, Jes Gruner is the current Chief Executive of Nyungwe Management Company.
He has worked in conservation for 13 years. He has previously served as the Operations Manager at Akagera, and also been the Park Manager.
H.E Nicola Bellomo
Bellomo is currently the Ambassador of the European Union delegation to Rwanda.
Carina Bauer
Bauer is the CEO of the IMEX group, an organization responsible for organizing the leading global trade shows for the international business events industry.
Throughout her career, she has been an active member of the meetings industry. She has served as President for the AEO council, UFI board member among other responsibilities.
Mark A Tatum
Mark Tatum is an American sports and business executive currently serving as the deputy commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, National Basketball Association.
Tatum, who joined the NBA in 1999, is responsible for the NBA’s business operations, including leading the NBA’s international efforts. He also oversees the Global Partnerships, Marketing, Communications and Team Marketing and Business Operations departments in addition to the NBA G League.
Bruce Itahiwacu
Bruce Itahiwacu, commonly known as Bruce Melody is a Rwandan singer and song writer, who has gained popularity around the region.
He is also the CEO and founder of Igitangaza Music Label
Masai Ujiri
Ujiri is the first and only African-born President and General Manager of a professional sports franchise, the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors.
In 2003, Masai co-founded the Giants of Africa (GOA) organisation, based on the idea of using basketball as a means of educating and enriching the lives of African youth – both boys and girls. Originally established in Nigeria,
GOA has now created camps and programs across the African Continent, including in Rwanda, Ghana, Mali, Tanazania among others.
Luol Deng
Deng is a retired NBA Star, who was a two-time NBA All-Star and was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012.
He currently works as President of the South Sudan Basketball Federation.
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez
Rodriguez a renowned conservationist, was elected as CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility by its governing body, the GEF Council, in June 2020.
The former Costa Rican Environment and Energy Minister was a pioneer in the development of Payment for Ecosystem Services initiatives and strategies for forest restoration, ocean conservation, and de-carbonization.
He is also an internationally recognized expert on environmental policy, multilateral environmental negotiations, and financing for nature conservation.
David Yarrow
David Yarrow is a British fine-art photographer, conservationist and author. The subjects of his photography include sport stars, world-renowned models, wildlife, indigenous communities and landscapes. He has collaborated with super models Cara Delevingne and Cindy Crawford
Alphonsine Niwemugeni
Niwemugeni is a member of a cohort of Community Health Workers (CHWs), a network of slightly over 58,500 people deployed across the country to deal with health challenges in their communities.
The group, has particularly shifted focus on Covid-19 patients in their local communities, as part of the efforts to strengthen the fight against the pandemic.
Prof Beth Kaplin
Beth Kaplin is a Professor in Ecology and Conservation Science and Director of the Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management at University of Rwanda.
She has focused her career on building capacity for biodiversity conservation, research and natural resource management in Africa
Jeanne d’Arc Uwamahoro
Uwamahoro as a member of an approximately 380,600 network of young people that volunteer across the country.
Like her colleagues, she has been at the forefront of enforcing Covid-19 preventative measures in the country.
Clementine Uwamahoro
Uwamahoro is the Conservation Technology Officer, Akagera National Park.
Dr Max Graham
Max Graham has worked in elephant research and conservation for over a decade and a half. His environment and development projects have spanned across different countries.
Graham is the Founder and CEO of Space for Giants an organization developing new models of conservation to combat illegal poaching, loss of habitat, and human wildlife conflict.
Reeta Roy
Reeta Roy is President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation—one of the largest private foundations in the world, with approximately $40 billion in assets. Its vision is a world where
Aristide Mugabe
Veteran professional basketball player. He is currently captain of Patriots Basketball Club. He also features for the national hoops team for which he previously captained.
Antony Lynam
Lynam joined the Wildlife Conservation Society in 1996. He has more than 20 years of experience implementing and advising wildlife conservation projects in Asia.
He is now the representative of International Congress on Conservation Biology.
Senait Fisseha
Professor Senait Fisseha is a globally-recognized leader in reproductive health & rights and a lifelong gender champion.
She currently serves as the Director of Global Programs at the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, as well as Chief Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization.
Dr Deborah Dunham
Chairperson Gorilla Doctors, an organization dedicated to saving the mountain and eastern lowland (Grauer’s) gorilla species one gorilla patient at a time.
The Gorilla Doctors also help rescue and treat mountain and Grauer’s gorillas orphaned by poachers.
Yann Arthus Bertrand
Yann Arthus-Bertrand is an environmentalist, activist, journalist and photographer.
He has also directed films about the impact of humans on the planet.
He is especially well known for his book Earth from Above and his films Home and Human.