Rwanda will next week join the rest of the world to celebrate the International Peace Day with a special focus on the country’s experience in peace-building. The day is marked annually on September 21. Johnson Mugaga, the acting executive secretary of National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), emphasised the importance of peace building. “Peace building should begin from a personal level, then to their family members, neighbours and to the rest of the country. I urge everyone to strive to be at peace with everyone everywhere,” he said told Saturday Times on Thursday. Mugaga also noted that this year’s peace celebrations will attract many partners. Organisations such as Peace One Day International, Foundation Saint Dominique Savio (FSDS), Never Again Rwanda, and Coca Cola African Chapter are among the partners that have been promoting peace activities throughout this week ahead of the celebrations. The celebrations will feature exhibitions, a youth parliamentary session about peace, a youth peace walk and a concert. Local and international artistes will premiere the first ever African Peace Anthem that was written by Zwai Bala. “We are happy to partner with Rwanda to celebrate this day. It will be a day for youth empowerment and peace awareness in schools and communities accompanied with musical artworks and inspirational peace speeches from the young generation,” Lisa Bel, the project manager of Peace One Day told a gathering at one of the preparatory events recently. Earlier, Dr Jean Baptiste Habyalimana, the outgoing executive secretary of NURC, said this year’s Peace Day will focus on the country’s journey in peace-building. “This is a day for Rwanda to celebrate peace. Peace is possible for all. Looking back to the Rwanda of 1994, no one hoped for peace, but 21 years later, the country has been built around peace and reconciliation. This is a great milestone that we want to show to other nations so that they can get to know that peace is the only way to achieve sustainable development,” he said. International artistes that will headline the concert include Ice Prince from Nigeria, Maurice Kirya and Lillian Mbabazi from Uganda, Mafikizolo from South Africa, and Alikiba and Wangechi from Tanzania and Kenya, respectively. In his message in line with this year’s Peace day event, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon called on everyone to stand with the millions of people across the world suffering the devastating impact of violence and conflict and to share ideas and plans for helping and supporting them in their time of dire need. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
