The earlier postponed 20th Kwita Izina ceremony will be held on September 5, according to the organisers. Rwanda’s annual baby Gorilla naming ceremony, a celebration of the country’s long-standing commitment to conservation, will be held on the foothills of Volcanoes National Park, in Kinigi, Musanze District, with guests joining the communities living around the home of the endangered mountain gorillas. Save the Date! Kwita Izina returns on 5 September 2025 for its landmark 20th edition! Join us at the foothills of @VolcanoesPark for Rwanda’s annual Gorilla Naming Ceremony, a celebration of our long-standing commitment to conservation.#KwitaIzina20 #VisitRwanda pic.twitter.com/SFseQx4oje — Kwita Izina (@Kwitaizina) May 29, 2025 Last October Rwanda Development Board (RDB) announced the postponement of Kwita Izina 2024. At the time, 22 mountain gorillas born in the previous 12 months were to be named during the ceremony, which had been scheduled to take place on October 18. It is not yet clear how many baby gorillas will be named this year. ALSO READ: Kwita Izina: What gorilla namers said about Rwanda Since the beginning of the naming ceremony, first held in 2005, up to 395 baby gorillas have been named. The event has played a pivotal role in helping Rwanda achieve remarkable growth in its tourism sector, according RDB Chief Tourism Officer Michaella Rugwizangoga. ALSO READ: RDB warns against scammers targeting Kwita Izina attendees Celebrities including football stars, movie stars, and music stars, alongside 20 top tourism personnel and journalists were expected to attend the ceremony last year. Gorilla tourism alone contributes 1% of Rwanda's GDP and is a key driver of local community development. Since 2005, Rwf12.86 billion has been used to fund 1,108 community projects including schools, health centres, and dairy farms. These initiatives have empowered communities to become guardians of conservation, protecting wildlife and the environment surrounding national parks such as Volcanoes, Akagera, Gishwati-Mukura, and Nyungwe.
