Commemorating the Rwandan genocide

A distinguished panel of commentators will gather at the University of Victoria on May 14 to discuss the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide at an event organized by a UVic student orphaned during the genocide when he was seven years old.

The 1994 genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda left hundreds of thousands of people dead despite the efforts of a UN peacekeeping force led by Canadian senator and retired Lt.-Gen. Roméo Dallaire. Following the genocide, Canada contributed to efforts to re-establish the country’s social institutions and infrastructure and has designated April 7 as a Day of Reflection on the Prevention of Genocide.

UVic Vice President Academic and Provost Reeta Tremblay will provide opening remarks at the May 14 event. Speakers will include:

• Philip Lancaster, adjunct UVic professor and former military assistant to Dallaire to the UN Mission in Rwanda;
• Shakilla Umutoni, representative of the government of Rwanda to Canada;
• Susan Bissell, associate director, chief of child protection, UNICEF Headquarters, New York;
• Adama Dieng, special advisor to the secretary general of the UN on the prevention of the genocide, UN Headquarters, New York; and
• Rusekampunzi Augustin, representative of the Rwandan community in Victoria.

The event is hosted by UVic UNICEF Campus with support from UVic’s School of Public Administration and the Rwandan community in Victoria. Event organizer John Nsabimana, a Master in Public Administration student at UVic, spent his youth in a Rwandan refugee settlement before coming to Canada in 2004. He has recently returned from a UVic co-op placement with the UNICEF Child Protection Section in New York.

What: Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide
When: Wednesday, May 14 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Where: Room B150, Bob Wright Centre, UVic

More about John Nsabimana (opens in issuu)

Admission is free and everyone is welcome. Topic hashtag #rwanda
UVic is accessible by sustainable travel options including transit and cycling.
For those arriving by car, pay parking is in effect. Evening parking is $2.50.
Parking info and campus maps: www.uvic.ca/maps.

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