On the 8th of April, the International Day for the Commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide in Canberra was held at Dickson College together with the students from Dickson College, the International Relations Faculty and the National Information Officer (NIO) from UNIC Canberra.
The NIO started the proceedings by paying respects to the Indigenous owners of the land on which the event was being held, and then played the video message of the Secretary-General.
The NIO then gave a brief overview on the Rwanda Outreach program and presented the college with copies of the publication Tugire Ubumwe – written and drawn by the Rwandan artist, Rupert Bazambanza, in conjunction with the DPI Outreach programme.
Under the day’s theme of Rebuilding Rwanda: Reconciliation and Education the three year 11 Global relations classes then watched the film As we forgive which explores the topic about restorative justice and reconciliation in Rwanda today.
Members of the global relations faculty then led a debate on the topics highlighted in the film such as restorative justice processes as opposed to incarceration, what economic, social and political conditions must exist for genocide to occur, and what can we all learn from the Rwandan tragedy so that we can see the warning signs to stop anything like it happening again.
The conversation then moved onto the Responsibility to Protect , what the students saw as its ‘pro’s and con’s’ - and what in general the students thought was the collective responsibility of the international community.
In addition to this, discussions on the situation of Libya and Cote D’Ivoire were lively, with many of the students participating with a broad range of views.
Feedback from the students and faculty was that the event was thought provoking and made them feel part of the global community and that the publication Tugire Ubumwe could be useful across a wide range of curriculum areas, including International Relations, History, English and Art.
Many of the students expressed their interest in learning more about the United Nations and its outreach programmes.
Photos: Students at Dickson College marking the International Day for the Commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide