June 15, 2023
Thursday
Each time I come to Rwanda I think it is important to visit the Genocide Memorial. Besides being an exceptional site of peace, commemoration and healing for the Rwandans, it is an international site, providing a sense that the genocide against the Tutsis is only one example of genocide and violence that plagues our global history. I always hear the docent’s intro, describing the support of the Aegis Foundation, but I never took the time to learn more about that foundation which, like Facing History and Ourselves, is dedicated to helping us all learn from the difficult times of history so we do not ever repeat those mistakes.
So, I did something I should have done ages ago. I “visited” the Aegis website to learn more about how they are using their resources and the collection at the Memorial to educate Rwandan and the international community on the situations that end in the horror genocide begin and develop. They also educate communities on how each of us has the responsibility to be watchful of the ways societies can become violent.
Here is the introductory text that describes the Rwanda Peace Education program that was piloted in 2008.
“Peace education started as a pilot in 2008 at Kigali Genocide Memorial. A participatory and interactive methodology, where participants learn by doing, is central to Aegis’ peace education programme. In 2013-16 the programme expanded to cover 22 districts, through the Aegis-led Rwanda Peace Education Programme (RPEP) and the Genocide Research and Reconciliation Programme (GRRP). Programme partners included USC Shoah Foundation, Radio la Benevolencija and the Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace (IRDP).”
“In 2014, the Rwanda Education Board announced inclusion of peace and values education as a cross-cutting subject in Rwanda’s new national curriculum.”
When one considers that 60% of the Rwandan population is under 24, that these youth were born after the Genocide against the Tutsis, it provides a lens for thinking about how young people should be learning about this time in their nation that has affected every aspect of the culture. Young people do not necessarily know the history of what led up to the tragedy. Aegis has developed curriculum for a number of constituencies besides school aged students and they conduct careful research to determine if teacher training and curriculum written specifically to provide information about genocide is effective. It also wants to study the impact of clear indications of how each of us is responsible for maintaining peace.
Here are two examples of programs Aegis has developed to educate constituencies beyond school aged students:
The Wharton School of Business from U Penn.
In partnership with this well-known business school, the Aegis folks have developed workshops for business students on how violence deeply effects economic aspects of society. Wharton students visit Rwanda and the Memorial each spring. In May 2023, the Wharton students were taking part in the school’s “intensive short course, ‘Conflict, Leadership and Change, Lessons from Rwanda’,” The business students feel they benefit directly from the story Rwandans can tell about how economic policies create conditions for unrest and “othering.” They emerge impressed with the way the Aegis developers have created a place that tells a heavy history like that of genocide while at the same time as being a place that teaches hopeful lessons for the future.
A Workshop on” Peace in the Home” for parents;
Besides reaching out to people who are studying to be leaders in business and finance, the Aegis curriculum develops workshops that educate families to recognize that the culture of a family is a place where young people first encounter strategies for identifying fairness, how to have conversations about sensitive subjects, how to share with one another. It also is a place where children learn about relationships among genders and age group and whether they are based in respect and honesty. The also learn about authority and how it can establish for fairness.
Describing the workshops for parents, Aegis explains, “Through an exchange of experiences, the parents discover a common challenge when it comes to discussing issues related to the genocide with their children. Negative stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination were recognized as problems that can still occur today among young people, as children pick up attitudes from adults.” Through a series of exercise the parents learn that the attitudes, tones of voice, how we listen to one another are ways we teach children the first lessons of social justice.
I know my Tufts students role their eyes now whenever they hear me say that my favorite mantra about the role of education in our communities is from Debbie Meier. “School is where we learn how public life is lived…” I thought about that as I read the Aegis stuff and thought about my determination to take Kaelen to the Memorial, and my developing understanding of how Rwandans see the role of education in their healing process. School is where we all should learn to be in community with one another, face our challenges and see the responsibility that education brings to each of us. The public life that MGS students are learning is a life framed by Respect, Responsibility and Leadership. It is the public life that Aegis believes will heal a nation and the globe. Education as Hope, I guess.
Linda V Beardsley
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