Kwita Izina’s 8th edition ‘ante portas’

KWITA IZINA 2012 PROGRAMME OUT
A cycling race from 09th to the 10th of June will kick off the formal start of Kwita Izina 2012 activities this year, when a large number of cyclists from Rwanda, the wider region and from overseas will set out from the Rwandan capital Kigali and ride their way across the country to Ruhengeri / Musanze, where the main festivities will take place again. The riders will be carrying the Kwita Izina spirit with them as they cross the hills and valleys enroute to the volcanic mountains which domineer the skyline from Musanze and their efforts will be a reminder for communities along the way to even more keenly anticipate the naming of the gorilla babies due on Saturday 16th of June. Following the race will community centred activities take place, titled Igitaramo during which water, sanitation and social amenities projects will be formally handed over to the beneficiaries by the Rwanda Development Boards Tourism and Conservation Department on the 15th of June.
Preceding this will be a dedicated sustainability exhibition between June 12th and 13th in Kigali, where a range of products will be shown, known to use less electricity, reduce the volume of charcoal used for cooking and embrace solar technology as a means to tap into renewable sources of energy.
The naming of the young born gorillas will take place on the showground just outside the national park head quarters on Saturday 16th of June and a gala dinner that night for invited guests, donors, development partners and the conservation fraternity will this year celebrate the achievements of 2011/12, during which Rwanda again has made great strides in protecting the habitat of the rare primates, supported by an unshakable political will, turning the lipservice common elsewhere in the region into concrete measures and reality.
Notably has a follow on event been scheduled for media representatives known to be in support of Rwandas way of life when a select group of journalists will have the opportunity to witness the formal closure of the Gacaca Court system during a ceremony in parliament on Monday 18th June. The Gacaca Court system is a truly unique way of having administered justice following the genocide of 1994 which cost the country up to a million innocent lives. Here the spirit of reconciliation was amply demonstrated, concentrating to bring the key figures that promoted hatred and incited, finances and facilitated mobs turned killers to justice and re-integrating those who were misled into criminal acts into society as productive members, following a community based trial and rehabilitation education. Rwandas capital Kigali is connected by RwandAir from the entire region and the national airline is the official carrier for the Kwita Izina Festival 2012. Watch this space.