RWANDA RELEASES DETAILS ON KWITA IZINA 2015
(Posted 11th June 2015)
‘Conserving now and for the Future’ was yesterday given as the 2015 theme for Rwanda’s annual festival of the gorillas, aka ‘Kwita Izina’
Shifted this year from June to September has the festival now been aligned with the Northern Corridor Integration Projects countries tourism events, where Rwanda works hand in hand with Uganda and Kenya to promote the three countries as a single tourist destination. This move is supported by issuing a single tourist Visa and hold joint promotional and marketing initiatives including tourism trade show appearances. The move was prompted to avoid congesting the trilateral events calendar as Uganda in June hosts its signature event, the annual Martyrs Day celebrations in Namugongo outside Kampala.
‘Through Kwita Izina, we will not only celebrate the birth of 24 baby gorillas, but will also acknowledge the impact that local communities have had on sustained conservation. Together, we have worked with rangers, guides, conservation groups and local communities to take proactive steps to restore and enhance the habitat of not only the gorillas but of other wildlife as well’ was Ambassador Yamina Karitani quoted to have said during the press conference held at the Rwanda Development Board offices in Kigali, where the Tourism and Conservation Department is based.
Present from the private sector in Rwanda was the President of the Rwanda Tour and Travel Association, Joseph Birori, who indicated that ‘Kwita Izina is a great opportunity for industry players to interact with regional and international operators through B2Bs; it is also an add-on activity which we include in
the packages we make for tourists. This year, we have ample time to plan and get involved in the naming ceremony’. Adding further weight to the occasion was the Chairman of the East African Business Council, Rwanda’s Denis Karera who hailed the enabling environment created by the Rwandan government.
Kwita Izina 2015 will be marked by various activities that will culminate in the gorilla naming ceremony on the 05th of September in Kinigi.
The weeklong activities will commence with Inka Z’URwanda, a cultural ceremony focusing on the importance of cows in Rwandan tradition and the impact on the social wellbeing of the people living in different areas of the country. This activity will be celebrated in the Eastern Province. Other activities planned for the week include a Conservation Forum, a Photo Exhibition, a Business Exhibition, a Familiarisation Tour for media and a Regional Tourism Business to Business Forum, the launch of a major new Community Project and the community festival commonly known as Igitaramo on the eve of the naming ceremony.
New this year are the Kwita Izina Awards which will be launched to recognise local conservationists for their lifetime achievements and contributions to the wildlife conservation and tourism.
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