Gilbert Rwabigwi

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Gilbert Rwabigwi is a Rwandan social innovator and writer who specialises in literacy, strategy, writing and progress. He is the founder [1] of Youth Literacy Organisation (YouLI), a non-profit NGO whose mission is to foster literacy and learning as a lifelong process.

Contents

Rwabigwi the founding editor of The Kigalian, an online magazine for independent-minded writers and storytellers. He is also in Ejo Group, a social enterprise that specialises in media and content marketing.

Writing and influence

Rwabigwi publishes articles regularly on The Kigalian, an independent-minded sources of ideas, stories, and profiles by writers looking to the future in Rwanda. He is also among top Rwandan influencers on Twitter and speaks at several events on issues about education, literacy, social media and culture. In 2016, Rwabigwi joined the panel of judges in Miss Rwanda as a judge at the grand finale. He announced his departure a few days ahead of the first auditions of Miss Rwanda 2019.

Birth and Parents

Gilbert was born in Kigali. His father, Fulgence Bukaka, and mother, Alphonsine Mukahigiro, were killed during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

Education and Activism

Rwabigwi was raised in Kigali, with his brothers and sisters; went to Camp Kigali Primary School and Ecole Primaire l'Horizon for his primary education. He went to Groupe Scolaire Officiel de Butare (GSOB), then Groupe Scolaire Kigombe (GSK) for his secondary education. [2] Gilbert studied at the School of Journalism and Communication, National University of Rwanda (NUR).

Rwabigwi is a respected advocate for writing [3] and publishing in Rwanda. [4] He is the author of "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: A Collection of Poems on Genocide [5] ", first published in 2008. In 2011, he was featured on the top of a list of top 10 most important Rwandan artists to know. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwanda</span> Country in Central Africa

Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is highly elevated, giving it the soubriquet "land of a thousand hills", with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the southeast, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. It is the most densely populated mainland African country; among countries larger than 10,000 km2, it is the fifth most densely populated country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Kigali.

Telecommunications in Rwanda include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kigali</span> Capital and the largest city of Rwanda

Kigali is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relatively new city. It has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transport hub since it was founded as an administrative outpost in 1907, and became the capital of the country at independence in 1962, shifting focus away from Huye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Kagame</span> President of Rwanda since 2000 (born 1957)

Paul Kagame is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who since 2000 has been the fourth President of Rwanda. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded Rwanda in 1990. The RPF was one of the parties of the conflict during the Rwandan Civil War and the armed force which ended the Rwandan genocide. He was considered Rwanda's de facto leader when he was Vice President and Minister of Defence under President Pasteur Bizimungu from 1994 to 2000 after which the vice-presidential post was abolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan genocide</span> 1994 genocide in Rwanda

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred between 7 April and 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. Although the Constitution of Rwanda states that more than 1 million people perished in the genocide, the actual number of fatalities is unclear, and some estimates suggest that the real number killed was likely lower. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan Civil War</span> 1990–1994 armed struggle between government forces and Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Rwanda

The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within the Rwandan population. A 1959–1962 revolution had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsi to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame, became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s.

Léon Mugesera is a convicted genocidaire from Rwanda who took residence in Quebec, Canada. He was deported from Canada for an inflammatory anti-Tutsi speech which his critics allege was a precursor to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In 2016, he was convicted of incitement to genocide and sentenced to life in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Rwanda</span> Overview of education in Rwanda

Education in Rwanda has undergone considerable changes throughout Rwanda's recent history, and has faced major disruptions due to periods of conflict. Education was divided by gender whereby women and men had a different education relevant to their responsibilities in day-to-day life. Women were mostly taught housekeeping while men were mainly taught how to hunt, raise animals, and fish. This is because Rwanda was a community-based society where every member had a specific contribution to the overall development of the community. Older family members like grandparents usually took on the role of educators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gasabo District</span> District in Rwanda

Gasabo is a district (akarere) in Kigali city, the capital of Rwanda. The headquarter of Gasabo is located in Remera Sector. The district also includes large areas of the city itself, including Kacyiru, Kimironko, Remera, Nyarutarama and Kimihurura.

Rose Kabuye is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Rwandan Army and remains the highest ranking woman ever to serve in her country's armed forces. She is currently working in the private sector as chief executive officer of Virunga Logistics and Startech Limited but is best known for her work as a fighter for the Rwandan Patriotic Front during the Rwandan Civil War. She subsequently became Mayor of Kigali City, Rwandan Chief of State Protocol, and a member of the Rwandan parliament. Because of her participation in the liberation struggle, she was awarded The Rwandan National Liberation Medal and the Campaign Against Genocide Medal. She was serving as the chief of protocol of Rwandan President Paul Kagame in November 2008 when she was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany on charges that were lifted in March 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Rwanda</span>

The culture of Rwanda is varied. Unlike many other countries in Africa, Rwanda has been a unified state since precolonial times, populated by the Banyarwanda people who share a single language and cultural heritage. Eleven regular national holidays are observed throughout the year, with others occasionally inserted by the government.

The Benebikira Sisters are a Roman Catholic religious institute of women founded in Rwanda in the early 1900s. Their Charisma is to evangelize by example. They do this by their diverse works of service, carried out with joy and love. Their mission is education, particularly for girls, care of the sick and the poor, especially women and children. Their spirituality is based on the Jesuit model of contemplation in action, seeing God in all things. However the expression of their Catholic faith and consecrated spirituality is formed by their Rwandan culture. The Benebikira are one with their people, sharing their Christian faith that calls them to be a people of hope and a voice for justice and love. Numbering almost 400 sisters, they have 55 communities located primarily in Rwanda but also in Burundi, Uganda, Congo, Kenya, and Rome. Their Kinyarwanda name means “Daughters of Mary” in English.

Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was a Rwandan academic and politician who served as the Prefect of Butare and was killed during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He was the only Tutsi prefect at the time of the genocide, and also the only prefect belonging to the Liberal Party. He had resisted the genocide.

Marie Béatrice Umutesi is a Rwandan writer, NGO worker, peace activist and refugee living in Belgium.

Youth Literacy Organisation (YouLI) is a non-profit NGO registered in the Republic of Rwanda, founded by Gilbert Rwabigwi in 2009. Its mission is to foster literacy and learning as a lifelong process.

Israel Bimpe is a Rwandan pharmacist and blogger who is passionate about global health and social justice with a keen interest in global health policy and advocates for open access and improvement of health workforce education, particularly pharmacy education.

Groupe Scolaire Marie Reine Rwaza is a Catholic boarding secondary school, located in the Musanze District in the Northern Province of Rwanda. The school was established in 1986 and its motto is "Discipline, Knowledge and Holiness".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Mfuranzima</span> Rwandan writer (born 1993)

Fred Mfuranzima is a Rwandan writer, artist, poet and peace activist.

Pie Nizeyimana is a Rwandan politician who currently serves as a member of parliament of Rwanda in the chamber of Deputies since 2018. He is the chairman of the Democratic Union of the Rwandan People (UDPR), a political party in Rwanda. The UDPR party formed in 1991 with the aim of uplifting Rwandan youth who lacked the chance of basic formal education, in 2022 the party estimated to have about 200 000 members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Nkindi</span> Rwandan media executive

Jean Victor Nkindi Nteziryayo, is a Rwandan media executive and social entrepreneur.

References

  1. "F.A.Q." YouLI. Archived from the original on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  2. Iribagiza, Gloria A. "Interview: David Gilbert Rwabigwi and why he is one of Rwanda's promising authors". The New Times Rwanda. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  3. Kantengwa, Sharon. "Rwabigwi on why literacy amongst youth is significant". The New Times Rwanda. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
  4. simon. "Rwabigwi". www.theservicemag.com. Retrieved 2016-04-16.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow by Gilbert Rwabigwi on iBooks". iBooks. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  6. "10 Rwandan Artists You Should Know - Music - This Is Africa". archived.thisisafrica.me. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-04-16.