Rene Claudel Mugenzi | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | Pyatigorsk, Russia | 13 April 1976
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | King's College London |
Profession | Social Innovation Executive |
Rene Claudel Mugenzi (born 13 April 1976) is a British author, community and social development practitioner, [1] human rights activist, [2] community organiser, Astrophysicist [3] and politician. [4]
He stood as a Parliamentary candidate for Poplar and Limehouse [5] in The United Kingdom General Election of 2015 which was held on 7 May 2015. [6] He represented the Red Flag Anti-Corruption political party. [7]
Rene Mugenzi was born in Pyatigorsk, Russia to Rwandan parents. He grew up in Kigali Rwanda until age of 18 when he left his native country fleeing genocide and massacres. In 1997, at the age of 21, he moved to the UK, where he has been living since.
He studied physics and astrophysics in King's College London. He also studied organising for social and community development [8] [ failed verification ] at London Metropolitan University.
Mugenzi is a fluent speaker of English, French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda.
Mugenzi was a community support and social innovation development executive. He has been granted Lifetime Membership of the Millennium Awards Fellowship [9] and was nominated as a Tower Hamlets community hero, in recognition of his achievements in contributing in improving the quality of lives of local people, through developing and empowering innovative community development projects and services. Mugenzi has also won various community awards such as Community Champion and UnLtd [10] awards.
Mugenzi has developed and taught various community support methods and social innovation development [11] for community, voluntary and statutory sector. As a social and community development practitioner, he has worked in addressing various social challenges within underprivileged communities particularly in East London.
Rene Mugenzi has developed award-winning social innovation initiatives [12] that have been used in various poverty alleviation and community development projects in the UK and abroad. He has designed various capacity building training for social and community development workers.
He is the founder of the British Grassroots Action Awards, [13] a national award giving initiative that recognises innovative and successful grassroots-based initiatives that have made significant impact in the lives of their service users.
Mugenzi is also the founder and chairman [14] of the London Centre for Social Impact, a UK social innovation development organisation and think tank.
Mugenzi has been involved in UK politics particularly in relation to social policy development and social justice campaigns. In 2010, he stood as a candidate in a local election in Thamesmead Moorings ward within Royal Borough of Greenwich for the Liberal Democrats. [15]
Mugenzi stood as the Parliamentary Candidate for Poplar and Limehouse representing the Red Flag Anti-Corruption political party in the 2015 UK general election. [7]
As an international human rights activist, Rene has frequently criticized foreign governments that abused human rights. [16] [17] [18] He has a particular interest in Rwanda, [19] Democratic Republic of Congo, [20] Myanmar (Burma) [21] and Iraq. [22]
In May 2011, Mugenzi was informed by the Scotland Yard, that they had discovered a plot to assassinate him [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] by the Rwandan government. He was put under protection and the UK government warned the Rwandan government against trying to assassinate its citizens on its soil. The Rwandan government denied those allegations. [23]
Mugenzi has spoken at various national and international conferences and events on issues of human rights and freedoms. [28] [29]
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East 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 sobriquet "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.
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Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and southeast, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Lake Tanganyika lies along its southwestern border. The capital city is Gitega and the largest city is Bujumbura.
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Charles Ayodeji Adeogun-Phillips is a former United Nations genocide and war crimes prosecutor, international lawyer and founder of Charles Anthony (Lawyers) LLP.
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza is a Rwandan politician who served as chairwoman of the Unified Democratic Forces from 2006 to 2019. As an advocate for democracy and critic of President Paul Kagame, she was the UDF's candidate for the Rwandan 2010 presidential elections, but was ultimately arrested and sentenced to prison. A Sakharov Prize nominee, she served 8 years of a 15-year prison sentence in Kigali Central Prison on charges of terrorism and threatening national security. She currently leads the party Development And Liberty For All, with the focus to campaign for more political space and for development.
Agnes Binagwaho is a Rwandan Politician, pediatrician, co-founder and the former vice chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity (2017-2022). In 1996, she returned to Rwanda where she provided clinical care in the public sector as well as held many positions including the position of Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health of Rwanda from October 2008 until May 2011 and Minister of Health from May 2011 until July 2016. She has been a professor of global health delivery practice since 2016 and a professor of pediatrics since 2017 at the University of Global Health Equity. She has served the health sector in various high-level government positions. She resides in Kigali.
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