Rwandan campaign celebrates diversity

Image by 123RF

The campaign, which launched in May, uses videos, social media, poetry readings, movie screenings, panel discussions, and other events to create a city-wide conversation on what it means to be a resident of Kigali. As cities around the globe struggle to deal with migration, the campaign planners hope to highlight Kigali's inclusiveness as an example for others.

AkilahNet caught up with Ara Nashera and Jon Stever of Impact Hub Kigali, which is co-running the campaign, to learn more about "I am Kigali" and what we can expect next:

Who's behind the campaign?

This project was launched by Impact Hub Kigali and the International Organization for Migration, and we are actively bringing on board more people and organizations to sponsor, collaborate with us, and appropriate this campaign. But, ultimately, this is not just a campaign - it's a movement! And, it belongs to everyone in this city.

How did you come up with the idea and slogan?

We have two objectives: As [Nigerian author] Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche said, "Culture does not make people, people make culture." People may take many aspects of our social organisation as fixed, yet our institutions and norms are the consequence of human action!

Kigali, like many global cities around the world, is changing very rapidly. We want to reflect on that change. We want to celebrate and reconsider the city we live in and question how we want our city to evolve and where we want to be in 10, 20, and 50 years.

At this moment, roughly one in seven people around the world are migrants. It's happening everywhere. Europeans may call it a "crisis", but ultimately we believe that diversity and inclusiveness are the building blocks of a better society. Kigali is in many ways an example of tolerance and inclusiveness, and we want to showcase ourselves as a model. Our campaign will juxtapose migrants and diaspora and "locals", and show that each of these communities have the same feelings of belonging in our city, the same hopes and dreams to contribute to its growth.

What outcomes can we expect from "I am Kigali"?

Expect more videos, more events, and even bigger collaborations! This month we are planning an all-day Creative Umuganda event at the end of the month with the Art House and many other cultural supporters and activists across Kigali. And, we will host engaging events every single month building up to a celebration of Kigali on World Migrant's Day in December!

How do you think the campaign will benefit tourism in Rwanda and the country's push to position itself as a top MICE destination?

The Rwandan government is doing an incredible job to position Rwanda as a world-class destination for conferences and has hosted some impressive events - such as the recent World Economic Forum on Africa. But, there are still a lot of people abroad who don't appreciate how cosmopolitan and exciting Kigali has become, and our campaign will definitely help to show the city for what it is!

What has the response to the campaign been so far?

We've been overwhelmed by the amount of interest we've had. We only launched the campaign in partnership with Spoken Word Rwanda last week, and the reception was amazing. People are starting to pick up the #IamKigali slogan, and we only expect that to increase!

How and where can people get involved?

As with everything we do at Impact Hub Kigali, we invite everyone to participate!

Take note: I am Kigali belongs to you! Please feel free to appropriate the slogan, support us in hosting events, sponsor our activities, share our videos, film your own videos, come join our workspace, tweet at us, tweet for us, comment on our videos, send us your stories, and engage in any and every other way you know how.

Source: Akilah Net