MONTREAL/March 16, 2004—
Ten years after the tragic events which gripped Rwanda, the Montreal committee made up of Vues d'Afrique, Concordia University, l'Association des parents et amis des victimes du genocide au Rwanda (Page-Rwanda) at Humain Avant Tout, is organizing a series of events from March 20 to April 11 commemorating the genocide.
The committee will play a key role in raising public awareness of the genocide and will ensure that the complete story is told by bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences and opinions. This will provide a global understanding of the genocide.
The program:
A conference on mental health will take place on Saturday, March 20, from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., in the DSR-510 amphitheatre in the pavillon Alexandre deSËve at l'UniversitÈ du Quèbec a Montrèal (UQAM, 320 Ste. Catherine St. East). The speaker will be Naason Munyandamutsa, psychiatrist and assistant director and research coordinator of l'Institut de Recherche et de Dialogue pour la Paix (IRDP).
A photography exhibit titled Images of Genocide is planned for the week of March 22 to 28, in the atrium of the J.W. McConnell Building of Concordia University (1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West). The exhibit will illustrate the evolution of the Rwandan genocide as well as present a perspective on the future.
A conference titled The Rwandan Genocide: Retrospectives and Reflections on the Future, will take place on Friday, March 26 from 8:30 a.m - 5:15 p.m, in the J.A. deSËve Cinema in the J.W. McConnell Building at Concordia (1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West), organized by the University and Page-Rwanda.
Conference participants include, among others: Charles Ntampaka, professor of law at l'UniversitÈ Libre de Bruxelles; Georgette Uwase, member of Human Rights Watch in Kigali; Dominique Payette, journalist with Radio-Canada; Josias Semujanga, professor of French literature at l'UniversitÈ de Montrèal and visiting professor at lëUniversitÈ Nationale du Rwanda; Frank Chalk, history professor at Concordia and co-director of the Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies.
Topics include: the Rwandan genocide and the creation of ethnic identities, justice and media, and the responsibility of the international community regarding the future of Rwanda.
For more information, contact Nadia Kherif at (514) 848-2424 (ext. 4187) or at kherif@alcor.concordia.ca
A series of film screenings, followed by debates will take place on March 26, 27 and 28, in room H-110 of the Henry F. Hall Building at Concordia (1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West). The films include: 100 Jours, by Nick Hughes (Kenya, 2001), the first feature film produced on Rwanda, will launch the series on Friday, March 26 at 7 p.m.
All the other presentations are documentaries, some making their North American premiere. The documentaries include:
Rwanda, une justice prise en otage, by Pierre Hazan and Gonzalo Arijon (France/Switzerland, 2003); Rwanda, un cri d'un silence inouÔ, by Anne Laine (France, 2003); Soleil dans la nuit, by Marc Renaud (Canada, 1995); Why did they kill their neighbours?, by Kumiko Igarashi (Japan, 1997); Rwanda, let mots des ames, by Andrea Canetta (Switzerland, 2001); Kongomani, by Marc Hoogsteyns (Belgium, 2001); L'histoire qui mËne au genocide, by Robert Genoud (France, 1995); The Last Just Man, by Steven Silver (Canada, 2002), a film about Lt.- General Romeo Dallaire.
For information about the film series, contact Adrain Gonzalez at (514) 999-5272 or at Adrian@ultim.net
A ceremony, including a minute of silence, is planned for Wednesday, April 7, at 12:30 p.m. in the agora of the pavillon Judith-Jasmin at UQAM (405 Ste. Catherine St. East, metro level). The ceremony is organized by Humain Avant Tout, in collaboration with the UQAM chapter of Amnesty International, to pay homage to victims of the genocide and to reaffirm the absolute value of human life and dignity, to ensure that NEVER AGAIN.
For more information, contact Pauline Ngirumpatse at (514) 727-1097, or at pngirumpatse@hotmail.com
The official commemoration ceremony will take place the same day, Wednesday, April 7, at 2 p.m., in the Hall Panoramique in the Science Centre at the Old Port, organized by Page-Rwanda. The ceremony will pay homage to the victims of the genocide and aims to sensitize our politicians, academics, journalists as well as the general population.
For more information, contact Callixte Kabayiza at (514) 858-9550, or at ckabayiza@progression.net
An ecumenical service will be held on Saturday, April 10, at 5 p.m., at the salle Chemin du soleil (1188 Champlain St.). It will be followed by an all-night vigil which will focus on the testimony of survivors of the genocide and will include the reading of names of the victims.
In another show of solidarity, a closing ceremony and a fundraising event will be held for the orphans of the genocide, at the Corona Theatre (249 Notre Dame Blvd. West), on Sunday, April 11 at 8 p.m.
For more information, contact Callixte Kabayiza at (514) 858-9550, or at ckabayiza@progression.net
All the events commemorating the Rwandan genocide will be outlined at a press conference on Monday, March 22, at 10:30 a.m. in the J.A. de SËve Cinema in the J.W. McConnell Building at Concordia University (1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West). It will be followed with the launch of Rupert Bazambaza's illustrated book about the genocide.
These events were made possible through the financial support of our major partner, the Government of Canada, as well as Droits et Democratie, The Office of the Rector of Concordia University, Desjardins Ducharme Stein Monast, CRC Sogema, DÈpartement d'Ètudes franÁaises (Concordia), Institute for Co-Operative Education (Concordia), SNC Lavalin, the Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies and Tecsult. The organizers also want to recognize the support of Amnesty International (Concordia and UQAM), the School of Graduate Studies (Concordia), the School of Community and Public Affairs (Concordia), the Karl Polanyi Institute (Concordia), DÈpartement de psychologie de l'UniversitÈ du Quèbec ‡ Trois-RiviËres, FinanciËre Banque nationale and Renaud-Bray.
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