{"id":55501,"date":"2025-09-05T10:37:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T10:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/gggi-director-general-sang-hyup-kim-joins-rwanda-for-20th-anniversary-of-kwita\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T10:37:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T10:37:01","slug":"gggi-director-general-sang-hyup-kim-joins-rwanda-for-20th-anniversary-of-kwita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/gggi-director-general-sang-hyup-kim-joins-rwanda-for-20th-anniversary-of-kwita\/","title":{"rendered":"GGGI Director General Sang-Hyup Kim joins Rwanda for 20th anniversary of Kwita Izina"},"content":{"rendered":"

His participation in the naming ceremony is part of his official visit to Rwanda from September 4\u20137, 2025, marking his first mission to Africa since assuming the role of Director General in January.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s edition will celebrate the naming of 40 baby mountain gorillas, including 18 born in 2024, underscoring Rwanda\u2019s continued commitment to conservation and community-based tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cKwita Izina is more than a celebration\u2014it is a living symbol of Rwanda\u2019s dedication to community-led conservation, sustainable landscapes, and ecotourism \u2013 all vital pillars of green growth. As GGGI, we recognize that true green growth happens when conservation, community empowerment, and economic opportunity come together, and we are committed to supporting Rwanda\u2019s efforts in these areas,\u201d said Sang-Hyup Kim. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply honored to join this milestone event and witness firsthand the incredible work being done to protect mountain gorillas and their habitat. Events like this are essential not only for wildlife protection but also for inspiring bolder climate action for people, nature, and the planet,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Launched in 2006, Kwita Izina celebrates the birth of baby mountain gorillas underscoring Rwanda\u2019s commitment to conservation and biodiversity. <\/p>\n

Over the past 20 years, it has become one of Africa\u2019s leading events on conservation and sustainable tourism, attracting global icons, conservationists, and thousands of attendees annually. <\/p>\n

At previous events, the King of England, King Charles III, Sir David Attenborough, Audrey Azoulay (UNESCO’s Director-General), Zurab Pololikashvili (Secretary General of UNWTO), and Andrew Mitchell MP (UK Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), and various sporting and cultural celebrities have served as Baby Gorilla Namers, highlighting the event’s international significance. To date, 397 baby gorillas have been named through this celebrated ceremony. <\/p>\n

The theme for this year, \u201cA legacy of community centered conservation, securing a sustainable future for all,\u201d highlights the vital role of communities, rangers, and researchers in protecting Rwanda\u2019s biodiversity. <\/p>\n

Through its Sustainable Landscapes program, GGGI works with Member States and partners to design and implement policies, innovative financing instruments, such as debt-for-nature swaps and green bonds and mobilize green investments to protect and restore vital ecosystems and unlock the full potential of their natural capital. <\/p>\n

During his visit, Director-General Kim will also attend the High-Level Conservation Gala in Kigali, hosted by the Government of Rwanda, which will mark the official launch of the Volcanoes National Park expansion project. <\/p>\n

GGGI is exploring ways to support this initiative, building on previous engagements with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) on the Masterplan for the expansion project. The Volcanoes National Park is expected to be expanded by 3,740 hectares\u2014an increase of 23 percent of its current size\u2014to provide more space for the world\u2019s endangered mountain gorilla. <\/p>\n

In addition, Director-General Kim will hold bilateral meetings with government officials and development partners to strengthen existing collaborations and explore new opportunities to accelerate Rwanda\u2019s green growth and climate resilience agenda.<\/p>\n

\"Sang-Hyup<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sang-Hyup Kim, Director General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), is among the dignitaries set to name baby gorillas at the 20th anniversary of the Kwita Izina ceremony, scheduled for Friday, September 5, 2025, at the foothills of Volcanoes National Park in Kinigi, Musanze District.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000093870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000093870,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gft.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gft.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gft.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gft.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gft.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gft.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000093870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55501"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55501"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}