An online website that publishes Rwandan based information has won United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace Awards.
The judges said the website placed the Rwandan genocide into both historical and contemporary contexts, and was an excellent example of an interactive, educational site.
“We’re very honoured by the award I wasn’t expecting to win. The other finalists were large media organisations, but all the work for rwandanstories.org incorporating the writing, film editing, web design and so on, was basically just me working in a spare room, or in the local cafe. So it’s very exciting,” said Dave Fullerton, the film-maker and web developer.
RwandanStories.org is a close-up look at genocide and recovery in Rwanda. In 1996 John Steward, an Australian from Melbourne, took a job with World Vision Rwanda.
In 2007, on one of his last visits, he introduced Fullerton to some of his Rwandan friends. Fullerton fell in love with the place and www.rwandanstories.org is the result.
The website was written primarily for Australian students. It includes about twenty short films and look at ‘big-picture’ questions like, What happens in a society to make something like a Genocide possible?, What happens when the media attention has long gone – how can you possibly recover from something like that?
“I thought, if I can talk with young Rwandans about what happened, and about what life has been like for them since 1994, some big conversations could come out of that. Perhaps this ‘out-there’ African story could get kids in Australian schools talking about our own society, about our inclination towards prejudice, and along the way maybe we could learn something about tolerance, resilience and the nuts and bolts of building a peaceful society.” Said Fullerton.
“In testing, it’s clear that Australian students have a high level of engagement with the films. The fact that these are ‘real people’ and not actors is very important. It’s exciting to see students engaging with the shared human issues that apply in their own classrooms and communities, as much as they apply in Rwanda,” Said Sally Morgan, the curriculum developer.
Fullerton said that he sometimes wonders what Rwandans think about the way he has portrayed their country. He is very aware that this was just a tiny part of Rwanda’s story.
There are many important events, experiences and viewpoints not included, but he hopes the website will continue to grow since Rwandans are doing interesting work in so many areas; healthcare, education, conservation, sustainable energy.
“ I’d love to come back and film more stories about those things,” he added.
“It’s easy for Australians to like Rwanda. The big skies, the light, the eucalypts – it can feel so much like home that sometimes you almost forget you’re in Africa. And the friendly people – their warmth, intelligence and grace regularly made me feel very uncivilised so now, when I talk to people I say, go to Rwanda – you’ll love it!” Says Fullerton
The United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace Awards were established in 1979, and recognises media efforts oriented in the realms of Humanitarian, social justice, and promoting Peace.
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