Never again Rwanda is a peace building foundation that has been operating in Rwanda since 2002.
It has put together youth who are able and willing to help hand in hand to achieve the best in the development of peace and reconciliation in the Rwandan society.
On August 29, Never again Rwanda held a debate with youth under the theme Freedom of speech critising the government policies.
Honourable deputy Theobald Mporanyi who was the guest of honor,in his speech emphasized on the freedom of speech that is in Rwanda ,he said freedom of expression and freedom of speech among other civil liberties are rights that allow citizens to express their views and participate in societal matters.
He added that every place has a story and every country has a political narrative, it is a function of the government to influence how these stories are told.
He explained how different countries operate their laws and rights for their citizens saying, Indian is the biggest democracy in the world, all citizens have equal rights however there is no freedom carried out that can affect the integrity of India.
In his speech Erick Mahoro the Executive Director of Never again Rwanda also said that citizens should be aware of how we express our opinions and where we give them because it is not a matter of claiming the freedom of speech even without knowing our limitations.
Some Students commented on the media today in Rwanda and whether it was working to the expectations of citizens and if they are given the rights to share their opinions.
Patience one of the participants said,the debate was more of an open discussion. “It helped us to critically think and analyse what is taking place around our country and helps us the youth to participate in policy making of the government”.
In an exclusive interview with IGIHE Erick explained why they called out such a discussion saying,it is an interesting topic to the youth because they are the future leaders and have to understand why there is such freedom in Rwanda.
Erick added that since NAR is a peace building foundation,it is opening an inter peace project which will be working in the East African region and it will be led by Dr.Nasson Munyandamutsa.
He says this is a good opportunity that we have to obtain and we look forward in building peace not only in Rwanda but also across the boarders and all the world.
Kalinda Brendah
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