Remembering Rwanda: The 10th Anniversary Memorial Project:
The Toronto Commemorative Conference

Spring 2004 will mark the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. The Rwandan community of Toronto and their friends want to ensure that this event is marked in a monumental way. There is a great risk that the genocide in Rwanda will be glazed over through the passage of time and that the greater Canadian public will drop the event from their collective consciousness. This cannot be allowed to happen. Genocide is a Crime Against Humanity whose intent and action should be well-documented and fully acknowledged in depth and scale. This is why there has been a national initiative formed by Carole Anne Reed and Gerry Caplan called Remembering Rwanda: The Rwanda Genocide 10th Anniversary memorial Project.

The goal of this project is, as the title implies, to memorialize. Remembering Rwanda is a broad effort with many goals, some of which are: to support the International Campaign to End Genocide, encouraging international assistance to aid Rwanda in national reconciliation and rebuilding, launching initiatives to ensure acknowledgement of the 10th Anniversary in Legislatures and at the UN, and finally, to commemorate the event within smaller communities which allow survivors to express their views and feelings. The crime of genocide is dehumanizing, its effects are widespread, and too often the international media prevent its recognition as a human event with innocent casualties. The remembrance of genocide should work toward putting faces on otherwise faceless survivors. The commemorative conference being held in the Toronto community is scheduled to take place at Harbourfront Centre from June 25th to the 27th, 2004.

Toronto’s Rwanda commemoration has been carefully organized to combine the essential elements of remembrance with education and the celebration of life. The three-day conference will begin on the evening of the 25th with a focus on reflection, followed by a day to explore the holistic and personal significance of the genocide through academic discussions, survivor’s testimonies, and dramatic interpretations. The conference will end with an exposé of music and dance combining the talents of Rwandan and Canadian artists. Commemorative art exhibits will be on display at Harbourfront centre throughout the conference with original art created for the purpose of remembering and reflecting upon the Rwandan genocide. Any proceeds from the conference will be given to Hope for Rwanda Children’s Fund.

Toronto’s Rwanda commemoration will be geared toward a focus on inclusiveness and sensitivity. Inclusiveness of people from all religions and cultures is imperative in the commemoration of genocide because the crime itself affects our collective humanity. When everyone is welcome to be involved in acknowledgement of genocide, everyone will hopefully be compelled to prevent it. This conference, produced by the input of Rwandans, Rwandan-Canadians and Canadians, will not only strive to present Rwanda as a beautiful cultural entity, but also to provide context, humanity and healing to the country’s painful past. It is the hope of this conference to affect people’s personal understanding of genocide; transforming it from a broad political phenomenon into a human tragedy with implications and responsibilities for all people, regardless of ethnicity or race.