UNESCO and Rwanda Expand Genocide Memorial Education to Preserve Memory

The UNESCO headquarters in Paris once again hosted a solemn commemorative ceremony, uniting survivors, educators, diplomats, and international stakeholders in remembrance and reflection.

On the occasion of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, UNESCO and the Rwandan government have jointly announced a significant expansion of educational efforts focused on genocide remembrance. This initiative aims to strengthen the pedagogical role of Rwanda’s genocide memorial sites—especially the four recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi (Kigali Genocide Memorial), and Bisesero.

This year's commemoration, held on April 7, 2025, marks 31 years since the start of the genocide in which nearly one million people—primarily Tutsi, but also moderate Hutu and Twa—were brutally murdered over a span of 100 days. The UNESCO headquarters in Paris once again hosted a solemn commemorative ceremony, uniting survivors, educators, diplomats, and international stakeholders in remembrance and reflection.

Elevating Education Through Memorial Sites

UNESCO, in collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE) and Aegis Trust, has unveiled a new initiative to transform memorial sites into dynamic educational spaces. These efforts will include:

• Training programs for memorial staff, equipping them with the skills to guide and engage visiting school groups.

• Enhancing exhibitions through collaboration with approximately 15 young researchers, Rwandan artists, and multimedia professionals.

• Digitizing survivor testimonies, producing documentary films, and developing photo archives to breathe life into the history preserved at each site.

• Upgrading signage and interpretive content to ensure that exhibitions speak effectively to diverse audiences, especially the youth.

This initiative places a strong emphasis on ‘living memory’, using personal stories, creative arts, and digital media to ensure the genocide is not only remembered but deeply understood by future generations.

A Youth-Focused Vision

With over 65% of Rwanda's population born after 1994, the task of educating younger generations about the genocide has become more urgent than ever. To address this, UNESCO will also:

• Develop new educational materials in Kinyarwanda, English, and French, tailored for both primary and secondary school educators.

• Facilitate partnerships between memorials, survivor associations, and schools to foster continuous community engagement.

• Launch youth-led social media campaigns to raise awareness, promote site visits, and counter online denial and distortion of genocide facts.

These campaigns will be led by young Rwandan content creators, empowering them to use digital platforms to champion historical truth and unity, while combating misinformation and historical revisionism.

A Global Approach to Genocide Education

This initiative is a key component of UNESCO’s International Programme on Holocaust and Genocide Education, an ambitious, globally coordinated effort developed in partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Currently active in 30 countries, the program aims to expand to 20 more nations this year, with the backing of Canada and the United States.

As part of this program, UNESCO has developed a suite of resources for educators and policymakers. Among them is the guide “Teaching to Prevent Genocide: A Guide for Teachers in Africa”, which offers practical strategies for teaching about violent pasts and building resilience against hate speech and division.

Ensuring a Resilient Future Through Memory

UNESCO’s commitment to genocide education is rooted in the belief that remembering the past is essential to building peaceful futures. By transforming Rwanda’s memorial sites into centers for critical learning, and by fostering intergenerational dialogue, this initiative aims to ensure that the lessons of 1994 are never forgotten—not just in Rwanda, but across the globe.

As Irina Bokova, former UNESCO Director-General, once said, “Education is the most powerful way to prevent genocide.” With the joint efforts of educators, survivors, artists, and young people, the world moves one step closer to ensuring that such atrocities are never repeated.