Be the first to comment!San Lawrenz’s Francine Caruana praises Rwanda programme
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Francine Caruana, a 21-year-old young woman from San Lawrenz, together with 37 young people from other countries congregated in Rwanda from the in September for an interactive 10-day programme focusing on international understanding, peace building and conflict resolution skills.
The 2010 Nkabom Commonwealth Youth Leadership Programme came to a close with the declaration that in order to achieve the change they wish to see in the world, youth must begin working from today.
Rwanda, the Commonwealth’s newest member state, where the average age is 18, proved to be an ideal setting for an initiative that propogated the potential of young people to be agents of peace and development. The programme began with an examination of Rwanda as a post-conflict case study. Participants visited genocide memorial sites, heard from witnesses of various civil society sectors and explored community projects aimed at reintegrating genocide survivors and victims.
The programme ended with a final consultation with His Excellency President Paul Kagame. Francine had the honour to present her Masters Degree dissertation entitled ‘Transitional Justice in post-Genocide Rwanda.’ Francine said that during the10 days spent in Rwanda she learned a lot from the other participants, about their own experiences and the hurdles they had to face, many of them who were witnesses in full-scale conflict zones. She went on to say tha iIt also helped her to discover herself and make her realise how lucky she is living in Malta, a small but peaceful country where her rights are respected and not downtrodden.
Francine said that this experience equipped her with peace building and leadership skills, both assets for development. “We, youths have the power to potentially influence positively other youths, communities and societies towards development.” Francince concluded by saying that she urges all youths to involve themselves in such a venture towards peace and sustainable development all over the world.
