Genocide education

Genocide education refers to education about patterns and trends in the phenomenon of genocide and/or about the causes, nature and impact of particular instances of genocide.

Recent Rwanda history curricula explicitly stipulate the teaching of the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi, notably through the comparison “of different genocides” with a view to “suggest ways of preventing genocide from happening again in Rwanda and elsewhere”. A comparative approach has been adopted, which is clearly reflected in the 2015 Curriculum for Sustainable Development.

The competence-based curriculum framework mentions “genocide studies” as a cross-cutting issue, therefore introducing the study of genocide in a variety of subject areas. It further states that “Rwandan children should know about the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi alongside the Holocaust and other genocides”.

Teaching about the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda, and thereby introducing genocide studies in history textbooks and curricula, has been part of a gradual process to promote national unity and peace. This process included a moratorium on some chapters of Rwandan history in 1995, which ended when considerations pertaining to the 1994 genocide were introduced into the 2008 history curriculum. Recent approaches also built on the acknowledgement of the disastrous effects of pre-genocide Rwandan education, which contributed to discrimination against the Tutsi population and constituted a backdrop for the ideology that led to the genocide. In contrast, introducing the history of the genocide in the education system was a recognition that schools, in addition to non-formal and informal learning environments, are crucial venues to impart knowledge about the genocide and to overcome silence, denial and conflict. These changes also correspond to a deeper reflection on appropriate pedagogies to help learners grapple with the legacy of the genocide. According to Jean-Damascène Gasanabo, director-general of the Research and Documentation Center on Genocide at the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) in Kigali, “This change in the curriculum has been supplemented by a shift to transform learning from one based on standard rote memorization to one that encourages discussion and a spirit of critical thinking and analysis. This approach identi es the student as an active participant in the learning experience, not merely a silent recipient of history as ‘evangelical speech’.”

The Kigali Genocide Memorial and Aegis Trust, in partnership with other Rwandan organizations such as the Educators’ Institute for Human Rights, has developed education programmes and in-service training to help teachers build capacity and acquire historical knowledge to deal with genocides and mass atrocities. Such programmes emphasize “critical thinking, empathy and individual moral responsibility.” They explore historical examples, primarily the genocide of the Jewish people and the genocide of the Tutsi, through a “Sustainable Peace Model/Framework” which seeks to link genocide education (looking back) to genocide prevention (looking into the present) to peace-building (looking forward).

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Wikipedia