Rwanda Lifts Moratorium on Teaching History; Featured on NPR

There has been a moratorium on teaching history in Rwanda since 1994, when 75% of Rwanda's teachers were murdered during the genocide or imprisoned shortly thereafter. When people began to examine the roots of the genocide, it became clear that history education, as a source of propaganda, had played a large role.

Today, schools are recognized by the post-genocide Rwandan government as having the capacity to build unity and promote reconciliation, by fostering collective memory, encouraging cross-ethnic affiliation, and the reshaping of social identity. In 2003, Facing History and Ourselves began a partnership with UC Berkeley's School of Education and Human Rights Center, the National University of Rwanda, and the Rwandan Ministry of Education's "Education for Reconciliation" project-providing consultation and training to assist Rwandan educators as they created a new, post-genocide history curriculum for the country. This project was funded by the United States Institute of Peace and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Three individuals involved in the project - John Rutayisire of the Rwanda National Examinations Council; Innocent Mugisha, a teacher trainer at the National University of Rwanda and Karen Murphy, Facing History's Director of International Programs - were recently featured on "All Things Considered," a show on National Public Radio (August 20, 2006).

Visit NPR.com to listen to the segment, Rwanda May Lift Ban on Teaching Its Sensitive History [1]

Creating a History Curriculum after Genocide in Rwanda [2]
by Sarah Warshauer Freedman
Pages 12-16
Connected
The magazine of UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education
Winter 2006 * Volume 1 * Number 1