On September 20th, 2025, the Kigali Peace Ambassadors’ Network (PAN), in collaboration with Aegis Trust, celebrated the International Day of Peace through the Turi Umwe Peace Festival in Kigali. The event was a powerful reminder that peace is not passive; it requires deliberate action from every individual, community, and institution. This year’s UN theme, “Act Now for a Peaceful World,” resonated throughout the day’s activities, calling on us to recognize our shared responsibility to foster peace at personal, national, and global levels.
The festival showcased the remarkable work of the Peace Ambassadors’ Network, composed of teachers, parents, youth, and local leaders who have received Peace and Values Education training from Aegis Trust. Active in Kigali, Huye, and Nyagatare, these peace ambassadors lead diverse initiatives that prevent school dropouts, resolve family and community conflicts, promote peace through arts and culture, support communities facing mental health challenges, and organize events that strengthen social solidarity.
“We are deeply grateful to our Aegis Peace Ambassadors for their unwavering commitment; not only building peace in schools and communities, but ensuring it endures and protecting it from breaking down. They are the guardians of sustainable peace,” reflected Alphonse Munyantwali, Aegis Trust Country Director.
The Turi Umwe Peace Festival proved to be more than a celebration, it was a movement in action. Through vibrant traditional dance performances, stirring peace songs, and thought-provoking youth-led drama presentations, attendees experienced firsthand how art and culture can inspire and empower communities. A keynote presentation explored the challenges to peace in today’s world and the critical role of youth in innovating new approaches to peacebuilding. The day also featured a deeply moving personal testimony on the journey toward peace and family reconciliation.
Nzamukosha Aline Happy, Aegis Peace Ambassador and Kigali PAN Coordinator, challenged her fellow educators: “Peace is not just important—it is the very foundation upon which all life thrives. As teachers, our voices echo in every classroom, every home, every heart we touch. In every lesson we teach, every word we speak, every life we shape, let us be architects of peace.”
Junior Ngirimana, a P4 student, captured the commitment of Rwanda’s youngest generation: “Building peace and keeping it safe is our job as young people. We made a pact with our elders that we won’t break the peace they worked so hard to give us.”
The festival may have concluded, but the work continues. Our Peace Ambassadors return to their communities renewed in their commitment to build, protect, and nurture peace; one classroom, one family, one conversation at a time. Peace is not passive. Together, we act for a peaceful Rwanda and a peaceful world.
