Rwanda Bibliography

Today we wish to highlight a resource on the newest member of the Commonwealth, Rwanda.

François Lagarde, of the University of Texas at Austin, has produced a very comprehensive bibilography on Rwanda, available free on the web, via the University of Texas Institutional Repository.

The bibliography lists all English and French publications on Rwanda from 1990-2011. The six main classes are: witness accounts, social sciences studies, natural sciences studies, legal publications, literature (all genres), and films. It currently consists of 7016 entries and includes an introduction and table of matters in French. The bibliography is intended to be regularly updated.



The bibiography can be found at: http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/15587    

Culture and Conflict - call for projects and research proposals

The Prince Claus Fund and the Commonwealth Foundation are calling for high quality, multi-disciplinary and innovative project proposals from civil society organisations addressing the issue of culture and conflict, within the framework of the Culture and Conflict Programme.


Grants will be awarded to civil society organisations in Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Organisations should submit a proposal for the development and delivery of activities that use culture as a way of engaging with local communities. Projects should also include a tangible output that captures the experiences of the participants and highlights the impact of the project.

The Prince Claus Fund and the Commonwealth Foundation are also calling for high quality and innovative research proposals from individuals exploring the role of culture in conflict and post-conflict situations, within the framework of its Culture and Conflict programme.


Two researchers will be appointed with responsibility for examining arts and culture-led initiatives for conflict resolution, including the work of the Culture and Conflict Programme grant recipients in Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. One researcher will be appointed from Africa and another from Asia.

Applicants should have proven professional research experience or practice in the field of culture and conflict and/or development.

All applications and queries should be sent to: h.thomas@commonwealth.int

Deadline: 27 January 2012, 17:00 (GMT)

Institute of Commonwealth Studies podcasts

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies has been recording and making available as podcasts a number of seminars, conferences and lectures.

These are available at http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/events/videos-and-podcasts.html

Currently available podcasts include:

• The 2009 conference "Reconstructing Rwanda: 15 Years After Genocide. A Tribute to Alison Des Forges"
• Presentations from the conference "Recovering Stolen Generations, Land, and Culture: Indigenous Rights & Transitional Justice"
• Dr Shirin Ebadi (2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner) speaking on "The Human Rights Situation in Iran"
• Institute Director Philip Murphy on "The House of Windsor and the Modern Commonwealth"
• The Rt Hon Tony Benn's lecture "Serving the Next Generation - The Commonwealth in the 21st Century: The Movement for Colonial Freedom"
• The Rt Hon Peter Hain speaking to "Mandela: the man and his legacy", and
• The Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guildford, Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, giving the Inaugural Peter Lyon Lecture: "The Commonwealth - A Global Network for the 21st Century"
  
  
  
  
  
  

 

 

Archive of Rwandan genocide

Last week the Guardian reported on the Genocide Archive of Rwanda. The archive will be located atthe Kigali Genocide Memorial and has gathered 1,500 recordings and over 20,000 documents and photographs relating to the 1994 massacres. Material has come from a range of sources including Rwandan media outlets and museums, court reports, foreign institutions and from survivors.
A digital archive is being developed, initially to be made available onsite and then online. The project has been dweveloped by the Aegis Trust and the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide in Kigali, with assistance from the University of Tecas Libraries.

Welcome to Rwanda

At the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago, Commonwealth leaders agreed to accept Rwanda as the 54th member of the Commonwealth.

A short video reporting the decision is available at:
http://video.thecommonwealth.org/services/player/bcpid2517730001?bctid=53040352001

An overview of the CHOGM by Derek Ingram, entitled A Surge of New Activity for the Commonwealth,  is also available on the Commonwealth Secretariat website.

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library currently has a small collection of material on Rwanda, largely acquired to support the Institute's MA in Undertsanding and Securing Human Rights. These materials focus on both the 1994 genocide and the post-conflict reconstruction that followed. As a result of Rwanda's membership of the Commonwealth we will further develop and broaden the scope of this collection, co-operating with other London libraries including the SOAS Library and British Library, who also collect material from and about Rwanda.

Research on Rwanda is being added to the database of Theses in Progress in Commonwealth Countries. We welcome any postgraduate research students doing work on Rwanda to contact us so this can be kept up to date.