Rwandans to access more than 55, 000 testimonies of survivors via online platform

Inspirer Staff.

For the first time in Africa, full access to the Visual History Archive, a home to more than 55,000 testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Genocide against the Tutsi and other genocides and other mass atrocities around the world will be available only at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Computer Lab.

This is through the launched of IWitness in Rwanda according to Aegis Trust and of USC Shoah Foundation.

For more than a decade, USC Shoah Foundation, Aegis Trust and the Kigali Genocide Memorial have worked together on programs to support the recording of testimonies, archival efforts, research and education.

Once again, the organizations have collaborated on the work already initiated on the development of testimony-based educational resources and activities that will support the implementation of Rwanda’s new national competence-based curriculum.

The Visual History Archive (VHA) that can be used by researchers and academicians can only be fully accessed in 15 countries worldwide.

IWitness, an educational website developed by USC Shoah Foundation, brings first person stories of survivors and witnesses to genocide to teachers and students via multi-media learning activities.

The Institute and Aegis Trust have now developed a Rwanda landing page (IWitness Rwanda) that has contextualized activities to encourage critical thinking among teachers and students. It will also be accessed through the Ubumuntu Digital Platform that is being developed by Aegis Trust.