Julie Ward, a member of the European Parliament, joined by Tuyishime Julienne from Rwanda’s Ministry of Youth and ICT and other local officials, attended Seven United’s panel discussion on the role of young people in building Rwanda’s bright future. This timely event came just as Rwanda commemorates the 1994 genocide that claimed over a million lives in a timespan of three months.
Read more about Julie Ward here: http://www.juliewardmep.eu/about
“Rwanda is a landlocked country and its budget is tight... Seven United is an amazing organization because it is helping the government” stated Madam Ward, who further explained that a growing global network of youth, such as Seven United, actively contributes to the growth of the country’s economy by bringing positive change to society. Madam Ward continued to encourage Seven United youth to keep up the great work. The MEP also outlined that being a strong network of young adults comes with a responsibility to spread the great impact to different communities.
Passion, the defining aspect of Seven United youth quickly caught Ward’s attention and she commented that passion will enable the organization to achieve any goal it has set for itself. She also commended Seven United for empowering girls through mentorship and by giving them a chance to prove their impeccable leadership potential—something Vanessa Uwase proved as she led the panel discussion.
During the discussions, Madam Ward and local leaders who attended the discussions, including the executive secretary of Kimihurura Sector, stressed that young people in Seven United represent the core difference between the youth before the 1994 genocide and today’s youth in Rwanda. “The youth has been used in genocide. It is so good to find the youth like you contributing to the development of the country” said Mr. Ndayizeye Omar from Never Again Rwanda.
All the guests encouraged Seven United’s youth to fight against genocide and its ideology and to be ambassadors of peace wherever there are and to innovate in everything they do.
More about Never Again Rwanda: http://neveragainrwanda.org
Finally, Madam Ward assured to advocate for Seven United in her home country – the United Kingdom. Her visit to Rwanda came 6 months since the founder of Seven United, Justus Uwayesu, now a student at Harvard University, visited the city of London where he spoke to a room full of British young adults at Save the Children’s headquarters.
Under the guidance of Mr. Rushworth Samuel, a board member and a long time mentor of Seven United, the organization is working to establish its first chapter in the UK. Seven United proved to be progressing in growth and outreach by launching its first international chapter in China two years ago.
More about the Rwanda’s Youth Ministry: http://www.myict.gov.rw/home/
The vision of Seven United, as reiterated by Justus at multiple occasions, is to make 7U a global network of youth through which young people will be actively engaged in service to their communities, advocating for improved access to education as a basic and fundamental human right.