5XÉçÇø

Global Presence

Dance troupe in Rwanda.

Kent State students experienced Rwandan culture as part of their study abroad experience. 

Flying velvet monkey and baby in Kigali, Rwanda.

A group from Kent State visiting Rwanda for a university-sponsored global peace conference was treated to a show by local monkeys.

James Smith, keynote speaker of the peace conference in Rwanda

The founder of the Aegis Trust delivered the keynote address at the Kent State-sponsored global peace conference in Rwanda. 

Mandy Munro-Stasiuk, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, gives a welcome address to open Peace Education in an Era of Crisis, a global peace conference in Kigali, Rwanda, sponsored by 5XÉçÇø, the University of Rwanda, and the Aegis Trust.

Peace Education in an Era of Crisis, a global peace conference dedicated to promoting peace through education, opened Tuesday, July 11, in Kigali, Rwanda, with delegates from throughout the United States and 14 countries participating. 

Kent State students learning about peace and conflict in Kigali, Rwanda.

A peace education conference is bringing together peace and conflict experts, students and educators from Kent State, Northeast Ohio and around the world.

Pacifique laying flowers at the Rwanda Genocide Memorial. Photo credit: Aegis Trust/Patrick Ndayishimiye

On July 10, Kent State students visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which serves as a place of remembrance and education, during the Kent State Kigali Summer Institute, a three-week education-abroad experience that includes the course Rwanda After the Genocide Against the Tutsi. 

Pacifique Niyonzima, far right, program manager of Kent State's Office of Education Abroad in Africa, based in Kigali, Rwanda, greets students taking part in the Kigali Summer Institute, upon their arrival in Rwanda on July 2, 2023..

5XÉçÇø graduate Pacifique Niyonzima, who as a child survived the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, is now back living in Rwanda leading Kent State’s outreach efforts there.

 

Kent State Today
Sarah Schmidt, Ph.D., far left, instructor in Kent State's School of Peace and Conflict Studies, and the students taking part in this year's Kigali Summer Institute in Rwanda.

A group of 5XÉçÇø students departed Saturday, July 1, for Kigali, Rwanda, where they will take part in the three-week Kigali Summer Institute.

Educators from Stow-Munroe Falls City School District will attend a peace education conference in Kigali, Rwanda. Pictured (from left to right) are: Jeffrey Hartmann, Ph.D., principal of Stow-Munroe Falls High School; Kristy Prough, BA ’99, MED ’02, EDS ’04, assistant superintendent and director of special services; Associate Principal Amanda Murray; and Assistant Principal Evelyn Haught, BSE ’07.

Jeffrey Hartmann, Ph.D., principal of Stow-Munroe Falls High School, said he was interested in attending the conference to learn skills to deal with his school district’s changing landscape.