Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre

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Entrance to the centre

The Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, in Kigali, Rwanda, commemorates the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

The Aegis Trust, the UK-based genocide prevention organisation, was invited to establish the Kigali Memorial Centre in partnership with the Kigali City Council. It was opened in April 2004, the tenth anniversary of the start of Rwanda’s genocide. It is now the hub of the Aegis Trust’s ongoing work in Rwanda. Audiovisual and GPS documentation projects are in progress, recording and substantiating survivor testimony and recording the Gacaca trial process. Since its opening, the Centre has welcomed over 100,000 visitors, including local Rwandans, young people and young leaders from around the Great Lakes region, politicians from the Great Lakes region and beyond — from countries throughout Africa and from the wider international community.

Aegis’ initial commission from the Kigali City Council was to develop the memorial site, where up to 250,000 genocide victims were buried in mass graves, into a memorial centre and permanent exhibition for the benefit of survivors and young people. Having successfully completed this project, the Aegis Trust now manages the Kigali Memorial Centre and has been asked to develop it into an internationally significant site with a school of education. Project development and fundraising for this development are currently in progress.