About JRYC

                                                First JRYC members

Japan-Rwanda Youth Cooperation (JRYC) is a student-led organization, which aims at enhancing mutual understanding between Rwandese and Japanese youth. It operates in Huye, at the University of Rwanda, former National University of Rwanda (NUR). Each year, JRYC hosts two conferences; one in Rwanda, another in Japan and many other activities on both sides of the Globe to enhance mutual understanding between Rwandan and Japanese communities through cultural exchange and study tours.

We have come a long way!

Rwanda Project, the precursor group of present Youth Cooperation, was established in 2005 by Shigetugu KOMINE who was a visiting professor at Waseda Volunteer Center.

Since 2008, the students (Rwandese and Japanese) who were involved in the Rwanda Project, with Professor KOMINE as Senior Consultant kept in contact and decided to sustain the cooperation. In September the same year, eight university students from Japan came to Rwanda and held the First Conference at the former National University of Rwanda (now University of Rwanda, Huye Campus). The Japanese side took up topics such as ‘pollution disease’ and ‘aging society’ which were examples of a negative aspect of a developed society. The topics taken up by the Rwandan students belonging to a dance group working for peacebuilding were ‘formation of civilian community’, ‘youth leadership’ and ‘ideologies of the genocide’. Each side took turns holding presentations followed by discussions on those themes. It was the first time in the history of diplomacy that Japanese and Rwandan students had such discussions. With the cooperation of Japanese NGO workers, JICA and WFP workers, the First Conference and the visit to Rwanda ended as a great success.

We undertook the whole process at an equal relationship as the same university students, which was different from a one-sided pattern seen in a country level diplomat or aids such as ODA. Through the first visit, our members felt the significance of exerting to understand the problems and development of a country through a human-to-human relationship. Members of both countries confirmed our resolution to continue our activity.

In order to continue and develop this international exchange between Japan and Rwanda, and to deepen mutual understanding in peacebuilding and cultural exchange areas, JRYC holds conferences twice a year; One in Rwanda and another one in Japan. In the future, we aim to heighten the presence of Rwanda in Japan and to be of some help to build an equal diplomatic relationship between the two countries.