Kivu Writers was founded in 2000, and remains the only dedicated creative writing non-profit organisation in Rwanda.
Our goal is to develop a written
literary culture across the country, and to raise awareness
of the potential of creative writing to engage people on issues such as HIV/AIDS, gender equity, human
rights and social tolerance.
We do this by:
- Working with secondary schools to deliver courses and events introducing students to a diverse range of literary forms, including: narrative writing, poetry, drama, and song-writing.
- Addressing Rwanda's 'poor reading culture' by providing workshops for adults who might not normally have the opportunity to engage in creative writing or reading for pleasure.
- Nurturing and preserving a literary culture in Rwanda by supporting emerging talent and encouraging community writing initiatives such as libraries and book groups.
- Training workshop facilitators to lead creative writing workshops, and supporting former participants to take ownership of the project.
Previous Kivu Writers participants are already working as professional journalists, teachers, radio presenters, recording artists and editors, contributing significantly to Rwanda's emerging entertainment, media and arts sectors, working in languages including Kinyarwanda, English, French and Swahili.
We are a volunteer-run organisation, working towards registering as a formal NGO by the end of 2014.
