Marking the International Day of Remembrance of the victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the UN Information Centre (UNIC) Brazzaville led 50 students from Marwitse Private High School on a tour of the site of the ancient port of slaves in Loango, a coastal city located close to Pointe Noire, the second city in Congo, at around 600 Km from the capital.  

The activity started with a courtesy visit of the UNIC National Information Officer along with the Curator of Loango Museum and the local Director of Archives and Patrimony to the Administrator of Loango Cty. 

Assisted by the Curator, the students visited the ancient port area on the seafront where stands a stele of the “Trip of no return”. They were briefed on the origin of the transatlantic slave trade and the role of Loango as a slave boat departure site to America. They also walked along “the road of caravans” where slaves were forcibly marched from the countryside.

On the basis of a few relics and pictures of the transatlantic trade displayed in the Museum, visitors were informed of how Mâ-Loango, the King of the area at that time, was dealing with slavers. He also emphasized the tough conditions of travel that slaves faced and the fight for abolition.

Students raised questions on claims, necessity of forgiveness and tolerance and the return back of slaves’ descendants to Africa as well. They expressed their profound gratitude to the UNIC for planning the event which they found very enlightening. The UNIC National Information Officer was interviewed by a local Television station at the end of the activity.

H.E Yamina Karitanyi Rwandan Ambassador signs visitor's book

The UN Information Center (UNIC) Nairobi, in collaboration with the Rwanda High Commission, organized the observance of the 19th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide with students from various universities, secondary and primary schools in Kenya under the slogan “Healing, Reconciliation and Reconstruction”.  

Prior to the observance, the students participated in essay writing and art work on the topic "imagination of a country with no conflict". This initiative aimed to underline the responsibility of all, including students, on their role in preventing conflict. 

In her message, the Director General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Ms Sahle-Work Zewde urged the students to use their knowledge and skills to positively impact their local communities. 

In his message presented by Ms Zewde, the UN Secretary-General noted that preventing Genocide is a shared responsibility. “States must uphold their obligations under International law to prevent abuses and protect their populations. Collectively we must go beyond words and effectively safeguard people at risk”, he underlined.

The High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda, Ms Yamina Karitanyi, called on the students to play a role in educating their peers and get involved in conversations on social media to share views and thoughts about genocide.

After the observance at UNON, Ambassadors, High Commissioners and heads of International Organizations attended a church service as part of activities to commemorate the anniversary. 

About 400 people attended the activities to commemorate the anniversary in honour of the victims of the genocide.

Itsoseng Combined High School in Hebron, North West Province, hosted the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Pretoria for a FUN Day event on 15 March. The theme of the event was poverty elimination and development and the UN’s involvement in addressing these issues. Radhika Lal, Strategic Planning Adviser for the UN Country Team was the guest speaker.

UNIC Librarian, Hope Kabamba, introduced the team and gave a brief introduction of the UN system and what the UN was doing in South Africa and globally. Radhika Lal explained what the UN Development Programme (UNDP) was doing in South Africa and globally. Her presentation on eradicating poverty prompted a lot of questions from the students who were very interested to know what the UN was doing to eliminate poverty and how the UN could help them in their community.

Thembi Lekoape, life orientation teacher, thanked the UN team and invited them to come back to the school in future for other briefings. In turn, Ms. Kabamba extended an invitation to all learners to visit the UNIC Library.

After the briefings, the UNIC team toured the school’s vegetable garden which is managed with the help of the government municipality in the area, which supplies water twice a week in order to sustain the crops.  Due to high poverty levels in the area, the garden benefits some of the students who are struggling with food insecurity in their households. The students expressed great interest in the briefing and participated actively as the topic is a reality of life in their area.

On 8 March, the UN Information Centre (UNIC) Brazzaville joined UNFPA in a partnership with the private university Superior School for Management and Administration of Enterprises to hold a discussion event marking International Women’s Day.

Around 1,500 people attended the activity, including students, academic lecturers and board of Directors, UN Staff and media. A gender specialist resource person and the UNIC Library Assistant briefed the audience on gender-based violence and discrimination within Congo. The discussions were very interactive. The same day, several UN Agencies Representatives joined the First Lady, Ms. Antoinette Sassou Nguesso, in various activities related to the celebration in Djambala, a city 450 km from Brazzaville.

In addition, from 18 to 25 March 2013, UNIC hosted an exhibition of paintings of six female artists. Paintings featured gender based violence and discrimination against women and women rights violation as well.  The opening ceremony took place in the presence of the Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Woman’s Promotion, Ambassadors of European Union, Cameroun and Egypt, UN Staff and Head of Agencies and media.

On this occasion, the Acting UN Resident Coordinator highlighted the UN efforts to end violence against women to promote gender issues in our society. Around five hundred people visited the exhibition.