On Tuesday, 12th October 2021, the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), a global health sciences institution based in Rwanda through its Department of Arts and Culture in Global Health Public Engagement’s Hamwe Festival, launched its partnership with Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy (RCHA) – Inteko y’Umuco. The launch event took place at Kandt House Museum in Kigali. 

UGHE and RCHA will collaborate on research, education, and public engagement initiatives over the course of two years, with a focus on the links between environmental health, human health and animal health, and global health equity in general. Joint exhibitions, reports, publications, and more projects will emerge from this collaboration. This partnership will benefit Rwandan students as well as all Rwandan museum visitors.

“UGHE recognizes the value of multisectoral collaboration between the health sector and other sectors. This need has been highlighted more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic which has disrupted every sector of society, this is why all sectors must contribute to the response and recovery from the pandemic. It is in such a context that UGHE, as evidenced by the creation of Hamwe Festival and the Department of Arts and Culture in Global Health Public Engagement, promotes the involvement of the public in health sciences, in the arts and in the intersection of health sciences and art. Understanding the role of the arts in health needs to be deepened, this is what the Hamwe Festival has been promoting for more than two years. An important project that will be undertaken within this partnership will be a permanent exhibition that will raise public awareness of the One Health approach.”Rogers Muragije, UGHE’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor,  Administrative and Financial Affairs 

‘We, the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy (RCHA -Inteko y’Umuco) and the University for Global Health Equity have entered into this partnership with the aim of strengthening our cooperation in order to achieve our common mission in education and public engagement. Through this partnership, many achievements will be made in the areas of conservation, research, education, especially in relation to the links between environmental, human and animal health.’ Amb. Robert MASOZERA, Director General, Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy.

***

About the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy – Inteko y’Umuco

The Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy – Inteko y’Umuco is a government institution supervised by the Ministry of Youth and Culture (MYCULTURE), governed by the Presidential Order N° 082/01 of 28/08/2020, with the mission to preserve national – cultural and natural heritage – and safeguard the Ikinyarwanda language, the culture and its values as a foundation of national unity and dignity.

***

About the University of Global Health Equity

The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) is an independent, accredited university with the mission to train the next generation of global health professionals and thinkers to be leaders and change-makers so that equitable, quality health services are accessible and delivered to all. We believe that building bridges across sectors is a necessity to sustainably transform health education and delivery globally, but also to eliminate the gap between the most and least disadvantaged.