When the first young journeymen set off for the African country of Rwanda in 2013, none of the organizers could have imagined that they would be celebrating this anniversary 10 years later. In his welcoming address, Heiko Herzog, Chairman of the Geselle trifft Gazelle e.V. association, briefly described the history of the project, which was initiated by the Education Committee of the Rhineland-Palatinate Paint - Design - Building Protection Association. The aim was to promote young talent and strengthen social skills. "Over the years, we have noticed that almost all participants have been changed by their experiences on the trip," says Herzog, describing his experiences. The African country of Rwanda was chosen at the time because there was already a partnership with the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Michael Maurer from the Rwanda Department in the State Chancellery conveyed the greetings of Minister President Malu Dreyer and reviewed the history of the partnership. He also touched on the darkest chapter in Rwanda's history. In 1994, a genocide of almost 1 million predominantly Tutsi was committed by radical Hutu. Despite controversial discussions, Rhineland-Palatinate has maintained the partnership and it has become clear over the years that this decision was the right one.
On behalf of the Rwanda Partnership Association, Christina Berthold offered her congratulations on the anniversary and reminded the audience of the then Prime Minister Prof. Bernhard Vogel, who coined the term "grassroots partnership" in 1982, meaning that people and associations from both countries should be brought together and meet as equals. The "Journeyman meets Gazelle" project has been exemplary in this respect from the very beginning.
Michael Kleinbub, a business scout for the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Rwanda, had traveled from Rwanda to get German companies interested in the African country. At the same time, Anna Peter is also working on this project for GIZ as a business scout in Germany.
Anna Peter presented a very special project in which the roofs of school buildings are painted white, which lowers the temperature in the rooms and allows pupils to concentrate better. Integrated into the training concept for the first time this year. The honorary regional guild master Jörg Baumann talked about the beginnings of the project, the trip to Rwanda was supposed to be a one-off event, among other things you had to keep an eye on the costs and then the participants were so enthusiastic about the trip that they were able to win sponsors again and again and this successful project became a result.
The entire event was moderated by Lukas Herzog, who led a Q&A session after the welcoming speeches. Michael Kleinbub reported that Rwanda is taking a very ambitious approach to projects and is also focusing on the poorer population. The government in Rwanda wants to promote school education and craft training.
This was followed by the premiere of the new documentary film, in which Martin Boosfeld brings this year's trip to Rwanda to life for the audience in very emotional images.
The event was accompanied by music from the Rwandan drumming group Umucyo. After the official part, there was plenty of opportunity for in-depth discussions over Rwandan specialties.