In early September 2019, Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Co-Founder Ruben Vardanyan and the Initiative’s Chair Dr. Tom Catena joined the celebrations commemorating the 25th anniversary of Maison Shalom, founded by the inaugural Aurora Prize Laureate Marguerite Barankitse. Here are some highlights from their visit to Kigali, Rwanda where they attended a special program featuring public talks and panels on topics such as humanitarianism, education, among other pressing global issues.

Maison Shalom was created to turn on the light brought by forgiveness and to foster a new generation capable of breaking the cycle of violence. During their visit to Rwanda, the Aurora representatives took part in discussions that brought together distinguished philanthropists and experts in humanitarianism, discovered local culture and history and paid tribute to the memory of the Rwanda Genocide victims.