Friday 28th May 2021 Kigali Public Library (KPL)—partnering with the Rwanda Ministry of Education, eKitabu, Bank of Kigali, Director of the French Institute Rwanda, Ishyo Art Centre, Save the Children Rwanda, Akitabu Rwanda, T2 Robotics Rwanda and Rotary Club Rwanda—held the first annual KPL Writing Competition award ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda, recognizing winning students who submitted top essays, fiction pieces and poems in English and French. The Competition themes were based on student levels:

• Write about your personal experience during COVID-19 pandemic outbreak since the lockdown in your family - Upper primary students
• Write about the subject of Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) that influenced you to address social challenges you encountered during COVID-19 pandemic outbreak since the lockdown in your family - Ordinary level students
• Write on the importance of literature in social human development and its role in the economic development of our country Rwanda - General public/Library users

Honorable Gaspard Twagirayezu, Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education in Rwanda, who attended Friday’s prizegiving, said “I used to participate in writing competitions but during my time we didn't have access to digital content and ICT. Children should take advantage of ICT resources that we already have and participate in the Writing Competition. The Ministry of Education of Rwanda appreciates the writing competition initiative and congratulates all the winners.” Ag. Manager Sylvain Mudahinyuka of Kigali Public Library noted, “Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, people of all ages can use Kigali Public Library to learn and grow and inspire the next generation of humankind. This year was only the beginning of what we can do to engage students and people at all different levels to achieve high language proficiency.”“This is an important and exciting new initiative of Kigali Public Library. We are happy to be learning together with KPL in this very first year of the Competition, and we look forward to helping KPL scale the Competition to include all Rwandan children with and without disabilities in learning to read and write,” said Yvette Iyadede, eKitabu. eKitabu was recognised for its support and collaboration with Kigali Public Library in the Competition. Among the winners were Michele Kolini of Wellspring Academy in Kigali (upper primary grand prize winner) and Shingiro Clement of Kigali Public Library (general public grand prize winner). There were a total of eighteen winners and they were awarded with certificates, laptops, tablets, bicycles and gift hampers.About the First Annual KPL Writing CompetitionThe Writing Competition was launched online within Kigali from March through April 2021 and received 300 applications. The Competition had three categories of participation:

• Upper primary – 96 submissions (90 in English and 6 in French)
• Ordinary Level (S1-S3) – 21 submissions (18 in English and 3 in French)
• General public – 24 submissions (20 in English and 4 in French)

The evaluation of the writings was held on 5th May, and criteria used for marking included:

• Digital skills, length and quality of the entry
• Responsiveness to the theme of the Competition
• Writing creativity
• In-person interviews

About Kigali Public Library Kigali Public Library is an open and public platform that inspires communities to read, discover and learn. They provide access to educational, cultural and inspirational materials in digital and physical formats. They host and create programs, workshops and events that foster literacy, creativity and innovation. The library project was initiated by the Rotary Club of Kigali-Virunga. The project was later developed and funded by the government of Rwanda. The library is funded and operationally supported by the ministry. The Kigali Public Library annual writing season one, 2021 for citizens of Kigali city was aimed at engaging students and people with different levels to achieve high language proficiency in English and French, the two official global communication languages of Rwanda.About eKitabueKitabu delivers accessible digital content and innovative programs for inclusive and quality education. We are a Rwandan, US and Kenyan company with a Kigali-based team. The educational impact of learning materials is our foundation and on that proven foundation we innovate, designing with users and partners from the public and private sector—to increase accessibility and lower cost for inclusive and equitable quality education. In March 2021, eKitabu was awarded the UnrestrICTed Challenge award supported by All Children Reading: “A Grand Challenge for Development,” through the UnrestrICTed Challenge Award, eKitabu was able to support KPL in holding the Annual Writing Competition and awarding the winners. eKitabu Rwanda seeks Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions grounded in Universal Design for Learning to improve literacy and learning for children with disabilities in Rwanda.

This project was made possible through the support of the All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR GCD) Founding Partners (the United States Agency for International Development [USAID], World Vision, and the Australian Government). It was prepared by eKitabu and does not necessarily reflect the views of the ACR GCD Founding Partners. Any adaptation or translation of this work should not be considered an official ACR GCD translation, and ACR GCD shall not be liable for any content or errors in this translation.