La gouvernance des mémoires au Rwanda au travers du dispositif « ingando »: Une analyse critique des représentations sociales

The objective of this paper is to understand the place of memory in the post conflict society reconstruction. The main objective of this paper is to understand how Rwanda is managing the past and the genocide memory through “Ingando”, this kind of solidarity camps organized for all social categories. This paper builds its argument from findings of a doctoral research conducted on “Ingando”. The Ingando framework constitutes one of major mechanisms through which the post genocide Rwandan government has attempted to create one “common interpretation of the past” or a “national collective memory” as part of the nation building agenda. After human atrocities and violent conflicts, social representations of the past happen to converge with the official memory; but on another hand there are also noticeable divergences between the two and significant resistance from different groups. It is not always the official memory converges with “national collective memory” and the “official memory” is often conflicting with individual memories”. How is all this happening in Rwanda? How do beneficiaries, most of who are university students, perceive this program and what impact is it having on them? Are there conceptual and practical challenges to this agenda as a public policy? This paper will attempt to bring responses to these questions and many more. This paper is articulated on three main points; the first one presents the subject and come back on the historical background. In the second point we define our approach and the main concept of memory and social representations. The last point presents main research findings and the critical conclusion