As Peter Drucker, an American educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of modern management theory once said, “If you want something new, you have to stop something old.”
As Rwandans continue to commemorate 100 days in which over one million people were killed during the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, the country pauses in solemn remembrance — not to dwell in grief, but to gather strength and insight for the road ahead.
President Paul Kagame’s stirring address during the Genocide Against the Tutsi commemoration week did not merely revisit our painful history; it issued a challenge — a call to confront not just the shadows of our past, but also the stagnation that might threaten our present.
His message was universal — directed not only to leaders or survivors, but to all Rwandans. With humility and resolve, I especially appeal to professionals in the built environment, educators, innovators, and changemakers. Our collective responsibility now lies in transforming remembrance into tangible progress, anchored in Vision 2050 and the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1 & NST2).
What Kind of Future Does Rwanda Need?
In today’s reality, remembering alone is not enough. To secure a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous Rwanda for future generations, we must adopt deliberate, holistic, and honest mindsets.
Two transformative, homegrown frameworks — HAIR and STEIC — provide the lenses and moral compass necessary for this journey. These are more than acronyms; they are tools to shape how we think and behave in pursuit of a high-income, inclusive, knowledge-based nation.
HAIR: A Future-Ready Mindset (Helicopter View, Analysis, Imagination, Reality)
This framework encourages visionary, systems-level thinking — essential for professionals who must lead not just with skill, but with foresight.
Rwanda’s transformation from a failed state in 1994 to a globally respected model of governance is remarkable. But the next chapter — from climate resilience to health equity, smart housing to rural electrification — demands that we stop working in silos. We must connect our disciplines to national priorities like human capital development, urbanization, agriculture modernization, and the digital economy.