This past Nov. 10, Matt and I had the pleasure of guest lecturing at "Rwanda: Past & Present," a class at Boston University's School of International Relations. The professor, Stephen Kinzer, is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents. Kinzer's most recent book, A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It, is, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa called it, "a fascinating account of a near-miracle unfolding before our very eyes." On a personal note, I read A Thousand Hills right before I traveled to Rwanda for the first time. It was such an important component of my experience that, upon returning, I wrote Kinzer an email thanking him for his work, and we've been friends ever since.
The class - a mix of about 30 upper level university students and grad students - was truly impressive. They had been studying Rwanda all semester, so we quickly got down to business and covered a wide range of complex topics, including social enterprise business models, fair trade production and fulfillment logistics, Rwanda's efforts to encourage reconciliation, and so much more. The highlight was at the end of the evening when Prof. Kinzer helped the class prepare for their live telephonic conference with Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame, the following Monday. And apparently it went great! Check out the article and video: Rwanda's President Teleconferences with BU Seminar.
Thanks again to Prof. Kinzer and the class for such an enjoyable evening.
- Ben
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