Jean Michael Habineza Interview

As a Global Change-maker Jean is set to change the future of Rwanda. He is the program manager of Idebate, a youth NGO that was started last year 2012. Idebate is all about promoting the importance of debate in the youth of Rwanda. In the interview Jean shares with us how he grew up, his dream about Africa and the privilege of being a Global Change-maker.

YV: Who is Jean Michel Habineza?

Jean: It’s really hard to talk about oneself but jean Michel is a young 24 year old Rwandan guy. I am a Christian and a firm believer in Africa.

YV: Where did you grow up?

Jean: I grew up in Rwanda but at the age of 10, our family moved to Lagos, Nigeria where we lived for 6 years( 6 beautiful years I must add)

YV:What does being a global change maker mean to you?

Jean: Being a global changemaker is both a privilege and a challenge to me. A privilege because I know that many people have applied for it and were not accepted but also a challenge because I go by the principle that to whom much is given much is required so my challenge is always “what are you going to do with that title?”

YV: And what would you like to change about Africa?

Jean: I want every child in Africa to understand that the fact that they are born in Africa doesn’t mean that they are doomed to live like second hand citizens in this world. Can you imagine living your whole when everything from the media, literature, society and the whole world tells you that you are capable of nothing, that you are inferior and worth nothing just because of where you were born. That’s painful and horrible especially if you think that we were all created in the image of God and endowed with dignity. So I would like to see that change. I want to see a generation of Africans that are proud of their worth as humans and who engage in the world not as second class citizens that everyone is supposed to be pitying but as fully respected human beings

YV: What is your involvement with Idebate?

Jean: Idebate Rwanda is a youth NGO that was started by a group of young people here in Rwanda. What we want to do is to promote the art of debate in the youth of Rwanda. I’m the program manager.

YV: How did the project start?

Jean: The project started last year in October. I have been a debater for more than 8 years. When I was in secondary in Rwanda, I was part of one of the best teams here earning me a Full ride debate scholarship to Towson University in Maryland USA. I did a lot of debating there and saw how the culture of debate impacted communities in the USA. So when I came back from University, with two former debaters we thought it would make sense to start Idebate Rwanda as a platform for young people in Rwanda to be able to speak up and make their voices heard. We were able to get a brilliant team on board and since January 2013, we started the National Debate League which is a series of monthly debate competitions.

YV: Does the project have a specific target market and location?

Jean: Yes. For now we are targeting specifically secondary students. This is simply because we believe that if they are able to start learning how to debate, how to present your arguments logically, how to disagree without being disagreeable then they would have the most impact on the society. But we are also trying to get debate in the whole society. So we started with the help of the Goethe Institute, a public debate series where we debate about current issues.

YV: What types of issues do you tackle at the debate?

Jean: For the secondary students for the whole year they are debating the following motion “Rwanda should move to a middle income country by 2020”. So they are indirectly debating the vision of the government for 2020. They are suggesting policies, ideas on how to move the country to a middle income country so there’s a lot of economics, agriculture, education and many other issues.

YV: So beside this project are the other projects you involved with?

Jean: At the moment none

YV: What would you like to achieve with the Idebate?

Jean: I want to give the same chances that were offered to me to many Rwandan students. Frankly speaking I was usually the dude in class that never talked, always in the top 5 from behind but because of debate I have been able to truly develop my intellect, it has opened doors for me like no other thing and looking at all the things that I do now I know debate was a great part in shaping me.

So we want to create an army of smart young people that are able to clearly express their ideas but most of all I want to create leaders and not critics. Having a great mind only breeds arrogance if that great mind is not used to serve people and to serve your community. I love the quote by Roosevelt “The man in the arena” where it says that the person that counts is the doer of deeds not the critic. So I want all the students that go through this program to be leaders that use argument to persuade people to follow them not coercion, not violence but argument and the power of words. I want leaders that understand that it’s great to have an idea, but it’s not enough it must be tested and if it’s that good then it should pass that test. My debate coach used to say “Conflict is only good in a debate round because out of the clash of ideas comes better ideas”.

YV: What are the challenges facing African youth and how can they overcome them?

Jean: Lack of opportunity. I think that this is a global issue where most of the young people find themselves in a position where they can’t access resources that are needed for them to fully reach their potential and this creates frustration. It’s even worse in Africa because you will find most of them are not educated; they have been poor for the longest period of time etc. It would be hard to suggest a solution for that and personally I think it would be arrogant to claim I have the answers because it’s complex. The government, private sector and churches do certainly have a great role to play but for me I think that the biggest change is the change of mindset and attitudes. If Africans were able to help each other I think some of these challenges would be overcome. So those that have the means should open doors for others and I’m not even saying open a charity, no there are many ways you can help people just by lifting people up.

YV: What does success mean to you?

Jean: Being able to impact people’s lives. The more people’s lives you impact, the more successful you are

YV: What book are you reading?

Jean: Just finished “Banker of the poor” by muhamad yunus. But now am reading papers and articles and an interesting paper I’m reading is called “Moving towards Knowledge based economies- the Asian experience”.

YV: What do you do for fun?

Jean: Sing and play music. I love being around people and just talking and laughing

YV: What is your advice for African youth?

Jean: This is our time, let’s make it happen