Kigali, Rwanda — 21 August 2026 — The KOICA Rwanda Alumni Association (KORAA), in partnership with KOICA Rwanda and the East African University of Rwanda (EAUR), held a knowledge-sharing session bringing together students, academics, audiovisual professionals and other stakeholders to explore opportunities for advancing Rwanda’s audiovisual and creative industries.
Held at the EAUR Kigali Campus under the theme “Advancing Rwanda’s Audiovisual Industry: Lessons and Opportunities from Korea, and AI in the Creative Industry,” the session provided a platform for sharing knowledge and experience gained through Korea, particularly from the Busan Film City Audiovisual Content Creation Program.
The event brought together approximately 78 participants, including students and staff from EAUR’s Filmmaking and Film Production and Mass Communication departments, KORAA members and KOICA representatives.
Welcoming Participants
Opening the session, Mr. Albert Fils Nzayurugo, Head of the Department of Mass Communication at EAUR, welcomed participants on behalf of the university. He introduced EAUR and highlighted the university’s academic environment and programmes, providing participants with an overview of the institution hosting the knowledge-sharing session.
Representing KORAA, Ms. Francine Andrew SARO, Vice Chairperson of KORAA, introduced the association and its role in connecting professionals who have benefited from KOICA programs.
In her remarks, Ms. SARO emphasized “giving back to the community” as one of the important responsibilities of KORAA and explained that the session was intended to share knowledge and experience gained through international training with students and other members of Rwanda’s creative community.
She encouraged participants to make full use of the opportunity by asking questions, engaging with the speakers and raising any issues they wanted to better understand.
Learning from Korea and Exploring AI
The session featured an expert presentation on the Korean audiovisual ecosystem, lessons and best practices, followed by an alumni panel discussion.
The discussions explored lessons from Korea and Busan Film City, film education and skills development, opportunities for Rwanda’s film industry, international collaboration, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in the creative sector.
Participants also engaged directly with speakers during an interactive question-and-answer session, creating space for exchange between experienced professionals and emerging audiovisual practitioners.
Connecting International Experience with Local Talent
The session was organized as KORAA’s first knowledge-sharing activity of 2026 under its newly introduced Small Group Activities initiative. The initiative enables alumni with shared professional interests and expertise to develop and lead activities that transfer knowledge gained through KOICA programmes to local communities.
For this session, KORAA members who participated in the Busan Film City Audiovisual Content Creation Program took the lead in bringing their experience from Korea back to Rwanda.
The activity demonstrated how international learning can be extended beyond individual training programmes and shared with the next generation of professionals. Participants gained exposure to Korea’s audiovisual ecosystem, professional practices and potential applications of AI in creative industries, while also interacting directly with experienced professionals and alumni.
Looking Ahead
Participants expressed interest in seeing more frequent and specialized knowledge-sharing sessions, greater access to learning content online, and stronger opportunities for professional and academic development.
The recommendations provide potential areas for future consideration as KORAA, KOICA, EAUR and other stakeholders continue exploring ways to strengthen knowledge exchange, university–industry cooperation and professional development in Rwanda’s audiovisual sector.
The 2026 KORAA Knowledge-Sharing Session marks a step toward strengthening a sustained culture of knowledge exchange and professional development, while deepening cooperation between Rwanda and Korea in the audiovisual and creative industries.
