Two college students from the College of Rwanda have been recognised amongst winners of the 2026 Atoms Empowering Africa Video Contest, a contest organised by Russian power firm Rosatom in partnership with the BRICS Nuclear Platform.
The scholars, Ange Fanny Uwera and Kelia Raissa Akaliza, had been chosen amongst individuals within the competitors that promotes youth engagement in nuclear science and expertise.
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Uwera is an Utilized Physics pupil on the College of Rwanda and President of NiCE (Nuclear is Clear Power) Membership Rwanda, whereas Akaliza is a Physics main and Outreach Chief on the similar membership.
.@Uni_Rwanda college students Uwera Ange Fanny and Akaliza Kelia Raissa have been acknowledged amongst winners of the Atoms Empowering Africa Video Contest 2026, a world competitors organized by @RosatomGlobal in partnership with BRICS Nuclear Platform, to advertise youth engagement… pic.twitter.com/O2ZmroAFnl
— Rwanda Atomic Power Board (RAEB) (@RAEB_Rwanda) July 10, 2026
The competition invitations younger Africans to submit brief movies exploring how nuclear applied sciences can contribute to sustainable improvement throughout the continent.
Individuals had been required to handle certainly one of 5 themes, together with the position of nuclear power in the way forward for BRICS international locations, how nuclear applied sciences enhance individuals’s lives, youth involvement in nuclear improvement, the position of cities and areas in nuclear cooperation, and the imaginative and prescient of the BRICS Nuclear Platform in direction of 2030.
The competitors is open to residents of African international locations aged between 18 and 35 years, together with college students, younger professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs and different innovators excited by science, expertise and sustainable improvement.
Entries are evaluated primarily based on standards reminiscent of originality of concepts, readability of presentation and the relevance of proposed options to individuals’ areas.
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The competition has been held since 2017, with the goal of participating younger professionals throughout Africa in conversations in regards to the peaceable purposes of nuclear applied sciences.
Within the 2025 version, the competitors obtained 50 purposes, with 13 winners chosen from six African international locations, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, DR Congo, Burundi and Namibia.
The winners travelled to Russia, the place they visited nuclear science and expertise establishments, together with the Rosatom Technical Academy in Obninsk and the Obninsk Nuclear Energy Plant, in addition to collaborating in cultural actions.
This comes as Rwanda has accelerated efforts to construct capability in nuclear science and expertise in preparations for a nuclear power programme, with plans to have its first small modular reactor (SMR) operational within the early 2030s.
The nation has additionally been investing in creating a pipeline of nuclear power specialists. By means of the Rwanda Atomic Power Board (RAEB) and UR, coaching programmes in nuclear science and expertise have been launched to equip college students with abilities wanted for varied nuclear purposes.
Rwanda has signed a number of agreements with governments and nongovernmental businesses with expertise in nuclear power applied sciences. These embody the USA and France in addition to corporations like Rosatom.
