Browsing by Author "Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw."

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An analysis of communication in development in the eThekwini Msunduzi municipalities.
(2003) Hulane, Zwelithini Rassendyll.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
The ushering in of the new democratic government came with high expectations from all South Africans in terms of how development processes were to unfold. The previous system had made it virtually impossible for people on the ground to be informed of all developments within areas where they lived. This resulted in great suspicions on the part of communities as they only saw things just happening, in many instances such activities had no direct impact on their lives. The new government, as elected by the people, had to address this matter in order to ensure that all development processes had a meaning to the daily lives of ordinary South Africans. This assumes that for development to be meaningful, such development should be based on a realistic understanding of the needs of the people. Such needs can only be determined through a process of consultation, and in that process communication between government, other development agencies and communities is vital. Institutions of local government have been seen as critical pillars in the process of uplifting the standards of living of people in South Africa, and therefore this sphere of government is critical for government to be seen as making a positive contribution to people's daily livelihoods. The ability of this sphere of government to address the needs of local people is therefore dependent upon the extent to which communication with residents would be prioritised, and the level at which communities would be accorded an opportunity to make contributions to local development initiatives.
Child mobility, time use and social exclusion : reframing the discourses and debates.
(2013) Rama, Sharmla.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
This study asserts that the everyday life, daily activities and mobility interaction remains peripheral within the Sociology of Childhood and Mobilities in particular and sociology in general. This is not to say that there are no sociological studies on child mobility. Instead, existing studies usually focus on the impact of child mobility on adult mobility, their daily lives and schedules with children’s voices, experiences and needs remaining obscure. This generates a passive, univocal, skewed and constrained portrayal and (re)presentation of the child. These unreflected habituations have particular implications for children’s inclusion, participation, and well-being in society; and are in conflict with contemporary and global shifts in childhood and mobility studies. This dissertation, then examines the conceptualisation and problematisation of child mobility in current studies, statistics, policies and interventions, with a particular focus on South Africa. This encompasses questions about the epistemological worldview and evidence-base supporting the various policies and practices. In terms of the reification and privileging of some paradigms, Max Weber’s analysis of ‘social action’, ‘social closure’ ‘domination’ and ‘monopolization’ is appropriated and redirected. Closure (exclusion) rests on the process of subordination, whereby dominant groups close opportunities to groups it categorises as inferior, or ineligible. Children’s subordinate roles in hierarchical structures in societies are derived based on, amongst other factors, culture, age, gender and generation. These codes are used to exclude or include individuals or groups. The utility of closure theory is in the theorising of adult roles; rationalisation of adult dominance; and the limiting of children’s agency and autonomy in institutions in societies. This includes adult roles in research and policy-making communities. This suggests that we need to reflect on, re-evaluate and reframe our approach to listening, talking, thinking and writing on, and about, children. The study asserts the relevancy of the pragmatic and critical constructivist lens in mediating the paradigmatic and epistemic shifts necessary for sociological (re)engagement and reframing of the discourses and debates on child mobility. The approaches are compatible with current developments in field (s) and are important to producing sociologically relevant knowledge on and about children.
'Cycling out of poverty' through a culture of bicycle ownership and use : a case study.
(2003) Ngcobo, Sipho Casper.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
South Africa does not currently have a strong bicycle culture, as most cycling is of a recreational nature. At the same time, inadequate and expensive transport, particularly for many rural individuals and groups, is one of the significant features of poverty in South Africa's rural areas. Many people do not have easy access to vital social and economic activities and opportunities. Because of transport limitations, attempts to promote bicycle transport, by establishing micro bicycle retail outlets in identified rural communities have been in place since the year 2000 in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Cycling is viewed as a relatively cheap and efficient means of transport, which has the potential to reduce the transport burden of groups and individuals designated under the term the 'rural poor'. This study is an exploratory qualitative investigation. Its main aim was to uncover and understand (through observation and interviews), the perceptions of identified rural groups and individuals about the potential of bicycle transport in improving rural travel of up to 20 kilometres. The study sought to identify factors influencing bicycle ownership and use, and whether or not this has become the prerogative of both male and female members of rural communities. The key issues which emerged from the collected data, point to the following: that household economic status; cultural prohibitions; self interests of key stake holders; lack of credit facilities and or subsidies, are the main obstacles for many rural inhabitants with interest in undertaking investment in bicycle transport resources.
Employment and social inclusion: implications for young adults in Swaziland.
(2016) Khumalo, Thandi F.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
The motivation for the research came from seeing young people struggle to get that first job breakthrough to the extent of compromising their qualifications for any available job, including landing in precarious jobs without suitable contracts, susceptible to manipulation. The motivation for my research was interaction with former students and relatives battling to transition from training to work careers whilst dealing with the rising expectations of society in their transition to adulthood. Methodologically, the study utilised a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews to collect primary data. Theoretically, the study was oriented around Bourdieu‘s theory of practice and Mills‘ sociological imagination. The study makes the basic assumption that employment is not only an individual personal experience requiring personal solutions, but it is also a public issue requiring public-political solutions. This research addresses two major issues. Firstly, to record the experiences of young people with employment and provide a voice for young people to share their stories of employment. Secondly, is to contribute to the literature, given the paucity of studies specifically addressing youth employment within the field dominated by unemployment literature. Research findings indicate that employment has positive outcomes and is also filled with challenges. Findings indicate a close relationship between education attainment and access to employment, education is still an important part of human capital. Employment is a life changing experience for young people, having a liberating effect that ensures independence from parents and partners, guaranteeing affordability of basic needs and luxuries, providing an opportunity to settle down and start a family, and enabling integration and participation in society. Challenges include; entering the job market and placed in jobs matching training, delayed entry into the job market encouraging volunteer work as a stepping stone to better jobs, and skills transfer problems whereby the future workforce‘ readiness is put to question. Interestingly, preference for employment supersedes entrepreneurial choices, yet the government and other key stakeholders view entrepreneurship as an alternative to a bulging labour market. The study recommends further research in the activity of young people. The scholarship failure to produce literature on young people‘s activity has caused paucity in this knowledge base.
An exploration of community perceptions and understanding of Rwandan Genocide Memorials.
(2012) Bazubagira, Appoline Kabera.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
This study aims to explore community perceptions and understandings of Rwandan Genocide Memorials. It used selected samples of ten genocide memorials that are scattered throughout the country. Those memorial sites are Bisesero, Kamonyi, Kiziguro, Murambi, Nyamashake, Nyamata, Nyange, Nyanza, Rebero and Shyorongi. The genocide of 1994 has strongly affected Rwandans and its consequences continue to distress the social and cultural values. Today Rwanda is tirelessly committed to rebuild and restore the remnants of material and non material aspects of the country. One of the non material aspects emphasized in this research is remembrance. In building genocide memorials, Rwanda is refusing to let go unrecognized the victims of genocide. Through pictures, graphics and photographs, genocide memorials talk to the community. The population reads and interprets differently the messages genocide memorials communicate. The community's interpretation is often influenced by various personal experiences and by social, cultural, political and religious environments. The way the community reads and interprets the message of genocide memorials has the potential to influence social relationships. The approach used to discover the perceptions and interpretations of the genocide memorials messages from the community views was the functionalist theory. Manifest and latent functions helped to determine respectively the pre-defined and non-recognized functions. This theory helped to discover the dysfunctional roles of those symbols among the community. The present research is an empirical study which used a qualitative approach. It helped the researcher to describe and analyze different perceptions and understandings attributed to the genocide memorials from the ordinary people. The methodology that was used in order to achieve relevant results was focus groups and personal interviews. Through group discussions and interviews, it was discovered that genocide memorials communicate a non violent message that assist Rwandans to improve their social relationships. On the other side, genocide memorials communicate a violent message able to stand in the way of improving social relationships in the community and both poles were stressed. The third position stood between those two extreme poles. It accepted the positive and the negative effects of the messages of the genocide memorials. The themes that were identified by the respondents reflected and articulated these functional and dysfunctional consequences of genocide memorials messages in the community. Although genocide memorials are important monuments, their messages are critical to the Rwandan situation where the community relationships are still not settled. The atrocities that continue to be expressed necessitate a particular consideration in order to reduce their negative consequence.
An exploratory study of rationales influencing roads and route choices of private car owners : case study : Bisley, Pietermaritzburg.
(2011) Makhoba, Mzwandile.; Misgun, Biniam Tesfamariam.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
Roads are a significant element of modernity. They are not only sites that facilitate mobility and fluidity needed for modern capitalist economy but also spaces which signify the social relations formed within the system. This conceptualization of the road is central to the project at hand. The aim of this research is to unpack factors influencing route choices of private car owners in the Bisley area in Pietermaritzburg in terms of their primary activities (going to work, shopping etc.) and what socio-political contents inform and frame these rationales. Additionally, this research explores the extent to which crime influences spatial consumption and mobility patterns. The research made use of qualitative approach that sought to interrogate the contexts within which what is considered rational choices are made and provide insight into how private car owners in Bisley area contextualize their decision. In-depth interviews with individuals (owners of private car) from various households in Bisley were conducted. The findings reveal that drivers use routes that provide them with the maximum positive outcomes, and consider their options within multiple factors as they arise out of the conditions on each road and each trip. The study also found variations in terms of the mode of rationality used in situational contexts and their multiplicity. For example, morning traffic prompted the drivers to use instrumental rationality; whereas travel during other parts of the day was not restricted to this form of rationality. The findings of study also in some ways support already existing view that there is a link between spatial consumption and perceptions of crime; however, this requires further interrogation of this theme with systematic data collection appropriate to it. Most importantly consideration of safety on the road definitely shapes decisions of the research participants on which roads and routes to frequent, and at which time of the day. Furthermore, the study through the tracing of participants‟ movements using maps shows the ways in which class and race feature on the roads of the country. The study argues that class rather than race is re-spatialized in post-apartheid South Africa. This was attributed to recent socio-political and economic dynamic developments taking place in South Africa, where the black majority is becoming more affluent.
Localizing the medium, message and action : can community radio contribute to environmental education in Wakkerstroom?
(1998) Peterson, Yazeed.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.; Hurry, Lynn.
The field of development communication has up until recently enjoyed little academic appraisal in the light of emerging environmental discourses within the sociological tradition. No more prevalent is such neglect than on the level of enquiry into the possible roles for community radio, in contributing meaningfully towards environmental education. Proponents of environmental education have to this date been sceptic about transmission pedagogies inherent in the mass media, yet no attempts have been made to consider the position occupied by community radio as alternative to mass media education. This is a pressing concern, since the accelerated development and expansion of this sector in South Africa provides widespread potential for radio initiatives to take up environmental education (in terms of both information transmission and action programmes), especially at the level of isolated rural communities. This study examines the possible reasons for such neglect, by drawing both on qualitative and quantitative approaches to expose and appease the orientations exhibited from the fields of community radio and environmental education. By considering how both fields are inherently critically-inclined and by drawing on the views of an exploratory sample of 45 participants in the Wakkerstroom district, it argues that community radio, as development communication, could provide a meaningful context and multiple roles for the facilitation of environmental education in that locality . Broader calls for the use of such a medium are also reinforced by a discussion on the pressing environment and development challenges facing the study area . Throughout its theoretical discussion the study surfaces emerging themes. The most significant of these state that community radio 's local modus operandi, its valuing in principle of action , its call for specificity in broadcast approach, its inherent status quo-challenging temperament, its unique ability to harness interpersonal social interactions and its opportunity to build a sense of community and collaboration on environmental matters , provides for a meaningful context in which to house action and experientially-geared environmental education processes. All these arguments are seen to compliment existing views held on the media and environmental education, by the study's exploratory sample. By repeatedly positioning the two fields within a framework of socially-critical methodology, the study suggests that future initiatives in environmental education should be receptive to grassroots calls for using community radio as an alternative to generalized media broadcasting approaches, in which specific and local contexts could facilitate understandings on environment and development matters. It closes with a broad agenda for such further initiatives, by emphasizing the need to build network, organizational and research links between these two fields.
Migration: challenges and experiences of the Ethiopian diaspora in the city of Johannesburg (2000-2015) and the role of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s ministry.
(2017) Tesfaye, Ayalkibet Berhanu.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
Migration is a fact of international life as people continuously move from one place to another, have different experiences, and must react to new society and their cultures. Following the 1994 dispensation, South Africa became one of the destinations of choice for many African nationals, including Ethiopians. The migration of Ethiopians is a part of the migration phenomenon which has embraced much of the world in the 21st century. This study examines the multiple challenges related to the social, economic, cultural, political and religious lives of the Ethiopian migrants and the experiences that they face in Johannesburg, their responses, and the role of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) in their survival strategy. Using a qualitative research method, it focuses on the analysis of the data collected from Ethiopian migrants in Johannesburg, indigenous South Africans who are members of the EOTC, and some Ethiopians in Ethiopia who reside in migrant-sending communities. The findings revealed that Ethiopian migrants have a set of social realities with their cultural and identity differences that foster their distinctiveness. This is coupled with problems that are associated with immigration documentation from the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa. They are also blamed for a range of socio-economic problems in South Africa and therefore, are scapegoated which results in some members of the host society engaging in xenophobic attacks. Furthermore, in the case of Ethiopians, their entrepreneurial talents and undertakings make them “soft targets” for robbery in Johannesburg. In coping with these problems, they seek solace in their Church and use a set of their cultural traits for their survival. In general, Ethiopian migrants face the range of problems in Johannesburg which have contributed to the existence of social distance between members of the host society and themselves. However, the study also found that there are common values that have the potential to contribute to social integration and social cohesion between both constituencies which would reduce the existing hostility. In addition, this study makes number contributions to the discipline. It also makes recommendations for the undertaking of further research that may be of assistance to policy makers, to the EOTC’s apostolic mission undertakings, as well as to the Ethiopian migrants themselves, and to the members of the host society.
A new diaspora : a study of South African Indian migration to New Zealand.
(2002) Seebran, Radhna; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
"I love this country with a passion, but I cannot live here anymore. I can no longer live slung about with panic buttons and gear locks. I am tired of driving with car windows closed and the doors locked, tired of being afraid of stopping at red lights. I am tired of being constantly alert, having that sudden frisson of fear at the sight of a shadow by the gate, of a group of youths approaching - although nine times out of ten they are innocent of harmful intent. Such is the suspicion that dogs us all." (Paton, A. London Sunday Times, November 29 1998) This credence and conviction was echoed repeatedly during personal interviews in South Africa and New Zealand. The added pressure South African Indian respondent's felt emanated from being Indian. This study argues that although the shift to post-apartheid epoch has dawned, the providence of the Indian in South Africa remains relatively unaltered. The consequence is that South African Indians are voyaging for security elsewhere. New Zealand has offered them an alternative home. This area of exploration has not been investigated before, since South African Indian migration to New Zealand is a relatively new exodus. This research explores and investigates why South African Indians are migrating to New Zealand, on a micro and macro level. This dissertation focuses on three main aspects: the reasons for migration to New Zealand, the effects on the respective countries and the formation of new 'identities and home.' I developed my main arguments based on the data retrieved from the personal interviews - the greatest source of information for this work.
Out of step but stepping up? : following a group of students negotiating university and beyond.
(2015) Bydawell, Moya May.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
This study holistically explores the experiences at university and the effects of a university education for students at a South African university. Literature on students in higher education has generally been focused on ‘traditional’ students and graduates in the first world. This research advances understanding of students and graduates in a unique way. The study has used qualitative data generated from focus groups, extensive interviews, diaries and photographs of a small sample to uncover student narratives, which offer insights into the ways in which the participants negotiated their way through university, graduation and the early stages of their working lives. The participants showed evidence of remarkable resilience in navigating higher education and the job market without the requisite economic, cultural or social capital. Similar fortitude was also revealed in the attempts to fulfil the expectations of significant individuals and social groups. The findings from the research suggest that the impact of university education on social and economic mobility in the South African context is more complex than often assumed. The participants describe their unique positioning within inimical impulses of: progress and tradition, independence and belonging, conventional success and inner fulfilment. With regard to identity and emerging identities, the participants conveyed a need to create coherent links between their past, their present and their future selves. A sense of isolation emerged for the participants as a function of uneven and incomplete upward economic and social mobility, and the expectations of such mobility.
Packaging behaviour : developing action kits for the promotion of road safety.
(2005) Rieker, Mark Ivan.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
Recognising that road safety is a development priority in South Africa, this research project aims to compare the efficacy of the Social Marketing development communication approach with that of the education approach favoured by the National Department of Transport in road safety development interventions. The research is also driven by the identified need to explore the role of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in development. To this end, road safety "action kits" were developed using Social Marketing principles and incorporating the use of interactive technology. Educational kits using information supplied by the National Department of Transport were also developed. The efficacy of the two interventions was compared by comparing the results of a road safety inventory across three groups of participants. These participants were learner drivers from Pietermaritzburg aged < 25 years and with access to the required technology. The first experimental group (N=36) received the action kits, the second experimental group (N=42) received the developed educational intervention and a third control group (N=40) received no intervention. The Social Marketing group was found to score higher than the education group across all items in the inventory (educational, attitudinal and behavioural). The research concludes that the Social Marketing approach needs to be considered as an alternative to the current approach in road safety communication interventions. It also provides the basis for further exploration of the uses of ICTs in development interventions.
"Passing the test" : a critical evaluation of formal driver education in South Africa.
(2005) Nkomonde, Thokozani.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
Formal education education is an essential part in the process of teaching people how to drive. Driving schools are crucial as they are the educational institutions tasked with providing the relevant education that learners need in order to become competent drivers. Because this education is vital in driver socialisation, it has to be structured and carried out in a way that ensures maximum affectivity. This education is essential in ensuring that learners acquire all the relevant driving skills. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the current formal driver education in South Africa - i.e. the K53 licensing system - in order to determine whether it can socialise learner drivers into being capable drivers. It has been argued in literature that young novice drivers are the most at risk with regard to motor vehicle accidents even though they have just received their formal driver education. They are most at risk because of their inexperience in driving, immaturity and risk-taking behaviour. For this reason the sample of the study consisted of new driver between the ages 18 and 23 with no more than 5 years experience. The study was conducted in Durban, South Africa. This study found that even though the respondents have driven for no more than five years 23% of them have already been involved in motor vehicle accidents where they were drivers since receiving their driving licences. Although a minority of these respondents reported being trained in most road and traffic conditions as well as in safety procedures (confirmed by driving school instructors), the types of accidents that they were involved in indicate that they were not able to use the information that they reportedly gained from driver training. This indicated that there is a problem with either what they were taught or how they were taught. A review of the K 53 licensing system by the Department of Transport found many flaws with the system, mainly with its design as well as loopholes that allowed driving schools to manipulate the process. shortcomings impact negatively on driver socialisation and driver behaviour thereafter.
Public participation in development projects : the case of the Grassroots Initiative Support Project in Lesotho.
(1999) Otachi, Naftal M.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
No abstract available.
Public service broadcasting in South Africa : an analysis of the SABC's fulfilment of a public service mandate.
(2000) Ryan, Gemma Catherine.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
This dissertation attempts to outline general problems regarding the appropriateness of the concept of public service broadcasting in the late 1990s, a direct result of the liberalisation of the global broadcasting environment. The work is an assessment of the SABC's fulfilment of its public service mandate, the general hypothesis being that the SABC has failed to fulfill its public service mandate due to its inability to remain financially stable and politically independent from the government of the day. The research examined feelings and opinions regarding the concept of public service broadcasting within the SABC in order to discover whether current changes in the broadcasting environment have influenced the SABC's fulfilment of its public service mandate. The assumption is that if the concept of public service broadcasting is shifting, commitment to the principles underlying public broadcasting will shift and therefore public broadcasters are no longer working along traditional lines. The research concludes that the SABC is facing many of the same problems that public broadcasters the world over have faced during the 1990s: the lack of stable funding, the withdrawal of financial support from the government in the face of increasing competition from other broadcasters and the resulting move towards a more business-like, strategic approach are all traits identified amongst public broadcasters the world over. This does not mean to say that the SABC's situation is not unique in some senses, for example it has been far more sUbject to political trajectory than many other public broadcasters due to its past status as a state broadcaster and its operation in a strongly political environment. The SABC also faces large-scale criticism from the South African press, which has proved to be an obstacle for the SABC with regard to its ability to move beyond its past. The fact that challenges facing the SABC are not new suggests that the changing environment is not catering for public service broadcasting and therefore its principle of a distancing from vested interests needs to be rethought.
Rethinking the interface : the limits and possibilities of communication for development.
(2003) Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.; Stilwell, Christine.
Development communication is now a recognized field within communication studies, but has always been implicated with the discourse and practices of development, as well as drawing on the lexicon of sociology for its elaboration of social phenomena and processes. This dissertation sets out to provide a case study-based review of the limits and possibilities of communication in/for development through the lens of interface analysis, a framework developed by Norman Long to reconstitute an understanding of development itself in an actor centered fashion. Adopting a broader based understanding of the concept of interface, in order to provide a communicative tool which goes beyond development practice , three dimensions of communication and development are considered: the 'dominant paradigm' with its emphasis on mass media; participatory communication with its emphasis on dialogue and social change; and communication based on new information and communication technologies, with its emphasis on the benefits of the internet. Central to the discussion is a consideration of the significance of information in developing contexts, and the centrality of communication to social relations more generally. Each of the case studies provides a concrete example of one or more of the three dimensions outlined above, and offers a platform for extending a conceptual and critical engagement with past contributions to the particular problematic. The objective of these engagements is less the establishment of firm conclusions than it is with the delineation of further topics for research, and the clarification of the future direction of communication in/for development.
Sense-of-belonging in high school : exploring the effects of satisfaction with social and structural aspects of school climate in three diverse schools.
(2011) Olivier, Jon-Mark.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
This study is conceptualized within the broad context of a national education system struggling to produce within learners either the academic outcomes required for economically productive adulthood or the social and moral outcomes required for active and responsible citizenship. Feeling a sense-of-belonging is a basic human need and crucial for successful communal living as it fosters solidarity. A complicating factor is the notion that diversity negatively affects solidarity. As the only remaining compulsory social institution, schools provide the ideal location for instilling the values required for solidarity. Additionally, since education occurs in a social setting, a sense-of-belonging facilitates the environments required for effective learning. The study adopts the position that both social (relationships) and non-social (structures and resources) components of the “school climate” (a term used to denote the whole-school context) affect the development of a sense-of-belonging in learners. The questions are posed: which aspects of school climate show the greatest effect on sense-of-belonging? What are the effects of diversity and minority group status? Adopting a structural model developed by Cemalcilar (2010), a quantitative methodology is used to measure various aspects of learners’ experiences in terms of their levels of subjective satisfaction and identifies the effects of the aspects on sense-of-belonging. Further, the relationships are examined in relation to the effects of components of the concept of diversity. Brofenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development (1979) and various normative functionalist theories of social control, primarily those of Hirschi (1969), are applied to explain variations in satisfaction and sense-of-belonging. Regression analysis indicates that the strongest determinants on learners’ satisfaction with the school climate are the relationships with peers and teachers, and the quality of the campus and resources. The need for emotional bonds characterised by trust and respect emerges as vital. An unexpected result is that social and structural satisfaction as conceptualized in the model do not significantly account for variations in sense-of-belonging. The learners do, however, report relatively high levels of sense-of-belonging, so alternate sources of the sensation not directly measured by the model are presented as possible explanations (e.g. extra-murals and gangs). The results do not support the hypothesis that diversity negatively affects sense-of-belonging and few significant effects were found for belonging to a minority group. Concluding remarks highlight the need for government to continue the improvement of the structural conditions of our schools and the greater need for an emphasis on respect - Ubuntu - in the hidden and visible curricula to foster improvements in both academic and civil outcomes.
A sociological analysis of culture and memory : a case study of the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide in Rwanda.
(2007) Bazubagira, Appoline Kabera.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
The 'never again' slogan to genocide, expressed by the United Nations Organization in 1948, after the Armenian and Jewish genocides has not been a barrier to other genocides whose Holocausts are a product. In 1994 in Rwanda, genocide occurred and the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide is one of the Memorials (Holocaust) which stands as a reminder of the horror, in order to inform the community to keep watching. This raised the curiosity of the researcher, to analyze how these new symbols can contribute to restore and revitalize social and cultural values in the context of Rwanda. The inside of the house offers on opportunity to visit the displayed history in which the genocide is rooted, including the period of genocide through survivors' experiences represented in short movies and by the material used in the killings. There is a room reserved for displays of the others' genocides in the world. Outside the house, mass graves surrounded by a garden, announce the burial place and a documentary place. The first chapter is the general introduction of the study and outlines the framework of the study. The second chapter offers the syntheses of the literature review that it presents the social and political context in which the genocide took root. The third chapter offers the theoretical framework which deals with the nature of culture and its influence in the understanding of the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide. The fourth chapter focuses on the fieldwork methodology. This study makes use of the qualitative approach. The primary data was collected through in-depth interviews of twenty one individuals and discussions with four focus groups with ten respondents in each group. Respondents were randomly chosen. The secondary data was used to complete the primary data. The fifth chapter is the presentation of the research findings. The findings reveal that after completing the construction of the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide in 2004, spontaneous and organized visits to the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide have taken place. This 'window' of what happened, inspires visitors and communities that there is a need to understand the past which can help in building a hopeful future together, for sustainable peace. The sixth chapter is the conclusion of the study which makes with recommendations and suggests further research.