Arsenal Star to Attend Gorilla Naming Ceremony In Rwanda.
As all gorilla lovers’ count down to the long awaited 2018-kwita izina ceremony, all football fans cannot can’t to see an arsenal star attend this mountain gorilla naming ceremony. The ceremony to name the newly born Rwanda mountain gorillas (Kwita Izina) has previously been attended by various global celebrities and personalities including sportsmen and artists. The news about the visit of the Arsenal star whose name is yet to be communicated was revealed to the news agencies by the chief tourism officer during the news conference to update the media on preparations for the upcoming Kwita Izina scheduled on September 7th this year.
A member from the Arsenal first team is expected to take part in this highly rated event this year, which will be held in Kinigi on the slopes of Volcanoes National Park. He will join a long list of several international celebrities who have already participated in this amazing event. These include American Billionaire philanthropist Howard Buffet, movie stars Isaiah Washington, Don Ceadle, Patience Ozuokor, Ramsey Noah, Born Ramsey Tokunbo Noah Jr. others include top model and conservation activist Veronica Varekova and US-based Rwandan singer The Ben among others.
Last year the event was attended by Actor Sean Penn who was invited by Hon Laurent Lamothe, a former Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti after attending the ceremony in 2017. The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) Chief Tourism Officer also revealed that there are many other Super stars that have been lined up for the annual conservation and tourism flagship event.
This unique ceremony was introduced in 2005 to create awareness of conservation efforts for the endangered mountain gorillas. The event was named after the Rwandan ancestral baby naming ceremony that happened after the birth of a newborn baby. The significance of the event is that there is close monitoring of each individual gorilla and their families in their natural habitat. The exercise has greatly helped in bringing attention both locally and internationally about the importance of protecting the mountain gorillas and their habitats in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. This year 23 infant mountain gorillas will be named.
The participation of Arsenal star in this year’s gorilla naming ceremony is part of the long-term deal Arsenal Football Club signed with Rwanda. The parties stroke a deal last May in which Rwanda became the official tourism partner of the English Premier League side. The deal, which will run for three years starting this season (2018/2019), involves Arsenal players wearing “Visit Rwanda” label on their jersey’s sleeves. This deal saw Rwanda becoming Arsenal’s ever first sleeve partner.
In addition to participating in the gorilla naming ceremony, the Arsenal player will also visit different tourism destinations around the country.
Since the first Kwita Izina ceremony was held in 2005, a total of 258 mountain gorillas have been named in 13 different occasions
In another effort to protect and preserve the endangered mountain gorillas, a popular American TV talk show host Ellen De Generes launched the building of a gorilla research center, The Ellen De Generes Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Rwanda’s mountain gorilla population has grown by 26.6 per cent since the first event of Kwita Izina and the primates’ contribution to the country’s economic growth is clearly seen in big figures as Rwanda earned $404 million in 2016 alone. This year the country has set a target of $444 million from her primates tourism proceeds.