Kwita Izina, which translates from Kinyarwanda as “to give a name,” is rooted in a centuries-old Rwandan tradition in which families and communities gather to name newborn children and celebrate the arrival of new life.

For decades, park rangers and researchers in Volcanoes National Park named newborn mountain gorillas as part of conservation efforts to identify, monitor and protect individual gorillas and their families.

Building on these traditions, Rwanda organised the first official Kwita Izina Gorilla Naming Ceremony in 2005, transforming the practice into a national celebration of conservation, community participation and sustainable tourism.

Since 2005, 438 mountain gorillas have been named through Kwita Izina. Today, more than 600 mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Massif, with Rwanda home to nearly one-third of this population.

The wider mountain gorilla population across the Virunga Massif and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park exceeds 1,063 individuals, making mountain gorillas the only great ape whose population continues to increase.

This progress reflects decades of collaboration among local communities, park rangers, researchers, conservation partners, tourism stakeholders and the Government of Rwanda.

Through responsible tourism, habitat protection, conservation investment and community development, Rwanda continues to demonstrate that protecting nature and improving livelihoods can go hand in hand.

Kwita Izina 2026

The 21st Kwita Izina Gorilla Naming Ceremony will take place on Friday, 4 September 2026, at the foothills of Volcanoes National Park in Kinigi, Musanze District.

Held under the theme “Conservation is Life: Sustaining the Future,” the ceremony will celebrate Rwanda’s conservation achievements while highlighting the importance of sustaining biodiversity, ecosystems and community livelihoods for future generations.