KIGALI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda President Paul Kagame, together with President of NBA Toronto Raptors Masai Ujiri, on Thursday launched the inaugural Giants of Africa festival that is scheduled for August this year.

The festival that will take place on August 16-22 in the Rwandan capital Kigali seeks to unite youth from across Africa and empower them to engage and love the game of basketball.

Giants of Africa is a not-for-profit, Africa-focused youth organization, founded by Ujiri to create opportunities for African youth through the game of basketball.

"The festival is a pathway for our young people to grow and become giants that they should be," said Kagame while speaking at the festival inaugural launch at Kigali Arena.

According to him, the festival is a reminder that young people are giants in making which means there is a lot work they have to do in order to fulfil the enormous potential they have and see across the continent.

"We don't take anything for granted, so we have to invest ourselves and do what needs to be done and especially take the opportunities availed to us like this festival holds for many African youth who form the majority of population on the African continent," said Kagame.

The festival will dwell on youth basketball, empowerment, culture and education.

It will also feature conversation with industry leaders from around the world with the goal of inspiring the youth to be innovative, think big, build confidence and become leaders in their own communities, according to organizers.

"We are super excited to bring the giants of Africa here in Rwanda. It's unbelievable feeling for me to see young people from across Africa converge here to celebrate culture, entertainment and basketball," said Ujiri at the launch of the festival.

The festival will bring together 200 youth from Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, South Sudan, Somalia and host Rwanda. Enditem

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