The founder
BRIGHT Association was founded in Yaoundé in 2020 by Liliane Uwase, its Founder and Executive Director. She was a refugee for more than 25 years, because of the genocide in Rwanda; her family moved to Cameroon during that period. She has spent six years building organisations for displaced people: Communications Manager at the African Refugee Women-Led Network (ARWNET), Programme Coordinator at Mentors Without Borders (2021 to 2022), and delegate at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review in Geneva in 2025. She has been an Amahoro Coalition Fellow since 2025.
The executive bureau
The extraordinary general meeting of 14 February 2026 elected a refugee-led executive bureau of 18, registered with the Mfoundi Division on 21 April 2026:
- Liliane Uwase, Founder and Executive Director
- Herman Pouokam Kamgaing, President
- Marie Grace Mukaneza, Vice-President
- Gisele Booth-Clibborn, Head of Education
- Jeanette Habyarimana, Head of Health
- Carine Sipewou, Head of Sport
- Rodrigue Bobiyomona Banina, Head of Environment
- Richard Mutsinzi, Head of Development
- Ange Uwamahoro, Head of Social Affairs
- Marrio Jones Ikirezi, Head of Advocacy
- Paulin Rodrigue Kamdoum Teguia, Head of Legal Affairs
- Amfoth Adoum, Head of Communication
- Josias Aurel Njouondo Djimi, Head of Technology and Innovation
- Staelle Erica Yemele Sokeng, Head of Arts and Culture
- Fabiola Dariska Fikoue, Head of Finance and Accounting
- Josselin Ndagijimana, Head of Community Outreach
- Herve Nguefack, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
- Edmond Flobert Messi Atangana, Head of Infrastructure
Milestones
- 17 December 2020: BRIGHT is registered in Yaoundé.
- January 2021: Peace Building in My Community, with Amala Education.
- July 2021: the first photography workshop with the Lens On Life Project.
- August 2022: all ten scholarship recipients pass the Ordinary Level examination.
- 28 March 2024: the Lens on Life Bright Lab opens, with an exhibition of more than 60 photographs seen by 200 visitors.
- July 2024: Empower Her Through Innovation, 15 refugee women and girls certified.
- December 2025: Liliane Uwase at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review in Geneva, as a delegate of ARWNET.
- 14 February 2026: a new executive bureau of 18.