Preparations for next year’s edition of the Miss Rwanda beauty pageant have begun with organisers promising to correct “mistakes they made last time.”

“We have begun preparations for next year’s Miss Rwanda contest early enough in order to avoid repeating the mistakes we made at this year’s event,” said Dieudonne Ishimwe, managing director of Rwanda Inspiration Backup, the company that was contracted by the Ministry of Sports and Culture to organise the national beauty pageant.

Pageant attracted criticism

This year’s Miss Rwanda pageant, which was held at the Petit Stade in Remera in February, attracted criticism from a section of Rwandans who termed it a substandard event.

READ: The ugly underbelly of Rwanda's beauty pageant

To add salt to injury, the winner — Colombe Akiwacu — had no kind words for Rwanda Inspiration Backup, openly accusing the company in local media of abandoning her.

“We should stop running Miss Rwanda beauty pageants. It is stressful and a difficult job. After handing you the crown, everyone abandons you in the wilderness... you are left on your own without any support,” Akiwacu said in July.

She went on: “It is been difficult. I don’t get help from the Ministry of Sports and Culture and my manager doesn’t know what he is supposed to do. The ministry handed me over to Rwanda Inspirational Backup but up to now there is nothing they have done to ensure that my reign runs as smooth as possible.”

Despite this, many young women still have the aspiration to become Miss Rwanda, and the auditions for next year’s pageant is expected to attract a slew of hopefuls.

The auditions for next year’s event have been set for late December and early January 2015, while the grand finale is for February at the Petit Stade, organisers said.

Not based merely on looks

According to Ishimwe, next year’s Miss Rwanda hopefuls should not assume that the contest will be based mainly on physical looks.

The organisers are looking for a young woman who is aged between 18 and 24, intelligent, should have completed secondary school and shouldn’t have given birth before and is attractive.

Now in its fourth edition, the forthcoming pageant aims to inspire and empower young Rwandan women while at the same time celebrating the cultural, ethical and traditional beauty of Rwanda, organisers said.

Ishimwe told Rwanda Today that through the beauty pageant “contestants will be taught values of the country and what is expected of them as cultural and tourism ambassadors and future mothers of the country.”

“Miss Rwanda is also a platform for promoting girl empowerment as well as an avenue to build their talent... and to be role models to young girls.

“This is achieved through Miss Rwanda projects that have a positive impact on young girls and the society at large,” he added