"The Voice of Africans"
25 years of Africa Positive Dortmund-based association celebrates its 25th anniversary with the conference “Sustainable development and the role of the media – changing perspectives between Africa and Europe”. The conference took place […]
AFRICA FEATURED General Latest Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOS27 November 2023, Lusaka, Zambia – The 3rd International Conference on Public Health in Africa(CPHIA 2023) opened today in Lusaka, Zambia, with African Heads of State, ministers of health, andleading scientists, innovators and […]
AFRICA FEATURED General Health Latest Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOSThe Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, will lead the Commonwealth delegation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai to call for accelerated action on the climate crisis in […]
AFRICA Environmental Science FEATURED General Radio & TV TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOSThe Secretary-General of the Organisation of Educational Cooperation (OEC), H.E. Sheikh Manssour Bin Mussallam, has called for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs based on solidarity instead of charity if they are to have […]
AFRICA Education News Radio & TV Special EditionThe Secretary-General of the Organisation of Educational Cooperation (OEC), H.E. Sheikh Manssour Bin Mussallam, has called for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs based on solidarity instead of charity if they are to have a meaningful and lasting positive impact on society.
This call was made on Wednesday, 17th January 2023, during the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the OEC and Awash Bank, setting the foundations for a fruitful relationship within the framework of the vision outlined by the Universal Declaration of Balance and Inclusive Education, between the Organisation and the first private commercial bank of Ethiopia.
The Secretary-General welcomed the understanding of the agreement reached between the OEC and Awash Bank as a further contribution to the just, prosperous, and equitable social transformation of societies through pursuing balanced and inclusive development.
“No organization, initiative, or sector can effectively address the challenges facing the world today and give a proper answer to youth aspirations,” he emphasized. “For the future we want is one that can only be achieved through a collective, sustained, and sustainable effort.”
Regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Secretary-General said:
“While well-intentioned, the charity seeks, in a vertical manner, to ensure that the ‘poor’ merely survive, but it doesn’t address in the least the underlying causes of poverty and marginalization. The OEC’s view is that Corporate Social Responsibility undertakings should be based on solidarity, designed through genuine consultation and dialogue, on equal footing with communities. We look forward to supporting Awash Bank in ensuring that its CSR programs are not atomized but inscribed within a collective framework of lasting change,” he said.
Community-wide health insurance is a hope for a country whose health system is weak; will it be by Ayele Addis Ambelu ; ayeleradio@gmail.com +251918718307 Hello, dear followers of our show. How are you […]
AFRICA FEATURED General Health Human Rights Investigative Reports Latest Magazine News Radio & TV TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOSby Ayele Addis Ambelu ; ayeleradio@gmail.com +251918718307
Hello, dear followers of our show. How are you doing? In today’s event, we will briefly discuss the hopes and challenges that Ethiopia has brought to the country’s healthcare system after the 10-year community-wide health insurance service began to be implemented. We have also heard that the government has made arrangements, with the help of the legal framework, to start an insurance service that will make social health insurance accessible to other parties, including government employees, in addition to community health insurance services. If you stay with us, you will hear the event where we talked to service providers and other stakeholders, including the opinions of the service users. I am Ayele Addis Ambelu, your health program producer.
Germany was the first to introduce public health services to the world in 1883, according to the Gregorian calendar. One hundred forty years of social health insurance in Germany has allowed the country to be one of the leading countries with one of the world’s top, strict, and well-served health systems. This health insurance service must cover anyone who has obtained a residence permit in Germany. This has enabled an individual in any living condition to live in the country’s most expensive health care system without any problems getting complete health care. Respected series of our show, we did not raise this for no reason. We will try to analyze the community health insurance service, established in Ethiopia for ten years, from its purpose to the level it has reached today. Mrs. Frehiwot Abebe is the director general of the Ethiopian Health and Welfare Service. You will recall that based on the experience taken from the social health insurance service at the international level, it was started to provide two types of health insurance services in Ethiopia.
The problem of social health insurance
Recognizing that expanding health service coverage is a significant part of the country’s smooth social and economic development, Ethiopia has issued a decree to make social health insurance services accessible to all in the last seven years.
Health insurance
According to the same decree 690/2002, the country has three types of health insurance service systems. One of the three is social health insurance coverage, which covers all government employees and pensioners. The others are private and community health insurance services. He was told that the social health insurance service, expected to be implemented in Ethiopia, has encountered a problem. The social health insurance system, which was supposed to be started by government offices and was based on obligation, should have been implemented two years ago.
“In our calendar, around 2004 and 2003, the two types of health insurance were started in our country, which is called the first social health insurance; What we call social health insurance benefiting wage earners and pensioners, and the other social health insurance helping most of the society or more than 80 percent of the people, was designed as a country.
In Ethiopia, community-wide health insurance services have been prioritized for implementation as more than 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas and farmers, herders, or other informal occupations. The service, which is being implemented in selected districts of Oromia, Amara, Tigray, and Southern regions, has reached up to 45 million Ethiopians through the service, Ms. Frehiwot says.
“In our country, we are implementing it in 894 districts. In these districts, membership is at the family level. With this, we have 45 million users.
Indeed it is. In poor countries like Ethiopia, even in economically developed countries, the payment for health services is reaching an unaffordable level. When the service is covered by such insurance, it will bring more or less relief.
Mr. Santayehu Hunene Ube, who resides in Mesobo kebele of Elmana Densa district of West Gojam zone, is one of the farmers who first got the community health insurance service from his kebele. They shared with us what they faced in the past to access health care and what they experienced after becoming a member, either themselves or others.
Another farmer who is a resident of Jimma Zone, who says he is a beneficiary of the community health insurance service, talks about the blessings the insurance service has brought him and the problems he has faced.
“I came and underwent surgery on the previous Arafah holiday. I have treated for free what I could not afford to spend much money on. I only bought Glucose, which was washed in Hede. I bought one from a foreign pharmacy for 300 birr when the liquid was lost here.
Farmers who did not want to be named shared the same idea while treated at Jimma Hospital.
“We were well received when we came here. They came and treated us where we were sleeping. We also got a needle. But our only problem is the purchase of medicine. The purchase of pharmacy medicine costs us up to two thousand three thousand birr. »
Social health insurance in Ethiopia
To implement the social health insurance system in all government offices, a decree was issued in 2002, and a structure was prepared for it. But the system has not been implemented yet due to some problems.
Minister of Health
To find out the reason, the House of People’s Representatives asked the recently appointed Minister of Health, Prof. Yifru Birhanen, on Thursday, December 27, 2022. It is known that he called the council and asked them to explain.
The minister explained that the system has not yet been implemented “because it has not been adequately prepared, the understanding of the workers is low, and there are problems in the supply of medicine and the environment of health facilities.”Another community-wide health insurance is intended to benefit farmers and herders in rural areas, and more than 18 million people have benefited from the pilot project, according to Ahmed Imano, Director of Public Relations and Communications at the Ministry of Health. The director mentioned that this insurance will be implemented nationwide this year.
Health expert Dr. Yigerum Abebe told Deutsche Welle that although the insurance companies in the country provide health insurance services to some people, their services are not very meaningful in a country with a population of 100 million. For this purpose, the government established two types of insurance: social health insurance and community-wide health insurance. Still, it was expected that “in the end, both will be merged into one national insurance,” says Dr. Yemu. Dr. Yele explained many other reasons that have prevented the social health insurance system from being implemented.
Dr. Yigemu, who said that the country is primarily dependent on foreign aid to carry out its program in the health sector, and this cannot continue in this form, explained that it is essential to introduce a social health insurance system.
There is no denying that health insurance will play an essential role for the people who are at the lowest level of living and who are the highest in number. From what the users say, it seems to be a step forward from the earlier self-service access.
However, government health facilities are usually in trouble providing insurance services to serve the wider community and have raised the capacity to do work based on the contract. Or they face a strong challenge.
According to Mr. Awol Mohammed, who is in charge of the government hospital in Jimma Zone, Dedo District, his hospital has faced a challenge in providing financial services to the members of the community insurance service.
The director general of the health insurance service, Ms. Freyevat Abebe, who says that she agrees with the complaints made by the users and stakeholders about the supply problem facing the service, talks about whether they are expanding community drug stores or pharmacies in cooperation with regional administrations.
Another issue that needs to be raised is the accessibility of community health insurance services to those who cannot afford them. Mr. Tsgaye Abebe says that everything should not be left to the government engaged in flower development and other import and export businesses; he says that he bought the same insurance policy for more than 800 people in two years.
Ato Tsgaye is also saying that the insurance that plays a role in alleviating such social problems has given the country hope.
We have heard that a decree has been approved to implement the social health insurance service that Ethiopia has started to implement. No social health or insurance service benefits those working regularly, including government employees.
However, the problem faced by the social insurance service, which started earlier and benefited most of society, should be solved from the root. It is essential to update the system developed to manage this and learn from the experience of countries with better experience. Suppose a government challenged by war, conflict, and instability for years can maintain an orderly and insured health service. In that case, it indicates a way to solve other social problems.
Intending to play a crucial role in bringing about sustainable peace and contributing to the implementation of the African Union’s Tripoli Declaration of August 2009, the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) […]
AFRICA NewsIntending to play a crucial role in bringing about sustainable peace and contributing to the implementation of the African Union’s Tripoli Declaration of August 2009, the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) at Addis Ababa University (AAU) convenes an annual security event, the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, or popularly known as Tana Forum. The Tana Forum is an initiative that responds to the Declaration’s appeal for “African-led solutions” and calls for responding to peace and security as a collective “intellectual challenge.” As a result, the annual Tana Forum emerged as an independent platform initiated by IPSS and eminent African personalities, including Meles Zenawi, the late Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The Tana Forum brings African leaders, decision-makers, and stakeholders to engage and explore African-led security solutions.
The centerpiece of the Tana experience is the baobab tree. Its symbolism of dialogue facilitates an informal and collaborative environment to discuss topical issues related to peace and security. The central Forum is complemented by panel discussions and bilateral talks, leading to frank and candid discussions and experience sharing. The Forum derives its name and takes place yearly at Lake Tana in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
This year (2022) marks the 10th anniversary of the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa. It coincides with a critical moment in Africa and the world as the COVID-19 pandemic exposed fragilities and divisions while highlighting inequalities globally and locally. While old fault lines remain, new ones are producing tensions and threats that converge within – rather than outside- states in a way that exposes the underbelly of fractured state-society relations.
The signals of threats to peace and security across the African landscape are evident in the decline of democratization, the weakening of critical public institutions, the resurgence of ethnoreligious and other parochial identities, food insecurity, and weak preparedness of the African state to address its impact and externalities, the proliferation of actors and risks in ways previously not contemplated, and the limitations of reactive, military responses. Yet even at that, the prevailing cloud of uncertainty provides the opportunity to think deeply and act tenaciously to confront such triggers and enablers of today’s insecurities. Understanding Africa’s security threats today also requires rethinking the role of actors and initiatives at national, regional, and continental levels and that of international partners in soliciting solutions.
This year’s Tana Forum is invariably about how best to respond firmly to emerging socio-economic, political, and governance challenges or manage such threats in a way that does not lose sight of the continent’s most valuable resource: its citizens. How arts, culture, heritage, and resilience in nutrition and food security, the AU theme for 2021 and 2022, respectively, can be harnessed to promote enduring peace, considering the continent’s myriad challenges, needs to be interrogated. By shifting focus away from states and institutions to citizens who, ultimately, have the legitimacy and influence to make change happen, the course of a better future becomes clearly defined and attainable.
The theme of this year’s Tana Forum is framed around the following issues: Building resilience has gained new currency in light of new fragilities imposed by the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and state measures to curb it; actions towards building resilience must be deliberate in placing citizens at the center, recognizing their agency in the process of reimagining governance and peacebuilding, Building strength is not a one-off event but a process that takes time and resources, The state may only play a role that is necessary and desirable in building strength if the deeply fractured social contract with citizens is repaired, and The international community may contribute to building citizens resilience but must do it in a manner that is aware of their priorities.
We should not use this slogan to push international communities when we suggest African Solutions for African Problems. Instead, we use it because we can analyze our challenges & constraints, & come up with a measurable solution based on our own culture & customs.
The overarching objective is to explore issues at the intersection of building a people-enabled peace,
security, and resilience in line with the African Union theme of the year 2021, “Arts, Culture and Heritage:
Levers for Building Africa We Want”. It is also worthy of note that the African Union theme
of the year 2022 emphasizes “R es I l I en c e I n Nu t r I t io n an n d Fo o d S ec u r I t y.” Alongside taking
stock of the evolution of certain peace and security challenges on the continent, the focus will be on
mobilizing and building the home-grown and local resilience that centers African agency.
Specific objectives include:
Create a shared understanding of building systemic resilience from below:
Interrogate the impacts of COVID-19 along with other multifaceted aspects in the context of peace
and security,
Give attention to climate change and climate resilience challenges,
Interrogate the functional relevance of existing peace and security institutions and normative
frameworks at regional and continental levels,
Probe the resurgence of military coups in Africa,
Explore pathways to enhance compliance with continental, regional, and national laws to address
threats to constitutional order in member states,
Look at the role of peace and security in culture and heritage protection,
Explore actionable ways to mainstream and strengthen youth and women’s inclusion,
Explore opportunities to enhance resilience in (nutrition and) food security,
The Forum further aims to offer participants a chance to rethink the nature, character and
the goal of international partnerships vis-à-vis the state of peace and security in Africa, and
Synthesize knowledge and insights that would support the strategies and actions of national,
regional and continental actors.
IV. Tana Forum 2022 Sub-themes and Guiding questions
The 2022 Tana Forum sub-themes will be anchored on the AU theme of the year 2021, “Arts, Culture
and Heritage: Levers for Building Africa We Want.” Furthermore, the AU theme of the year 2022 will be
the basis upon which the discussion should be furthered to explore ways to strengthen resilience in
nutrition and food security. Reflections on lessons learned and the impact of Tana in the peace, security, and development areas.
Specifically, these will be centered on the following sub-themes:
Sub-theme 1: Unconstitutional Change of Government: “Coup D’État”
The resurgence of Unconstitutional Change of Governments (UGC) in Africa is worrisome. This is mainly
because significant strides have been made at the continental and regional levels to provide normative
frameworks for enabling credible constitutional alternation of power in member states. In addition, the
African Union and most of its Regional Economic Communities have robust early warning mechanisms
designed to provide strategic decision-makers with relevant information to facilitate promptlyeffectively
Responses. Notwithstanding, for the first time in its 20 years, the African Union has suspended four member states within a year for UGC. Recent events in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sudan, Guinea Bissau, and even Chad about power alternation point to two fundamental issues that need critical reflection. One is the exploitation of insecurity as justification for military takeovers. Two is the manipulation of legality by incumbents, which undermines the legitimacy of constitutional rule. The issues reveal the challenges and the limits of Africa’s multilateral institutions. Multilateral institutions have minimal enforcement powers about governance in member states and rely on member states’ willingness to implement relevant normative principles to further democracy, peace, security, and stability. As a result, the use of sovereignty as a shield by member states limits the space for multilateral organizations to engage in preventive efforts to address governance-related challenges and promote broad inclusion and participation in member states.
Session one explores pathways to enhance compliance with continental, regional, and national laws to
address governance deficits and military and non-military threats to constitutional order in member states.
Sub-theme 2: Impact of Global Insecurity on the Continent (Global Insecurity affecting the
Continent) The COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuating commodity prices, climate change, threats posed by violent extremism and fundamentalisms, illicit financial flows, and international organized crime are some of a few drivers of insecurity in our history as global citizens. By the end of 2021, at least 15 African countries were navigating armed and violent conflict varying between high and mid-level intensity while others battled governance and other crises; these conflicts and instability situations can be directly connected to events in other parts of the world. While the end of the Cold War brought a shift in the way conflicts outside the continent were fought on the continent as proxy wars, the structure, and nature of global financial, governance, and military systems mean ripples and shocks in other parts of the world are felt and contribute to insecurity in Africa; the most recent example being the War in Ukraine which has mainly contributed to food insecurity as statistics have proven that Russia and Ukraine dominate a huge quota in global food exports and African countries are a significant destination as they heavily depend on both countries for wheat, fertilizer, or vegetable oils. This Tana Forum – Tana @10 – provides an excellent and timely opportunity to reflect on and interrogate the multifaceted and interlinked drivers of global insecurity and how these affect the African continent. Speakers on this panel will go beyond diagnosing the impacts but posit new thinking and potential responses, some pre-emptive, to this ever-evolving phenomenon.
Sub-theme 3: Climate Change, Preparedness, Adaptation, and Financing
African countries are amongst the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change despite the African
continent producing themost minort greenhouse emissions. Literature has described Africa as the ‘most vulnerable’ yet ‘least prepa,’d’, a datable description given the plethora of policies and programs created to respond to the impact of the pandemic. At a continental level, the African Union’s Climate change strategy 2020 – 2030 provides a roadmap to achieving the vision outlined in the Agenda 2063 of ‘building the resilience of the African continent to the impacts of climate change. In its strategy, the AU notes that ‘while adaptation is unquestionably and rightly the top priority for African countries, to create optimal responses, mitigation should be considered to balance the climate change solution equation.’
Furthermore, noting Africa’s immenunrivaledled potential for renewable energy, especially solar, for its development and export, the AU urges that the continental potential should be quantified as the continent’s contribution in return for finance and technology needed to adapt and develop despite climate change.
The impact of climate on land, crop,s and livestock as it exacerbates food insecurity and conflict is also a
significant component when discussing environment within the context of peace and security on the continent. Against this backdrop, this session aims to unpack the far-reaching consequence of climate change, the
continental response strategies, and their effectiveness.
Sub-theme 4: Harnessing Africa’s Cultural Heritage for Resilience and Integration
There’s been an increased interest in Africa’s cultural heritage in the last few years. Most of the recent
attention has focused on the return of stolen African artifacts from Europe and the long-overdue
confrontation with colonial violence. However, within the plan of uplifting Africa’s cultural heritage also
lies the broader quest of how to foster national and regional cohesion by investing in Africa’s diverse (and
evolving) cultures, traditions, languages at present and weaving them together to forge Pan-African unity
and common purpose going forward.
Recognizing the transformative power of culture, the African Union dedicated the Theme of the Year in
2021 to the importance of ‘arts, culture and heritage as levers for building the Africa wewant,’ building on Aspiration 5 of Agenda 2063. This ambition is ever more critical today against the backdrop of the global rise in intolerance, the proliferation of identity-based conflict,s and the continued destruction of invaluable cultural sites and artifacts as a consequence (and tactic) of war.
This session brings together multi-disciplinary perspectives on how Africa can restore, protect and harness its cultural legacies and present-day creative industry as a formidable tool to achieve greater social, cultural, and economic resilience and integration.
Sub-theme 5: Tana@10 and taking stock of the continent’s peace and security landscape: Is
Is the continent worse or better off after ten years?
Strands under this sub-theme will be a moment to reflect, take stoc,k and forecast the future of the Tana.
Forum, based on lessons learned over the last ten years since inception. It will also be a moment to gush and account for its impact and contribution – focusing on itsimplicationst, challenges, gap,s and opportunities.
The sub-theme will also be an opportunity to look at Africa’s peace and security situation candidly –
especially in the Horn of Africa, Great Lakes Region, Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, and thecriticaly governance and
conflicts issues. There will also be discussions on how the Forum has and can play a role in illuminating and
providing a space for dialogue and reflections on durable solutions to the ongoing crisis in these regions.
V. Tana 2022 Side Events and Related Activities
The Secretariat undertakes the following pre-Forum activities in the months leading up to the central Forum.
1) Experts Meeting: This is a meeting among a selected group of experts well-versed in the chosen
theme of the Forum that is held to identify, discuss, debate, and recommend. Recommendations
from the expert meetings are submitted to the Secretariat for use in the Forum’s agenda-setting
around identified sub-themes. The objectives of the expert meetings are:
o To define the scope of the selected theme of the year;
o To identify sectors and domains where policymakers may develop policies to advance the
role of the African Union, African states, and other stakeholders;
o To produce theme summaries that serve as guiding points to the session’s discussions in
the Tana Forum;
o To recommend critical speakers and presenters on the topics that will be addressed during
the Tana Forum;
o To propose and develop a theme on the outlines for the Tana Forum background papers.
2) Press-Conference and Ambassadors’ Briefing: With the view to brief, promote, and engage with
Addis-based ambassadors and members of the media, the Press Conference, and Ambassadors’
The briefing takes place one month before the central Forum on the event, its objectives, topic, theme,
participation, and envisioned outcomes. The Tana Chairperson and a Ministry of Foreign Affairs
representative will address the ambassadors and AU officials. In addition, the Ambassadors’ Briefing
serves as a platform where Addis-based Ambassadors’ can dialogue on the theme of the year. Additionally, local, regional and international correspondents based in Addis Ababa are invited to the
press conference.
3) Pre-Tana Multi-Stakeholders Forum: The Tana Secretariat holds a series of multi-stakeholder
forums in the months leading up to the central Forum. These pre-Forums are geared towards
ensuring the inclusivity of all stakeholders in Tana and related activities and also gathering the information
that will complement the discussions at the central Forum. Accordingly, the following Pre-forums
have been held from August 2021-April 2022:
o Pre-Tana Regional Multi-Stakeholders Forum on the theme ‘Human and Drug Trafficking
in Africa: Unlocking Human Freedom’ with the support of Humanity United on 19 August
2021 in a hybrid format.
o Pre-Tana Regional Multi-Stakeholders Forum on the theme ‘Emerging Technologies and
their Impact on Stability in Africa” with the Mission of Japan to the African Union on 14
September 2021 online.
o Pre-Tana Regional Multi-stakeholders Forum on the theme “The Impact of Peace and
Security on Culture and Heritage Protection in Africa” on 21 April 2021 in Hybrid format.
The following Pre-Tana Forums will be held in the upcoming months with various partners:
o Pre-Tana Regional Multi-stakeholders Forum on the theme “Climate-Induced Violence in
Africa” in partnership with the United States Institute of Peace.
o Pre-Tana Regional Multi-stakeholders Forum on the theme’ Security Challenges and
Working Solutions in Central Africa in Partnership with ECCAS and Humanity United-Pre-
Tana Regional Multi- stakeholders Forum on theme TBD with Swiss.
4) Pre-Tana Youth Consultation Forum: To make the Tana Forum as inclusive and participatory as
possible, Tana Secretariat holds a youth consultation forum. This Youth Consultation Forum serves as
a platform for young Africans to engage and mobilize on the Tana Forum theme and youth-related
issues regarding peace and security on the continent. In the year 2021, Youth Day was celebrated
internationally on 12 August; the 2021 theme “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for
Human and Planetary Health,” which availed an ideal opportunity to hold the Pre-Tana Youth
Consultation Forum on one of the threats Africa faces today, food insecurity. Hence, the Tana Forum
Secretariat, in partnership with UNESCO, held a regional youth consultation forum on the theme
“Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Sustainable Peace and Security”
resonates with both the theme of international youth day and this year’s Tana Forum.
5) The Meles Zenawi Lecture Series on Leadership in Africa: The Meles Zenawi Lecture Series is
dedicated to honoring the life and legacy of great African leaders who had or have been advocates
of pan-Africanism and contributed to the well-being of Africans. The purpose of the leadership
lecture series is to celebrate these achievements and call to action
the spirit of emulation based on the vision and ideals these leaders stood for.
6) Vice-Chancellors’ Dialogue: The Forum, in collaboration with Bahir Dar University, convenes vice-chancellors or university presidents across Africa for a debate (open to the public) on the year’s
theme. Among others, the Vice-Chancellors’ Dialogue aito bringing in the perspectives of those
governing institutions of higher educatind who are shaping future generations of African
leaders’ narratives. It is also aimed at expanding and enhancing the participation of stakeholders
on issues of the central Forum.
7) Side Events: Side events are parallel seminars (informal) organized on the evening preceding the
start of the Tana Forum on selected topical themes related to peace and security at regional,
continental, and global levels. They are usually organized in collaboration with partners who have
a specific interest in discussing particular issues of mutual interest.
8) Annual University Essay Competition: Youth from various African universities will compete
on the selected theme of Tana 2022. Besides serving as an additional platform to ensure youth
inclusivity, the Essay Competition complements ongoing debates and agendas on peace and
security, contributing to policy building and development.
9) Annual Book Launch: This is a platform where books written by African and non-African published
authors that fulfill requirements set by the Secretariat present their books focusing on peace,
security, development, and governance to the various high-level participants of the Tana Forum.
10) Report on State of Peace and Security in Africa Report: Tana Forum also avails a report on the
State of Peace and Security in Africa offersetailed analysis on current peace and security trends
in Africa asandnterventions. In addition, it provides a rich account of current efforts and
responses implemented to manage security threats on the continent.
11) Tana Forum Policy Briefs (Tana Papers): Tana Forum also presents a compendium of policy briefs
that offers policy recommendations to address several peace and security challenges in Africa.
Ultimately, the aim is to provoke deep discussions on security threats and resilience across multiple political, economic and social spaces.
VI. Expected Outcomes
The following are the expected outcomes of the Forum:
A shared understanding of current and emerging peace and security threats in Africa.
Commitment to managing threats by investing more in governance and building resilience, with
a significant premium given to citizens’ active and sustained participation in public affairs, remains an
essential component in achieving stability;
Document Africa’s contribution to the management of the pandemic, including investment in
research and knowledge products that reflect Africa’s solution to a global problem;
Work towards a comprehensive policy with an implementation strategy on climate mitigation and
adaptability would be vital to driving climate resilience, especially in the context of peace and
security at national, regional, and continental levels;
A shared understanding of the importance of promoting the voice and agency of citizens by
localizing peacebuilding by bringing it much closer to the grassroots;
Dialogue on how to enhance the ability of governments to manage current threats effectively rests
mainly with the constituency of the youth and women;
Unpack how Arts, Culture, and Heritage, the AU theme for 2021, can be converted into currencies
for promoting enduring peace in the light of the continent’s myriad challenges needs to be
interrogated;
Understand and capture how diversity, equity, and inclusion are reflected in Africa’s international
partnerships and engagement with the world.
outputs of the Forum:
One (1) Tana Forum Outcomes Report that entails the various outcomes of discussion from the
central Forum, side events, Meles Zenawi Lecture Series, and Vice Chancellors’ Dialogue;
State of Peace and Security in Africa Report;
Eight (8) Policy Papers;
Tigned to (i) share views and experiences informally and independently, (ii) be action
oriented and forward-looking and, most importantly, (iii) keep the essence of its concept: a consultative
forum that is not intended to become a decision-making forum.
Thus, the main format will be panel discussions and interactions. Further, introductions to these discussions.
The Forum is convened on an annual basis and has become an institution in its own right. It enables leaders to explore innovative and joint action options in peace and security. The Forum also allows for trustbuilding among key players who would often only meet in settings that are mediated by diplomatic
protocol. Altogether, it enables African leaders to develop and implement adequate and proactive initiatives in peace and security on the continent.
Germany has strong economic ties with Africa, especially regarding energy supplies. by Ayele Addis Ambelu : ayeleradio@gmail.com Africa’s energy sector has achieved great success over the years. However, according to the website of […]
AFRICA Environmental Science FEATURED General Magazine News Radio & TV Special EditionGermany has strong economic ties with Africa, especially regarding energy supplies.
by Ayele Addis Ambelu : ayeleradio@gmail.com
Africa’s energy sector has achieved great success over the years. However, according to the website of Germany’s Ministry of Economic and Development Cooperation, 590 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still have no electricity. When the sun sets, the whole area is engulfed in darkness. This problem is not only in sites where electricity is not maintained but also in cities where there is no “power outage” now and then. Even now, in most countries south of the Sahara, 80 percent of the people cook their food with wood and charcoal.
It is said that the population has increased by two percent every year, and the economy has recorded a growth of 7 percent, which is the reason for the increase in Africa’s energy demand. However, considering the market, the power lines to be laid and the power plants to be built could not be matched. For Africa to provide sufficient electricity to its people, African countries will work together with the African Union to expand the infrastructure of energy sources. In this, Germany plays the most significant role. Germany’s Ministry of Economic and Development Cooperation works with 18 sub-Saharan African countries. At the 8th German-African Energy Demand and Supply Forum held last week in Hamburg, Germany, the possibilities for Germany to invest in energy sources in Africa were raised. When discussing power options, it is essential to look back at the past. DesertTech’s idea to generate renewable energy from sun-drenched deserts is worth mentioning. Although the organization was founded years ago, it did not show much success. Instead, the Chinese have left to invest here. What is the reason why the plan did not materialize? “Germany’s Economic Involvement in Southern Africa” is a question submitted by Andreas Wenzel, Manager of Brief Safari, from Deutsche Welle.
“It’s hard to tell from a distance. However, we have noticed that there is not enough support for Africa from the political capital of Berlin in Germany’s efforts so far. There are many examples of this, especially in the area of projects. DesertTech is one of them. Although the German government received DesertTech well, he did not get political and diplomatic support. This being the case, it is clear that the projects will not be implemented publicly in areas of Africa where there is political pressure, for example, in North Africa. And without political support, they can’t do anything.”
Germany has bilateral relations with Africa. In Berlin, there is a lot of talk about African politics. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier recently returned from a trip to Africa. Based on this, how would Wenzel evaluate Germany’s cooperation with Africa?
“First of all, we are happy if Africa remains on the agenda of federal Germany. I think it is good that the concept of Africa, which was founded three years ago, continues to grow. It should be implemented in the future. We are less concerned about the speed and scope with which it will be implemented. Because the current thing seems to be lacking in active movement. According to them, the main reason for this is the rush to see the results as soon as possible.
“The problem of working together in Africa with aid and sustainability, especially in the economic aspect, should consider the result and the process. I find that thinking somewhat lacking. I think the problem is that the financial issue came first. What is crucial for us is how German companies can participate and how we can operate within the political framework in the continent. This should be done jointly with African partners.
Even though the demand and market for African energy sources are weak, Although they believe it can attract others besides Germany, they do not think the European Union has taken advantage of this. In this regard, they do not believe the relationship between the Union and Africa is as strong as with Germany.
“Currently, I see that the European-African relations are based on poorly managed economic agreements focused on several issues. This makes me think that EU-Africa relations are growing on infertile soil. Germany’s economic relations, on the other hand, are the most important in Africa. It has a lot of potentials. I gave an example; we must not forget renewable energy and energy use. I think the German government can focus on this. It also indicates that there should always be more focus on bilateral relations than multilateral ones. »
Among the participants of the 8th Germany-Africa Energy Demand and Supply Forum, Tembani Bukula, They are one of South Africa’s national energy authorities. Many non-governmental power generation companies explained this at the conference. What are the profitability and market potential? They explain.
“Before this, the government’s service-providing offices moved the sector by building the infrastructure. We know that these government offices cannot create a power plant at the current price. This made us look for other people with the money and ability to help us build the power infrastructure as an alternative.
Bakula pointed out that in the past, electricity was produced using renewable energy sources and offered to consumers at a reasonable price. They said that there is a discount now. For example, the cost of one kilowatt of wind energy ranges from 60 South African cents to 66 cents. This is not all. Bulla explains that the cost of energy from sunlight and biomass is higher than one rand. In Germany, several negotiations have been conducted to avoid nuclear power generation. Most people don’t support this either. It will be seen that countries like South Africa will be their permanent source of energy when Germany leaves this country.
“Our plan, which includes all energy sources, indicates that we will get an additional 5,000 megawatts from coal and 9,600 megawatts from nuclear sources in the next 20 years. The rest will be gas and renewable energy. »
According to Bukula, the withdrawal of nuclear and coal from South Africa’s energy sources in the next two decades will further reduce the energy supply. Do you say the same about South Africa’s location regarding renewable energy sources?
“As we have seen in South Africa and some neighboring countries, we started from zero and five megawatts in 2010 and 2011, and now in 2014, we were able to produce 7000 megawatts.” So there is this movement. »
You will find today’s Economic World report on the German-Africa energy market.
The eating of human corpses by hyenas, airstrikes on cities, and the recruitment of elderly and young women into the military are among the horrific stories of the Tigray war. Hundreds of thousands […]
AFRICA Latest Magazine News PoliticsThe eating of human corpses by hyenas, airstrikes on cities, and the recruitment of elderly and young women into the military are among the horrific stories of the Tigray war.
Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have died in the war.
Before the war, Tigray was a tourist destination. It is home to rock-hewn churches, ancient mosques, and old records written in Geez.
Today, Tigray has become a battlefield.
To achieve a balance of power in the country and to control Tigray. It is almost two years since the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Eritrean Army unilaterally started fighting with the forces of Tigray.
Tigray has been under siege for 17 months without banks, telephones, internet, and media coverage.
In the last two years of war, the two warring powers have gained the upper hand on the battlefield at different times. Let’s mention displays.
Following the accusation that the forces of Tigray attacked the Northern Command of National Defense, Ethiopian and Eritrean forces in November 2013. m. Tigray’s capital is Mekele.
Tigray forces entered Amara and Afar regions in a counterattack and approached Addis Ababa.
Recently, the joint forces of Ethiopia and Eritrea are recapturing other areas of Tigray, including the critical city of Shiren.
“At least 500,000 Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers are directly participating in the war,” said Alex D. Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation in America. “There are 200,000 soldiers on the Tigray side,” he said.
He added that after 50 days of non-stop fighting, the Tigray forces on the Shire front could not defend against the attacks due to the loss of snipers.
“This is a big gap for Tigray forces. “It leads to massacre, rape, and starvation of innocent citizens,” he explained.
On the other hand, the Ethiopian government has promised to provide humanitarian aid and restore services in the Shire and other areas it has occupied.
Shire is an example of the humanitarian crisis in Tigray.
According to one aid worker, About 600,000 innocent civilians fled the war zones and took refuge in Shire City and its surrounding areas.
“More than 120,000 people were sleeping in the forest, under trees,” said an aid worker who asked not to be named out of fear for their safety.
Following the heavy beatings by the Ethiopian forces last week, almost all aid workers have left Shiren.
Thousands of city residents are leaving the Shire, fearing that they will be attacked by Shirem, just like other cities that have come under the control of Ethiopian and Eritrean forces.
The aid worker said, “Four eyewitnesses said that 46 people were kidnapped and killed in Shmeblina village in September.” The villagers found the people’s bodies mixed with the bodies of the killed domestic animals,” he said.
“The hyenas have eaten the corpses of some people. The men were distinguished by the clothes they wore. According to the eyewitnesses, there was no time to bury the people. They said that the hyenas may have eaten the corpses by now,” he added.
He said the fact that the killings were carried out on a small number of people from the Kunama ethnic group who did not participate in the war made it even worse.
“Both sides are losing soldiers. “When they enter the villages, they are directed at the residents,” the aid worker added.
Before the Tigray forces returned to Tigray, they were accused of brutality, extrajudicial killings, and looting while in Amhara and Afar regions.
Outdated fighting style
Apart from the crisis of the war, all the warring forces are accused of using “human waves” to maintain their supremacy and forcibly recruiting people into the military.
Abdurrahman Said, a UK-based African affairs analyst, said: “People are being forced into the military. After a few weeks of training, they are sent in large numbers to areas where enemy forces are stationed, and explosives are buried.
“The enemy forces opened fire and killed most of them. They will continue to march in large numbers until the enemy runs out of ammunition and will control the area,” they added.
Abdur Rahman added, “It is an outdated fighting style.” The king of Abyssinia used this route in the early 1890s to defeat the Italian invaders. “Although the Italian force is superior in the air force, it has tested its capabilities when many people are sent to it,” he said.
Abdurahman says that this way of war will kill many people and that 700,000 to 800,000 people lost their lives in the two-year war.
“The war is the worst in the history of Ethiopia,” he added.
Faisal Roble, an analyst of the Horn of Africa, based in the United States, although he does not accept that the Tigray forces used waves of people, he puts a number close to Abdurahman’s in terms of the number of people who died in the war.
“About 500 thousand people died in the first two parts of the war. In the third round, 100,000 people must have died,” he said.
According to Faisal, the Tigray forces are adequately trained and “allowed” to fight, while the Ethiopian troops are superior in numbers and air power.
“According to the generals who are now ambassadors, the Ethiopian government can recruit a million young men yearly. They also have fighter jets and proven Turkish drones. But the Tigray forces do not have an air force,” they explain.
Faisal says that the command of the Ethiopian Air Force has been moved to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. He mentioned that if fighter jets were to fly from the seat of the Ethiopian Air Force, they would take off from Asmara, which is closer to Tigray.
The drones, however, are still of mock origin.
Bit betting
Eritrea entered the war because of the rift with the TPLF.
Until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power, TPLF was in charge of the administration of the coalition party.
Eighty thousand people died in the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The TPLF-led administration has not transferred the territory Ethiopia had given to Eritrea.
Two years ago, when the war broke out in northern Ethiopia, Eritrea seized the territory.
Critics say that Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki supports Prime Minister Abiy in destroying the TPLF to prevent the TPLF from becoming a threat to Eritrea.
“The threat of Eritrea; The TPLF will come back to govern Ethiopia, or it will form an administration under the command of Asmara and use the Red Sea. Tigray is still undeveloped and landless,” says Abdurahman.
As the war in Tigray has escalated in the last few weeks, the Eritrean government has deployed its troops on a large scale and is hunting down people who have not joined the forces and turning them into soldiers across the country; many sources told the BBC.
In September, Eritrean soldiers entered a church in Akron and kidnapped a priest, young parishioners, and choir members who refused to be called to the military.
According to Prof. Alex de Waal, the military call indicates that President Isaias will “use any option” but has not yet sent large conscripts to Tigray.
“Eritrea has forces in Tigray. Most of the fighting is going on with the Ethiopian forces. Isaiah leads the battle because he believes he can show Abiy how to win the battle. However, since the war is a matter of life and death, the natives of Tigray will fight even with knives and stones,” he explained.
There may be no speech.
Abdurahman says that the war is being fought on four to six fronts and that tens of thousands of Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers are stationed near Adigrat.
“They are ready to attack in Adigrat and Mekele,” they added.
Frontline sources told the BBC; Ethiopian and Eritrean forces have started moving towards the historic Axum, Adwa, and Adigrat from Kesher.
Although the international community urged the two sides to resolve the conflict peacefully, Abdur Rahman does not believe there will be a dialogue.
“Historically, the ruling classes of today’s Ethiopia, the former Abyssinia, fight for power. The mighty will be king of kings until another mighty one comes. There is no culture of peaceful conflict resolution. It is a method of multiplying by zero,” they explain.
According to Prof. Alex, the international community should establish an immediate ceasefire.
“If this is not the case, the threat of genocide and mass starvation is looming,” they say.
According to a group led by Belgian scholars at the beginning of this year, more than 250,000 Tigray natives have died of starvation and related causes since the start of the war.
Turkey-Africa media cooperation Training AFMEDII was held on Monday in virtual amid calls for robust exchanges to realize the benefits of the Media knowledge. By Ayele Addis Ambelu(ANC) — The Turkey-Africa Media Cooperation […]
NewsTurkey-Africa media cooperation Training AFMEDII was held on Monday in virtual amid calls for robust exchanges to realize the benefits of the Media knowledge.
By Ayele Addis Ambelu(ANC) — The Turkey-Africa Media Cooperation Forum African Media Representatives Training Program II (AFMEDII) was held on Monday in virtual amid calls for robust exchanges to realize the benefits of the journalistic knowledge.The second Africa Media Representatives Training Program (AFMED), organized by Anadolu Agency, the national broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) and Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), will include a variety of topics.
Journalists, Senior government officials, representatives from media organizations and academies of Turkey and African countries participating in the days training program hosted by the YTB The Head of Cultural and Social Affairs Department, TRT Deputy Head of Education and Research Department in Turkey, Anadolu Agency News Academy, under the theme Turkey-Africa Media Cooperation in the Digital Era.Experienced journalists of Anadolu Agency and TRT, as well as academics, will participate in the eight-day AFMED II program to train African media representatives.
The organizers mentioned that the training program includes topics such as the fight against disinformation, basic photography applications, social-media follow-ups and news writing.
The program that the media could play an even more significant role in fostering an enabling environment for African and Turkey cooperation.
Training program for African journalists begins. Experts from Turkey’s AA, TRT to conduct workshops until May 31. AA’s News Academy Director @Bora_Bayraktar said recent developments in the media sector would be covered in the program.
The opportunity to strengthen cooperation in the media sector and enhance Turkey-Africa cooperation ties perfectly well in foreign relations political, media and economy diplomacy and thinking.
The participants said the Turkey-Africa media cooperation forum provided an opportunity to share knowledge and best practices that can promote journalistic practices alongside the creation of digital content that is able to transform livelihoods.
The first AFMED program, which was held in 2019 with the cooperation of Anadolu Agency and YTB, was attended by 20 African journalists from 13 countries.
??? ?ℎ? ??ℎ?????? ?????? What is Abay (Nile) for you? What does it mean to you? I’m very sure you’ll say “Abay for me is a river of water that originated from my […]
AFRICA Female General Latest Public Relation TOP STORIESWhat is Abay (Nile) for you? What does it mean to you? I’m very sure you’ll say “Abay for me is a river of water that originated from my country and it takes a lot of Ethiopian soil with it.” You are right no mistake. But let me ask you another question what is Ethiopia? I heard a great guy say “you are an Ethiopian while you live and Ethiopia when you die.” He is right too. But there is something I would like to change from his saying. I’d say “you’re Ethiopia either you’re dead or alive.” “How?” That’s a good question. Haven’t you ever been hit by rain? Haven’t you ever cut your hand with a knife and lost blood? Haven’t you ever sweat? Haven’t your hair ever fell out? Haven’t your skin ever been dry? I’m pretty sure you have experienced at least one of those things listed above. Where did all those things go? Isn’t it to the ground? Ethiopian ground? So aren’t you being Ethiopia every single second of your life? Abay is not just a river. Abay is you. If you think of it deeply it’s not the ground is washed away you’re the one who’s being washed away. You are Abay.
Abay is a bridge between two dimensions, Heaven and earth. It’s the water that feeds your body while you’re on earth and the wine that feeds your soul while in heaven. It’s one of the 4 major rivers. How can anyone forget that for even one second? How can you let wine initiating from your country go that easily and buy it with an overrated price?
Have you ever heard that our ancestors used to wash the legs of European explorers at that time whom intention was to steal treasures, both money, and knowledge (no hard feelings it was in the past) before they leave Ethiopia? The doings of our ancestors weren’t out of ignorance or backwardness. It was out of deep patriotism. Our ancestors knew, accepted, and protected the fact that they were Ethiopians while they live and Ethiopia when they die. Our ancestors didn’t want the so-called explorers to take a tiny grain of Ethiopian soil or in the right language a tiny grain of them, out of their sight. So they kneel to wash the legs of thieves.
The youth; Now, at this time, with all this money, technology, drive, knowledge what held you from carrying our ancestors’ sacred legacy? How can you let Abay wash you away? For how long are going to let it rob you while you’re sleeping intentionally or oblivious? I heard another great guy say “there is nothing like poverty that takes your morals away” and losing one’s moral is the greatest loss. Trust me it’s the one thing you don’t ever want to lose. It’s the only line protecting us from going millions of years back in evolution. So remember when you become careless about Abay you’re giving your ticket out of poverty away. So stand up and say “where do you think you’re going?” to Abay. A rational humane person knows very well that you can use yourself. Even the rocks know that. Stand up and ask the world to make a fair decision.
The government; our past kings and queens were smart so they didn’t sign any treaties that could harm the coming generations. We know that there are rulers and leaders as smart as the past leaders at this time and we have no doubt that they will do everything in their power to protect the benefit of the Ethiopian people.
For the divided people and their rulers, Even if our country becomes divided as you wish, which we pray for it never to happen, and you become the rulers of your district with that comes specific obligations. So to provide electric power, water, or irrigation for your people, Abay plays a crucial role. Like our ancestors used to say “joint spider webs can tie a lion” we should all stand together and play our roles for the completion of the GERD.
The construction of GERD is not just a matter of development for the Ethiopian people it is a matter of life and death. We want an unbiased usage of the Nile River. This dam won’t even have a 0.00000001 negative impact on the people of Egypt.
I don’t think I have to tell you what you presented Ethiopia as on your dictionaries. Isn’t or wasn’t this country your example for famine? I’m not blaming you for using Ethiopia as an example of that because it was true; it’s a past that we haven’t completely recovered from yet. What comes first to your mind when you think of a trip to Ethiopia? Isn’t it filling your camping bags with food and vitamins? I wasn’t born at the time of the famine but I can still feel the pain of an infant child feeding from his dead mother’s breast. This is just a tiny fraction of all the painful stories. If I tell all the stories that I’ve heard even Sahara desert would cry. But that’s the past. We won’t change anything by just sitting and remembering. Learning history won’t be important if we don’t use it to create a better future. So all I’m asking from you is to protect the right of this country to make a better future for herself.
Imagine living in a house, it’s not even a house it’s more like a room with a kitchen (more like a fireplace to cook on), kids’ place, a living room, a dining room, a bedroom, and a barn for the animals inside of it. So crowded ha! And now imagine it pitch black. [It would be a perfect place for Hollywood to make a 12th-century movie] All you have is a lamp. And the lamp has smoke that burns your eyes; it’s powered by natural gas which your parents buy for a very high price. And imagine being a student preparing for a national exam. Is it too much? I’m not finished yet. Imagine your parents telling you to blow the lamp off not because they want you to do bad at your grades but because they cannot afford the gas. And imagine being forced to go outside of the house on a cold night and read under the light of the moon. This is more times than not, the life of an Ethiopian rural student. 65,000,000 Ethiopians still live in that situation. I think history will worship the generation who put an end to this kind of life. I mean we’re in the 21st century. I’ll say it again all I’m asking from you is to make a decision that history will always remember as fair. I know that a rational human being wants to put an end to this. I hope we get the all help we need to finish our dam and I hope you’re one of them.
Thͪaͣnk yoͦuͧ!
By ???ℴ? ??ℯ?????ℊ? (Grade 11 Student)
by Ayele Addis Ambelu The number of countries focusing on simple solar energy is growing at an alarming rate. Only in 2014 has it increased by 20 percent. According to energy source researchers, […]
AFRICA Entertainment FEATURED Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition Technologyby Ayele Addis Ambelu
The number of countries focusing on simple solar energy is growing at an alarming rate. Only in 2014 has it increased by 20 percent. According to energy source researchers, this same renewable energy source is considered the primary technical boon of the future. Germany; seems to have slowed down in the last few years among the countries involved in this technology and has a leading role. Around the world, solar energy harvesting networks are being installed everywhere. Even at the price level, diesel; by gas, Coal, and atom; is lower than power generating networks. Worldwide in 2014, According to provisional assessments, 45 gigawatts of solar power generation networks were installed, according to experts. In the future, the mentioned energy source will become more widespread worldwide. This year, more than 50 gigawatts; After five years, between 100 and 150 gigawatts of electricity will be supplied from solar power grids. This is said by those who are the leaders in European solar energy research. At the Fraunhofer Institute, the energy resource manager is Professor Dr. Ike Weber.
“Global; Solar light and heat Sabina to electricity conversion special board (Photobiltec) is the market of Dera. The price is so low that it is widely sold that the price paid for this electricity is low, i.e., less than 10 euro cents per kilowatt-hour. Depending on the size of the network, it can be paid from 8 to 12 cents. But in countries that get plenty of sunshine and heat, The fee is 5 to 7 or 8 cents. The level of competition in setting up a system that directly converts sunlight and heat into electricity from a special board (photovoltaic) that converts sunlight and heat into electricity is not so high. »
One of the modern renewable energy sources that started in Europe and Asia has gained the opportunity to expand in Latin America and Africa overnight. It is well known that Africa is one of the parts of the world that gets the most sunlight and heat. However, especially in the countries south of the Sahara desert; The World Bank revealed that each family receives less than 25 percent of the electricity service; Even in rural areas away from cities, the electricity supply is only about 10 percent. Electricity service is interrupted on an average of 56 days a year. Due to the rapid economic growth of this sub-continent, approximately 40 billion dollars are required to be spent annually to address the energy supply problem. For example, Ethiopia, one of the many sub-Saharan countries, has 55% of the electricity service provided throughout the country, and in the Gregorian year of 2015, in cooperation with the United States company Green Technology Africa, generated 300 megawatts of electricity in one year; She says she plans to raise the rate to 75 percent. Besides water power from the sun, It is known that there is an alternative possibility of using steam and wind energy underground.
Eritrea; By installing 12-megawatt electricity generating networks in different parts of the country, especially the villages in Funtar, it has reached 65 percent of users. Areas where it is possible to find a source of electricity other than solar energy, have also been studied and mapped. To keep costs down, parts of the light and heat, as well as the switchboards and batteries, are made locally.
South Africa plans to increase its renewable energy supply from 1 percent in 2012 to 12 percent by 2020 to generate 3,725 gigawatts! From sub-Saharan countries, South Africa is the country that developed the first network called Concentrated Solar Power through the special glass.
The unique light and heat Sabina to electric switchboard factory is unmatched in Africa.
In Europe, Apart from Spain and Italy, solar power grids were first developed in Germany. Since 2013, unique light and heat absorbers and electrical converter boards for solar energy networks have been produced in large numbers. More than what Germany and Italy pay. China, Japan, and the United States are involved in the production. According to the preliminary study, in 2014, 13 were in China and nine in Japan; In the United States, seven gigawatts of great light and heat Sabina to electricity converter boards were produced. German production in this regard, The 2 gigawatts offered were much reduced. In fact, among the 127,000 who were initially employed in this sector, More than 50,000 people have been laid off. However, in 2010 and 2012, seven gigawatts of electricity per year were produced in particular light and heat exchangers. So says Jörg Mayer, CEO of another company called Solar Wirtschaft.
“What was the spirit then? They all felt that we had fallen behind in terms of productivity. In 2014, the special light and heat Sabina to electricity boards that provide less than 2 gigawatts of power was produced. In the current Gregorian year of 2015, we see that industrial companies are planning to increase production immediately. Therefore, There is hope that we will get out of the international market by not working from the low level of 2014”.
Professor Dr. Ike Weber still has something to say about this.
“In 2014, approximately 45 gigawatts of electricity generation special networks were replaced in the world market; The work is going to expand further in the future. By 2020, the amount of gigawatts is likely to increase by 100 to 150. This is called rapid growth. »
According to Solarworld company spokesperson Milan Nichke, The coming decades will be Africa’s growth period in this respect.
Professor Dr. Ike Weber; When explaining the detailed plans for the future and the hope that new technology holds —
“The law will be implemented from 2017 and 2018; Our detailed plan for the new technique; Now the solar power grid in Freiburg will be blocked. This costs 6 euro cents per kilowatt hour. And in the same network in Valencia (Spain), generating power that can be paid for only 3 to 4 cents per kilowatt hour is not difficult. And this is certainly lower than the current price paid for special light and heat exchangers in Germany. »
China is the leader in selling 80% of the world market light and heat Sabina, and electricity converter boards. “Solarworld” company spokesperson Milan Nichke said it was enough to reach this level because of substantial subsidies from the government. He said Germany would do well to mourn at a high level in this regard.
African News Cahnnel Agency is the public run press agency of the African people public media . Africa News Cahnnel is the biggest and most influential media organization in African union, as well […]
ABOUT USAfrican News Cahnnel Agency is the public run press agency of the African people public media . Africa News Cahnnel is the biggest and most influential media organization in African union, as well as the largest news agency in the world in terms of media affiliation all over African language broadcasters.[3] Africa News Cahnnel is a union-level institution subordinate to the African public media , and is the highest ranking public media organ in the continent alongside the African union.
Africa News Cahnnel links more than 153 African country local media and media education, human right advocacy groups and maintains main office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—one for each media stations, autonomous region and directly-administered municipality plus a military bureau. Africa News Cahnnel is the sole channel for the distribution of important news related to the Africa and its headquarters in Addis Ababa are strategically located within close proximity to African union, which houses the headquarters of the diplomats, ambassadors and missionary of the world in Ethiopia, the the Tana high leverl forum of Africa at Bahir Dar Ethiopia and the office of the President.
Africa News Cahnnel is a publisher as well as a news agency—it owns more than dozen newspapers and a dozen magazines, and it publishes in several languages, besides African local language, including English, German, Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese and Korean, also publishing in cyberspace.
The ‘Elim Bible Institute and College’ are giving away a fully-funded position to one eligible student through a random drawing for the 2019-2020 school year. The grant is awarded to study the subjects […]
Scholarship Scholarship and Opportunities Training and InternshipsThe ‘Elim Bible Institute and College’ are giving away a fully-funded position to one eligible student through a random drawing for the 2019-2020 school year.
The grant is awarded to study the subjects offered by the university. These are covers tuition, room and board for an accepted student enrolled in the 2019/2020 school year.
Elim Bible Institute is a Bible college in Lima, New York, USA, offering a three-year program intended to prepare Christian leaders and workers for revival ministry.
Why at Elim Bible Institute? At Elim, you will study the Bible deeply, develop character through practical ministry experiences, and prepare for a lifetime of serving God. Elim will equip you to do the great works God has prepared in advance for you.
University or Organization: Elim Bible Institute
Department: NA
Course Level: Undergraduate program
Award: $15,880
Access Mode: Online
Number of Awards: NA
Nationality: U.S. and Canadian students
The program can be taken in the USA
Application Deadline: November 17th, 2019
The winner will receive a scholarship covering tuition, room, and board up to $16,880. For example, if the winner is a married student, the award will include tuition and $6,400 towards on-campus apartment costs and living expenses.
If you have any questions, please contact admissions counselors at 1-800-670-ELIM (3546) or contact online right here.
The Harvard University is offering a free online course on CS50’s Computer Science for Business Professionals. This course takes a top-down approach, emphasizing mastery of high-level concepts and design decisions related thereto. This […]
Latest Scholarship and Opportunities Training and InternshipsThe Harvard University is offering a free online course on CS50’s Computer Science for Business Professionals. This course takes a top-down approach, emphasizing mastery of high-level concepts and design decisions related thereto.
This is CS50’s introduction to computer science for business professionals. This course is self-paced.
Length: 6 weeks
Effort: 2 hours pw
Subject: IT
Institution: Harvard University and edx
Languages: English
Price: Free
Certificate Available: Yes, Add a Verified Certificate for $90
Session: At your own pace
Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders in many disciplines who make a difference globally. Harvard faculty is engaged with teaching and research to push the boundaries of human knowledge.
This is CS50’s introduction to computer science for business professionals, designed for managers, product managers, founders, and decision-makers more generally. Whereas CS50it takes a bottom-up approach, emphasizing mastery of low-level concepts and implementation details, this course takes a top-down approach, emphasizing mastery of high-level concepts and design decisions related thereto.
Students will emerge from this course with a first-hand appreciation of how it works and all the more confident in the factors that should guide your decision-making.
David J. Malan
David is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science Practice at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a Member of the Faculty of Education at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.
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The 13th German Africa Electricity Cooperation Forum started today in Hamburg. It is stated that the discussion will focus on financing the growing African electricity supply. “Contributes to Ethiopia’s power generation.”The two-day forum […]
AFRICA Environmental Science Magazine News Radio & TV
The 13th German Africa Electricity Cooperation Forum started today in Hamburg. It is stated that the discussion will focus on financing the growing African electricity supply.
“Contributes to Ethiopia’s power generation.”
The two-day forum will also discuss the strategy of German investors to participate in Africa’s energy supply.
Germany’s African cooperation platform is part of the “Compact with Africa” framework. In addition to Germany’s financial support to Africa, it is prepared to create new opportunities to finance the continent’s energy supply projects, the African-German Business Association stated.
Electricity supply is increasing in Africa. As a result, it is essential for Africa, especially Ethiopia, to receive support from countries with extensive experience, such as Germany, for power generation and distribution; Eskandir Yerga, who participated in the forum and is the head of the economic and business diplomacy department at the Ethiopian Embassy in Berlin, told DW. They explained their existence.
“There are major points to be expected from the forum. One is bringing the standardized experience to Africa’s power generation and distribution. The second is how to bring financial and technical support from Germany to Africa to make this a reality. The third is how the German “companies” who do this can enter Africa through cooperation or “sponsorship.”
In this regard, he explained that there is a goal to make Germany’s organizations with better working methods, knowledge, and technology in the energy sector contribute to energy generation in Ethiopia.
Mr. Iskandir also pointed out that a discussion was held on how German companies engaged in power generation and distribution could be involved in the energy supply sector in Africa.
He explained that energy supply is the leading resource for any transition from agriculture to industry, so support in this sector is crucial for countries like Ethiopia.
According to Iskandar, this German support will create a situation where the two countries will develop as a partnership. “What the German government is doing for Ethiopia is not unilateral, but because it is a viable field for their companies to come to Ethiopia and become profitable, where we can grow together.”
The 13th energy supply forum, which started in Hamburg, was attended by 55 participants from 35 African countries, including German government officials and private investors. Click on the soundbar to listen to the whole composition.
by Ayele Addis Ambelu The sixth German-African Energy Supply Forum, which opened yesterday in Hamburg, Germany, has started discussions on how to meet this challenge. How strong is the African energy market? How […]
AFRICA Election & Democracy Environmental Science Magazine News Radio & TV Special Editionby Ayele Addis Ambelu
The sixth German-African Energy Supply Forum, which opened yesterday in Hamburg, Germany, has started discussions on how to meet this challenge. How strong is the African energy market? How can we cooperate with Africa in this field? The sixth German-African Energy Forum opened today in Hamburg, Germany, and started discussions on how to meet this challenge. How strong is the African energy market? How can we cooperate with Africa in this field?
GaIn general, gasoil, electricity, and the isergy supply issue is a significant current challenge for Africa and Europe. Some commentators say that it should not be forgotten that there is a massive benefit in moving the penis in Africa. But is the economic field in Africa favorable? “Historic Trade Opportunities,” “Africa’s Participation on the World Stage,” and other articles highlighting Africa’s growth can be read in the research of institutional consultant Roland Berger.
“At that time, Africa’s ability to compete in the economic competition had reached the level that India and China were at 20 years ago. “The growing number of middle-income people on the continent has opened up a huge consumer market, creating the only opportunity for those looking to make their money globally.” One of the study’s authors – is Christian Wessels.
Oil production in Nigeria
“The reality in Africa is very different from what the Western world sometimes thinks about this continent. This is because Africans who have accepted their fate is becoming successful in many professions. It has been realized that wealth is only one part of success. That said, although raw material will play a major role in the future, it is necessary to see its interpretation of the situation in the utility industry, financial field, or infrastructure projects. » According to the study, the power supply sector contributed to the observed growth. This sector, which governments have neglected for decades, is expected to make a significant change in the next five years, according to Mossad Elmisri, head of the energy program at the African Institute for Development Partnership, known as NEPAD. “Africa’s population is increasing. People who want to have a reliable power supply.
The industry is also growing. The demand for African raw Alaba from developed countries has also increased. All this strengthens the pressure to create the field of energy supply. The people of Africa will pressure their governments to pay attention to this topic. “There are many African governments that have taken some steps, for example, there are countries like Uganda and Ethiopia that have opened the Gezouf hydropower project,” says Elmisri. “The author continues, “In fact, in many African countries, the energy supply is not enough. In rural areas, only one in ten has access to electricity. Even in the country’s capitals, there is no permanent supply of electricity, so the development of companies has been hampered due to this. »
Tekezie water source project
Robert Capel, an African economist at the Hamburg-based International and Environmental Research Institute (GIGA), is cautious about studies like Roland Berger’s. “This is a prediction to attract rich people to keep their money in Africa. But we have to look at the facts. Africa is gradually being excluded from the world market. She has no role in the industry. Africa’s share of industrial production exported globally is only 0.5 percent. This rate has halved over the past 20 years. And you don’t have to pretend everything is fine. It is necessary to mention the problem to know the exact situation. » For Capell, Africa’s most significant economic problem lies in the lack of sufficient stimulus in industry and agriculture. Of course, according to World Bank research, the basis of Africa’s highest economic growth is in raw materials. There is no denying that the African economy is growing. But, the people did not benefit from the development. On the other hand, poverty is increasing in many parts of the continent. Instead, poverty is rampant across much of the continent.
by Ayele Addis Ambelu For the first time, the German government launched a new program called the Africa Concept, which included the entire African continent. Minister of Foreign Affairs Guido Westerwelle officially presented […]
AFRICA Environmental Science News Radio & TV Special Edition Technologyby Ayele Addis Ambelu
For the first time, the German government launched a new program called the Africa Concept, which included the entire African continent. Minister of Foreign Affairs Guido Westerwelle officially presented the document prepared after much debate yesterday. Many of the country’s ministries were involved in drafting the concept. Non-governmental organizations and experts have contributed by sharing advice on preparing the new Africa program.
The preparation of the new German vision for Africa, which was said to be released during the formation of the government, took more than a year and is a document jointly drafted by the country’s foreign affairs, education and natural environment, and economic cooperation ministries. In the twenty-eight-page paper that Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle officially presented yesterday, a new political program covering Africa was designed. Merkel Afrika-Konzept “We want to open a new chapter in our relations with our neighboring continent. We want the growing definition of Africa and Africa taking more responsibility for its affairs to bear fruit. » Westerwelle, who stated that the revolution in North Africa has an impact on the entire continent, confirmed that the people living in Africa want to satisfy their thirst for freedom, the rule of law, democracy, and human rights, just like in the rest of the world.
Therefore, says Westerwelle, Germany is ready to encourage the journey of African governments to create a peaceful and free future.”We invite Africa for friendship; For friendship based on equality. Beyond the age-old relationship of help and acceptance. We aim to encourage Africans to take action and take responsibility. We want equality based on self-confidence among peers. Our core principle is Friendship based on equality because we want to build the future of our continents with you in a friendship based on equality. » Other countries like China and India also strengthened their relations with Africa. Germany wants to create a sustainable partnership that will benefit Africans as well.
Foreign Minister Westerwelle explained that Germany is interested in establishing a single source of energy and a military alliance that will help the German economy and the people of Africa. “We aim to make use of the possible cooperation between us in a way based on friendship. This is not only for the prosperity of the people in Africa but also for our prosperity and benefit. » It is at this point that the German opposition parties are criticizing the new African concept of the government. In the Federal Council, the Bundestag, the left party faction like myself, Nyima Mofassat, explained that the German government, seeing the African continent as a raw material warehouse, is harming the development cooperation started under the principle of the middle market.
The leader of the Green Party, Claudia Roth, expressed her disappointment because the German concept of Africa was designed to protect only the interests of Germany in the future. The non-governmental organization known as Common for Africa has also criticized the new concept of Africa.
by Ayele Addis Ambelu (Energy Program Producer) The international conference on renewable energy sources, prepared for a long time at the invitation of the German government, opened yesterday in Bonn. More than 150 […]
AFRICA Environmental Science Latest Magazine News Special Edition Technologyby Ayele Addis Ambelu (Energy Program Producer)
The international conference on renewable energy sources, prepared for a long time at the invitation of the German government, opened yesterday in Bonn. More than 150 countries were represented at this conference by high government officials and social groups. A total of 3,000 delegates will participate in the first-of-its-kind, worldwide summit. The four-day conference that will take place on Friday is the question of energy sources from nature conservation.
�� It refers to development and planning, especially the fight against poverty.
The international conference, which will highlight the options and ways renewable energy sources such as sun, wind, water, biomass, and geothermal energy can be widely used worldwide, was chaired by Germany’s Development Cooperation Minister Heidemarie Wiechorek-Tsoil and Germany’s Nature Conservation Minister Jürgen Trittin. In addition to government agents, national and international companies, non-governmental organizations, and international institutions such as the World Bank, TBA Nature Conservation Organization, TBA Industrial Development Organization, alternative energy promotion companies, trade unions, and many other community groups, the conference was prepared. In September 1995, during an international conference on sustainable development in Johannesburg/South Africa, Gerhard Schroeder promised to host the same meeting on renewable energy sources. As the German Development Cooperation Minister Heidemarie Vichorek-Tsoil said at the opening meeting, the rising oil price makes it necessary to speed up and stimulate alternative energy sources.
Exploiting and depleting the oil field drives the development of alternative and renewable energy sources, an urgent issue. Moreover, as the minister notes, political disputes and wars disrupt the supply of crude oil and lower its price. This is what makes the alternative energy source mandatory. The damage caused by the oil crisis, especially to the economies of developing countries, cannot be readily estimated. In particular, according to the minister, it should be considered that the contract for the conventional energy source, which is covered by natural resources such as oil and coal, is a heavy load for the natural environment—biological residues such as oil, natural gas, and coal cause severe pollution in the air. Air pollution is a serious threat to human health. Therefore, the existing sources of energy–oil, natural gas, coal, and atomic energy Mugad Uran should be replaced step by step by renewable and clean energy sources that do not pollute nature–that is, solar heat, wind, and hydropower, biomass and geothermal energy. According to the current calculation, the share of renewable energy sources, about 14 percent of the total energy consumption, is expected to increase to 20 percent in the next 15 years–by 2000.
According to the conference forum, renewable energy sources are excellent support for the fight against poverty, especially in the rural areas of the participating countries. In other words, as the Minister of Development Cooperation explained in the opening ceremony of the conference, the option for renewable energy sources in the country to be activated and widely used is to enable the developing countries to save the enormous costs incurred abroad for the supply of energy sources and spend it on development programs in the rural areas, expand the electricity network and reduce poverty. It will enable them to use it for the struggle. According to the Minister of Nature Conservation, Jürgen Triton, the strength of this alternative energy source will bring light to life for the 2 billion people who do not have access to electricity today. A joint document called “Bon Declaration” is expected to be presented at the end of the massive conference in which Ethiopia and many other African countries will participate. We will provide a detailed report about this and other conference content the next time.
25 years of Africa Positive Dortmund-based association celebrates its 25th anniversary with the conference “Sustainable development and the role of the media – changing perspectives between Africa and Europe”. The conference took place […]
AFRICA FEATURED General Latest Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOS25 years of Africa Positive
Dortmund-based association celebrates its 25th anniversary with the conference “Sustainable development and the role of the media – changing perspectives between Africa and Europe”. The conference took place on the 18th November 2023
The conference focussed on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015, which aim to achieve peace and prosperity for all humanity by 2030 as part of an action plan.
The current situation regarding efforts to achieve these goals and further developments from a European and African perspective were discussed in presentations and working groups.
Keynote speaker, Dr. Oluseyi Soremekun from the United Nations Information Centre in Nigeria, called for a strong political will from the so-called developing countries to implement the goals. National governments must not only translate improvements into words, but also into action. He also called for better representation of developing countries in international politics.
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Scheffran from the University of Hamburg stated that six (of nine) so-called planetary boundaries had been reached. As all of the world’s major problems are interlinked, politics must focus on the “global whole”. The significance of national borders was becoming less important. So-called tipping points in political decisions would irreversibly steer developments in one direction or another. Scheffran went on to say that North-South cooperation was particularly important when it came to climate change. We must not play off against each other here – this is also linked to the causes of flight.
Nathalie Yamb, a pan-Africanist from Switzerland, called on African governments to initially only utilise the continent’s resources on the African continent and only sell them to other parts of the world if they are not needed in Africa.
The debate in these working groups focussed on two main questions: How have the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine affected the implementation of SDGs? How should global goals such as SDGs be implemented in a world where there is no uniform monopoly on the use of force and where power is unfairly distributed?
During the discussion, it became clear that the first question has the answer in the second question. Unfairly distributed power relations have led to resource-rich countries in Africa being asked by countries such as Germany to mine more coal, for example, which diverts the focus away from global sustainability goals.
Another important point of discussion was that the world, especially the major powers, use their advantages in the world for their own national interests, usually at the expense of sustainable development goals. Connections between national and global goals are ignored, as are crisis situations.
As the global community in the form of the United Nations (UN) has no monopoly on the use of force, sustainable development cannot be enforced on a global scale. Against this background, the new, emerging multipolar world order was seen as problematic in some cases. At the same time, most participants were of the opinion that countries in Africa could have a better chance of protecting and asserting their own interests in the multipolar world order. There was a broad consensus that the multipolar world needs rules in order to be able to treat national and global interests fairly.
Africa Positive, one of the oldest and most successful African organizations in Germany, celebrated its 25th anniversary at its birthplace, TU Dortmund University, with numerous prominent guests and participants from African countries, Germany and Switzerland. Around 130 people took part in the international conference “Sustainable development and the role of the media – changing perspectives between Africa and Europe”.
Among the guests were well-known personalities from politics and other areas of public life: Thomas Westphal, Lord Mayor of the City of Dortmund, Mayor Barbara Brunsing, Police Commissioner Gregor Lange, former Mayor Ullrich Sierau, keynote speaker Dr Oluseyi Soremekun from the United Nations Information Centre in Lagos, Nigeria, Prof. Dr Jürgen Scheffran from the University of Hamburg and members of the state parliament Anja Butschkau and Volker Baran as well as Astrid Müller from the Foundation for Environment and Development NRW.
About Africa Positive e.V.
Africa Positive e.V. was founded 25 years ago by computer science student Veye Tatah from Cameroon at TU Dortmund University. Initially, the magazine of the same name was at the centre of the association’s work. The name “Africa Positive” refers to an important motivation for the magazine – the conviction that the African continent offers a lot of positive perspectives, especially when negative developments are specifically named. At the same time, it was hoped that differentiated reporting would help to break down prejudices against Africa and its people, facilitate dialogue at eye level and highlight its innovative strength.
Today, Africa Positive supports numerous intercultural activities and various projects in the areas of media work, development policy, youth work, integration, science and education.
In November 2018, the Africa Institute for Media, Migration And Development (AIMMAD) was founded for educational and research issues. Its work focuses on “journalism in a global context”.
27 November 2023, Lusaka, Zambia – The 3rd International Conference on Public Health in Africa(CPHIA 2023) opened today in Lusaka, Zambia, with African Heads of State, ministers of health, andleading scientists, innovators and […]
AFRICA FEATURED General Health Latest Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOS27 November 2023, Lusaka, Zambia – The 3rd International Conference on Public Health in Africa
(CPHIA 2023) opened today in Lusaka, Zambia, with African Heads of State, ministers of health, and
leading scientists, innovators and researchers attending as speakers and participants. Under the
theme Breaking Barriers: Repositioning Africa in the Global Health Architecture, the four-day
conference will spotlight cutting-edge research and innovations, and present African-led solutions to
public health challenges.
African countries have made significant progress in public health in recent years, supported by the
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Efforts to coordinate and strengthen
disease surveillance and outbreak response, for example, have improved the continent’s ability to
respond quickly to public health emergencies. Despite this progress, Africa continues to face many
challenges: infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS claim millions of lives each
year; the burden of noncommunicable diseases is increasing dramatically; and maternal mortality in
Africa is among the highest in the world. These challenges reinforce the need to build resilient health
systems that can deliver quality care to all while responding to emerging threats.
‘’Africa faces significant barriers, but through our collective resilience and ingenuity, we are breaking
down these barriers and creating a New Public Health Order for the continent. CPHIA 2023 will
advance conversations that will shape the future of health in Africa, through sharing African-led
research, health products, and best practices. Our continent is a source of extraordinary knowledge
and innovation – this conference will showcase this excellence and position Africa as a transformative
force in the global health narrative,’’ said H.E. Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC.
CPHIA 2023 is hosted by the African Union and Africa CDC in partnership with the Zambia Ministry of
Health and the Zambia National Public Health Institute. Taking place from 27-30 November 2023, the
conference will feature 9 plenary and 18 parallel sessions, several high-level special sessions, 18
abstract driven sessions, and over 100 side events. The in-person conference comes after three days
of virtual programming, including 18 virtual abstract sessions and more than 30 virtual side events.
This is the third edition of the conference, which was held virtually in 2021 due to the COVID-19
pandemic and in person in 2022, drawing more than 2,800 participants to Kigali, Rwanda, and an
additional 11,625 online.
Prof. Senait Fisseha, CPHIA 2023 Co-Chair and Vice President of Global Programs, Susan Thompson
Buffett Foundation, commented: ‘’CPHIA started during the COVID-19 pandemic – a pivotal time for
Africa and the world. Coming together virtually in 2021 and in person in 2022, we shared lessons and
approaches that saw us through the pandemic, and we have emerged stronger as a continent. CPHIA
2023 will build on these foundations, elevating African voices and solutions to create strong,
responsive, and resilient health systems in Africa.’’
Discussions in Lusaka will also explore resilient financing mechanisms to strengthen pandemic
preparedness; Africa’s progress in advancing local production of vaccines, diagnostics and
therapeutics; access to adequate healthcare for women and girls; and multi-sectoral response
mechanisms to strengthen health security on the continent.
“Building on the success of CPHIA 2021 and 2022, this year’s convening will show how African
researchers and health leaders are leveraging scientific research and innovations to develop
groundbreaking solutions to long-standing challenges – and generating critical lessons from which
the rest of the world can learn,’’ said Prof. Margaret Gyapong, CPHIA 2023 Co-Chair and Director of
the Institute of Health Research, University of Health and Applied Sciences.
The conference will include remarks by His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic
of Zambia; Honourable Sylvia Masebo, Minister of Health of Zambia; Dr Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization; CPHIA 2023 Co-Chairs, Professor
Margaret Gyapong and Professor Senait Fisseha; His Excellency Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the
African Union Commission; Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa at the World Health
Organization; and H.E. Dr Jean Kaseya, among others.
‘’CPHIA is the largest gathering of health experts, leaders and researchers in Africa, and we are proud
to host this year’s conference in Lusaka, Zambia. We look forward to welcoming all participants, and
we encourage delegates to connect, collaborate, and learn from one another. Together we will break
barriers and lay the foundation for a healthier, more prosperous Africa,’’ said Sylvia Masebo, Minister
of Health of Zambia.
Prof. Senait Fisseha, CPHIA 2023 Co-Chair; Vice President of Global Programs, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (STBF) said: The conference’s Scientific Programme Committee comprises some of the leading experts in public health and research in Africa and internationally. This body of experts shapes the direction of the discussions for the conference to ensure the program responds to the continent’s public health challenges.
The first International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2021) took place in December 2021 to share lessons learned and accelerate progress in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and other health challenges.
Building on the success of the inaugural CPHIA 2021 convening, in December 2022, 2,800 scientists, policymakers, and advocates from around the world gathered in person in Kigali, Rwanda for CPHIA 2022 to spotlight African science and innovation, and strengthen local regional and global collaboration, with an additional 11,625 participants joining via the live stream.
The Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, will lead the Commonwealth delegation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai to call for accelerated action on the climate crisis in […]
AFRICA Environmental Science FEATURED General Radio & TV TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOSThe Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, will lead the Commonwealth delegation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai to call for accelerated action on the climate crisis in light of intensifying threats to small and vulnerable member countries.
Scheduled from 30 November to 12 December 2023, the annual summit comes just months after Commonwealth environment ministers committed to accelerating climate action at their inaugural meeting, held alongside the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
The Secretary-General, who will deliver at least 20 speeches across the summit, will urge negotiators to deliver a transformative outcome at the summit.
This includes accelerating efforts to implement national climate plans mandated under the Paris Agreement, using the findings of the ‘global stocktake’ report to increase ambition and action, and delivering an inclusive, operational Loss and Damage Fund.
Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will officially open the Commonwealth Pavilion COP28, which will host about 40 events across the two weeks, demonstrating the Commonwealth’s ability to convene vital dialogues between governments, experts, businesses, youth leaders and civil society.
She will also meet with leaders and ministers from Commonwealth member countries and across the international community, to advance progress on emissions, finance, adaptation, biodiversity, oceans, health, innovation and the green economy.
‘No more delays’
Ahead of the summit, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said:
“The worst predictions of climate change have become a daily reality. In the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable countries, fertile lands are turning to dust, wells are running dry, storms and floods are overwhelming communities, and the ocean is rising.
“This represents not only a threat to the health, welfare and survival of millions of people, but to our collective stability and economic prospects.
“Yet as climate change advances, the gap on emissions, finance and justice has widened, while the window for action continues to narrow. COP28 must close that gap.
“Every day of delay makes life more dangerous, and makes climate action more complex, challenging and expensive. There can be no more delays, and no more excuses – this is the time for implementation.”
“The health of us all and of our planet rests on a 1.5°C degree cap on global warming,” she added. “We cannot lose sight of that objective, and I implore leaders at COP28 to renew their determination to deliver a bright, resilient, sustainable common world – now and for generations to come.”
During the summit, the Secretary-General will call for increased support for small and vulnerable states, highlighting that despite ambitious pledges, these countries are receiving limited funds to mitigate, adapt to and build resilience against the impacts of climate breakdown.
She will also draw attention to the broader consequences of the climate crisis on economic growth, leading to high debt burdens, food insecurity, stressed resources, and impaired livelihoods for many of the 2.5 billion people living across the Commonwealth.
Nairobi hosts the Kenya Innovation Week’s inaugural Commonwealth Edition, signifying a pivotal moment in advancing innovation across the Commonwealth. The event, taking place from 27th November to 1st December 2023 at the Edge […]
AFRICA FEATURED Food General Human Rights Investigative Reports Latest Magazine News Radio & TV TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOSNairobi hosts the Kenya Innovation Week’s inaugural Commonwealth Edition, signifying a pivotal moment in advancing innovation across the Commonwealth. The event, taking place from 27th November to 1st December 2023 at the Edge Convention Centre, gathers a diverse assembly of leaders, officials, business figures, young innovators and academics from various Commonwealth nations.
This edition, themed ‘Innovating to Unlock Our Common Wealth,’ fosters collaboration and synergy among Commonwealth member countries. The week’s agenda explores the Commonwealth innovation system, its key stakeholders, growth potential, challenges, and opportunities for innovators. A highlight included the launching of Kenya’s ambitious 10-year Innovation Masterplan by His Excellency President William Ruto.
In his opening remarks, President Ruto, expressed enthusiasm for the event, highlighting its role in celebrating Commonwealth ingenuity while addressing challenges and opportunities within the innovation landscape. He emphasised the importance of harnessing innovation to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The event’s keynote address by Commonwealth Secretary-General the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC underlined the pivotal role of innovation in propelling nations forward in an ever-evolving technological era.
“Kenya Innovation Week is so special because it is a unique opportunity to combine the Commonwealth’s capabilities and pool our power. In the spirit of partnership which is fit for our age, together we can push the boundaries of what is possible, and step closer to the future we dream of: a secure future, a resilient future, an exciting future,” said Secretary-General Scotland.
Secretary-General Scotland emphasised the significant partnership between Kenya and the Commonwealth, highlighting the Commonwealth’s commitment to not only supporting but accelerating Kenya’s innovation endeavours.
At the third edition of the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Innovation for Sustainable Development Awards Kenya’s President William Ruto and Commonwealth Secretary-General The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, awarded 15 exceptional innovators from Commonwealth countries.
The awards aim to recognise and celebrate the contribution that innovators in the public, private and voluntary sectors across the Commonwealth are making to progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
During the ceremony, all 15 award winners, three from each Commonwealth region, received a trophy, a certificate, and a £3,000 cash prize for their ground-breaking innovations across five categories.
Each category was structured around the five pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership.
On September 18th, the Global Region 2 of the International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG, Regional Director Seo-yeon Lee) held an online meeting with the cooperation country Colombia and its representative, Miguel Parra (FCC […]
AFRICA FEATURED General Latest Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOSOn September 18th, the Global Region 2 of the International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG, Regional Director Seo-yeon Lee) held an online meeting with the cooperation country Colombia and its representative, Miguel Parra (FCC Representative), and women leaders. Attendees included Lilian Carral, lawyer Shirley Rodríguez, Claudia Aragon (FCC Domestic Violence Prevention Instructor), and Ediht Castaño (FCC Teacher).
The FCC (Fundacion Conacce Chaplains) provides human rights education, teaches methods to protect women facing violence in Colombia, and engages in activities to help children and the elderly abandoned due to armed forces.
During the meeting, they discussed the introduction of IWPG, watched videos of the 2023 International Women’s Peace Conference, and talked about future peace activities with women leaders in Colombia, including participating in the International Loving Peace Art Competition.
Claudia Aragon emphasized, “IWPG is an excellent organization, and now peace activities are happening globally,” stating, “Peace is essential for children and women.”
Ediht Castaño mentioned, “I know that IWPG is active around the world,” adding, “Just as peace education took place in Tanzania, it is especially necessary for women in Colombia to have peace education from home.”
Shirley Rodríguez expressed her thoughts, saying, “Peace education is something we can definitely accomplish because we are housewives and mothers. We need to engage in peace activities for our children and women around the world.”
Seo-yeon Lee, the G2 Regional Director, urged, “Through continuous exchange with FCC, I hope IWPG’s activities are introduced to many women’s organizations in Colombia, leading to collaboration.”
IWPG is an international women’s peace organization registered as a Special Consultative Status NGO with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is also registered with the Department of Global Communications (DGC). The vision of IWPG is to protect precious lives from war and pass down peace to future generations with a motherly heart. To achieve this, IWPG, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, collaborates with over 110 branches worldwide and more than 560 affiliated organizations, actively engaging in peace activities.
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international peace organization, hosted the HWPL World Interfaith Prayer Conference 2023 on November 18th. The conference, held online, brought together religious leaders and congregation […]
General Latest Magazine NewsHeavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international peace organization, hosted the HWPL World Interfaith Prayer Conference 2023 on November 18th. The conference, held online, brought together religious leaders and congregation members from various faiths to pray for an end to wars and the promotion of world peace.
Participated by 855 people of 10 different religions from 73 countries, the conference featured an impactful order of events, beginning with an opening by the emcee who expressed the urgency of addressing global conflicts and the organization’s heartfelt desire for the cessation of wars. Especially it was highlighted the importance of unity among religious individuals and the shared values embedded in various scriptures that promote peace, justice, human dignity, respect, and harmony.
The event included prayers led by representatives from major religions, including Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. The prayers represented by leaders of various religions were different in form, but their contents were all prayers for peace as each religious leader offered prayers rooted in their respective traditions, emphasizing the shared goal of ending war and achieving global peace.
The emcee, in detailing the order of events, explained that a real-time prayer and wish board would be operated where participants could share their own prayers and wishes for peace.
At the end of the prayer meeting, HWPL proposed a “Relay Prayer Campaign” through the moderator as a practical measure for peace. Religious leaders were urged to consistently hold prayer meetings for the cessation of war and world peace, creating opportunities in various forms to gather the hearts of as many people as possible.
Amid persisting conflicts and disputes among religions, HWPL’s dedication to fostering religious harmony is evident through initiatives such as the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Offices where religious leaders of various faiths and disciplines gather regularly to discuss their scriptures, HWPL International Religious Peace Academy (IRPA), Religious Youth Peace Camp, Open Dialogue with Religious Leaders, and MOUs with Religious Organizations. As of September 2023, there are 282 WARP Offices in operation in 131 countries.
By Samuel Walker A great monastic dynasty, little known to most, opens a window to understanding Ethiopia’s cultural past, and this country’s profound place in world history. Much of Ethiopia’s rich cultural-social heritage […]
AFRICA Environmental Science FEATURED General Investigative Reports Latest Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition Technology TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOS TourA great monastic dynasty, little known to most, opens a window to understanding Ethiopia’s cultural past, and this country’s profound place in world history.
Much of Ethiopia’s rich cultural-social heritage lies within the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC). After the decline of the Aksumite Empire (650CE/AD), the Zagwe dynasty (Circa 1000 – 1270 CE/AD) arose, establishing its capital in Lalibela-Lasta. This capital, founded as a monastic kingdom, served as a historical bridge between the ancient and modern era. As a platform for understanding Ethiopia’s historicity, Lalibela encompasses and builds upon religious and cultural adaptations and identity-formation yet to be fully researched. One must not approach Lalibela or surrounding churches from the standpoint of an archaeologist or architect. Lalibela must be seen through pilgrim eyes.
As the nexus of human origins, Ethiopia constitutes a Holy Land in its own right, a sacred landscape rooted in humanity’s very creation. Ethiopia’s unbroken chain of history, reaching back to the foundations of civilizations and beyond, reflects one of humanity’s most significant chronicles of identity. It is this brilliant, yet underrepresented narrative, which continues to inform Ethiopia’s unique ethos and self identity, steeped in its own majestic, millennia-old mythos.
Multiple indigenous cultures and societies have shaped this land, weaving a vibrant tapestry of histories, cultures, languages, and religious identities that continue to breathe life into all humankind. Ethiopia also contains some of the most cherished cultural, historical, and archaeological sites in Africa, each serving as an integral cornerstone, undergirding age-old civilizations. At the core of much of this rich cultural, spiritual, and social-heritage mosaic is the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) whose Aksumite religious antecedents extend to the early Judaic-Christian and Hebraic periods, to which it owes many of its religious and historical foundations.
Historical Background
Historical references to the regions of Ethiopia and the Horn are found in some of the earliest Egyptian records and images. Additionally, biblical and Greek literature present Ethiopia as a land of Eden, and the summer abode of the gods, respectively. Both Sargon II and Sennacherib mention Ethiopia (Meluhha) as the destination of those fleeing the destruction of the Assyrian invasions of Samaria, Jerusalem, and the Eastern Levant, in the 6th and 5th centuries CE/BC (Prichard, 1958, Orlinsky, 1956). Accounts also mention the military might of the Ethiopians, having an army “beyond counting.”
Archaeological evidence, written accounts, and local inscriptions indicate the rise of an Ethio-Sabaean culture in Ethiopia around the end of the 10th or early part of the 9th centuries BC. The indigenization of these various communities eventually developed into the kingdom of D’mt, with its capital and main temple at Yeha (Sergew, 1972). Current archaeological excavations reveal an administrative structure of great architectural and societal complexity associated with this site. The D’mt Kingdom began its decline around the end of the 4th into the 3rd century BC/BCE, and was succeeded by the emergence of Aksum as the dominant city-state.
During the first seven centuries AD/CE, Aksum, the ancient Ethiopian capital of the future Christian Aksumite Empire, thrived upon trade with the Mediterranean cities of Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria. Situated within the highlands of the northern region of what is now Tigrai, the powerful center of the Aksumite Kingdom grew to dominate both sides of the southern Red Sea, regions in Sudan, including the northern capital of Meroe, and traded with ports across the Indian Ocean and down along the Swahili coast, functioning as an important commercial and military partner with the Late Roman and Early Byzantine Empires (Sergew, 1972).
As one of the largest and longest-lived African Empires, Aksum holds a unique place in the history of world civilizations. The introduction of Christianity in the mid-fourth century AD/CE by Ethiopia’s first Bishop, Frumentius, and King Ezana proved to be a pivotal historical juncture (Sergew, 1972). To this day, Aksum serves as the focal-point for Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity and stands as a symbol of Ethiopia’s vibrant cultural continuity into modern history.
The development of Ge`ez as a language, with first unvocalized and then vocalized or Ethiopic, script, has left a unique written chronicle, both pre-Christian and Christian, retaining traditions and a liturgy of world importance and significance. Additionally, early manuscripts mention Aksum hosting the first Muslim communities fleeing persecution in Mecca. Many Islamic architectural and cultural elements remain across Ethiopia as witness to these broader regional influences in the 7th -11th centuries. These constitute a rich selection of heritage sites and cultures in their own right (Girma, 1997; Dagnachew, 2003).
It is not only these churches, monasteries, mosques, and holy sites, however, which constitute truly unique heritage assets. Their contents, including artifacts as old as the structures themselves: manuscripts, varieties of liturgical objects, such as icons and crosses, Qur’ans, crowns, liturgical fans, vestments, drums, lyres, sistra, etc., must also be considered. Ethiopia thus contains important historical, cultural, religious, and heritage-based sites, and a multitude of archaeological remains illustrative of the development and blossoming of major albeit underrepresented African civilizations.
Of special note are the Aksumite and Post-Aksumite rock-hewn churches located across the landscapes of Gheralta, Tembian, and regions in North Wollo. With the decline of Aksumite hegemony, population movements led settled communities to migrate progressively south, progressively inland, where they became increasingly more isolated. In the early Ethiopia medieval periods, the Zagwe dynasty (Circa 1000 – 1270 CE/AD) established its capital in Lalibela-Lasta, initiating this progressive movement of capitals southwards. The dynasty and structures of Lalibela, however, represent a particular uniqueness, serving as a historical bridge between the ancient and the modern. As a platform for understanding Ethiopia’s historicity and the uninterrupted continuity of Ethiopianness, Lalibela encompasses and builds upon religious and cultural adaptations, innovations, and the transmission of knowledge in ways yet to be fully appreciated, researched, or understood.
Construction out of Chaos
In 1520, one of the first outsiders to visit and record the church complexes of Lalibela, Chaplain Fransico Alverez of the Portuguese Embassy, viewed them two and a half centuries after they had been abandoned (Alvarez, 1881). Even in that state, however, these surreal edifices inspired him to wax eloquent on the grandeur and uniqueness of churches and other structures hewn completely out of living rock. But then he hesitated, concerned that if he continued in his descriptions, his readers might begin to disbelieve him. Such reticence, or perhaps a lack of context with which to accurately expound the wonders of the Lalibela complex and surrounding churches, continues to this day.
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Fig. 1 – Beta Giorgyis – The Church of St. George in Lalibela. (Photo SCW)
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Prior to my first visit to Lalibela, I read various accounts: Alverez, 18th and 19th century visitors, and contemporary travelers and scholars. But it wasn’t until I stood atop the unworked bedrock peering into the carved out cavity and beheld the standing structures for myself that I apprehended what constrained previous writers. Incongruous was the first word that came to mind. That early medieval churches, literally chiseled free from stone, both inside and out, would be situated on a remote hillside in the central highlands of Ethiopia, made little sense.
Monumental hewn structures are not unique to Lalibela. Abu Simbal, the Valley of the Kings, among many other carved sites across Egypt, plus Cappadocia in Turkey, Petra in Jordan, and structures in India, are tied to trade networks, or located at crossroads or borders, and were specifically designed and situated to impress. Lalibela, however, fits none of these parameters. Something genuinely different was at play here. Its structures, and therefore its history, transcend the physical. These remain living, vibrant, churches, functioning within a pilgrim ethos still founded in the early medieval worldview. Something much deeper, more visceral, requires the story to be told in a radically different way.
For a thousand years, Lalibela has stood sentinel, overlooking an expansive valley to nowhere. Why? A mystery. As an archaeologist visiting a site for the first time, I examine the overall environment, the geology, the topography, the vegetation. Like reading an ancient crime scene, I look for the small clues, indications of humanity’s mark upon his or her landscape.
Like a sleuth, I tracked the slopes and bedrock overlooking the churches, the hewn river valleys, the two breast-shaped hills, Mount Tabor and the Mount of Olives, sites named after biblical locations thousands of kilometers to the north. Having traipsed the hills of Jerusalem and Israel for close to a decade, I was at first surprised at Lalibela’s smallness, its compactness.
Soon, however, clues emerged. Remnants of tombs carved atop the bedrock, foundation trenches of free-standing, stone-built structures, notches cut in the sides of the deep cut trenches, even a smoothed surface along a cliff-face that may have held a painted icon or an inscription, required a good deal more soil atop the bedrock back in antiquity. The Lalibela of today is not the Lalibela of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Scoured through centuries, the original vibrancy had long ago eroded away. Today’s remnants comprise the revitalized relics of a long-past dynasty.
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Fig. 2 – Eroded surface above the Dual Chapels of Sinai and Golgotha, showing evidence of tombs and foundation trenches from the earliest phases of occupation in Lalibela. (Photo SCW)
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A Second Look
Since the collapse of the Aksumite Empire circa CE/AD 650, nearly four hundred silent years had limped by before the rise of the Zagwe dynasty. During this interval, no central capital, no nexus for defining “Ethiopianness” emerged. The hidden rock-hewn churches that dot the landscape of Tigrai and south into Gheralta and Tembien, retain impressive masterpieces of early ecclesiastical art and architecture, but a large, central, settled community has yet to be discovered. Previous research attributed this to the pressures of Islam, the newly dominant religion of Arabia and the Red Sea trade routes. Was Lalibela therefore all about security? The Lalibela-Lasta context failed to fit so simple or pedestrian an answer.
Contextual Framing
For my dissertation in Jordan, I researched the late Roman/early Byzantine rural structures, monasteries, and remote military outposts of the Jordanian desert from the reign of Diocletian (AD 296-304) to the eventual dominance of Constantine the Great (AD 308-330) as a newly-Christian Emperor (Walker, 2004). Such a major shift in the Eastern Mediterranean ushered in the emergence of a politically, newly powerful, Christianity.
With the evolution of a new ecclesiastical architecture came a new triumphalism. Adorning the highest cupulas of the grandest churches of the Byzantine Empire, icons flaunted Christ as Pantocrator – The Divine, undisputed champion, ruler of the universe. As an added measure of subjugation, the Hebraic terms, Yahweh Sabaoth – Lord of Hosts, and El Shaddai – Lord God Almighty, were pirated and ascribed to this Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, as evidence that this new God of gods, had become the ultimate conqueror.
From Christianity’s humble origins as a peasant fellowship of fishermen along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, through three hundred years as a persecuted sect, Christendom burst forth as the state religion of one of the most powerful empires of its day. Many saw this as evidence that such a feat was ordained by God.
Christendom’s newly acquired dominance along with the subsequent, often politically motivated church councils, starting with that of Nicea (325 AD), ignited the counter-measure: the monastic movement in the deserts of Judea, Jordan, Syria, the Negev, the Sinai, and Egypt. Additionally, the Ethiopian church had maintained a presence in Jerusalem from the beginning, attending the church councils, through to the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), where it disavowed the monophysite heresy, but maintained the miaphysite doctrine (Tewahedo), “One nature of God the Word incarnate” (Melaju, 2008).
The continuity of this history is illustrated not only by the intimate knowledge the Ethiopian Orthodox Church had of church history, but because it was integral in helping to write it. Mosaics in various 5th and 6th century Byzantine churches across Jordan, including Mt. Nebo and Petra, depict Ethiopians, evidence that communication between the two branches of Christianity were commonplace.
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Fig. 3- Mosaic in Mt. Nebo, Jordan, depicting Ethiopian person with an ostrich, zebra, and giraffe, shown as a “camel-leopard” as it was known. (Photo SCW)
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The word ‘monk’ comes from the Greek root mono, for “one who lives alone.” Monasticism remains the ultimate test of faithfulness to the call of discipleship. Allaying physical distractions tempered through the mortification of the flesh, prepared one for the daunting demands of spiritual discipline. What better way to be tested and proven faithful than to emulate Christ who withdrew to a deserted place for fasting and praying?
There is a deeply incarnational dimension to communing one-on-one with the Divine. Regardless of one’s faith-walk, isolation and reflection produce their own measure of spiritual reward. As opposed to the blatant political and economic messages broadcast by the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or the earlier structures of Abu Simbal and Petra, it became increasingly clear that Lalibela-Lasta had been founded, inspired by an overarching need to dwell as a remote, monastic kingdom.
Lead me to the Rock . . .
Returning, I poured over the maps. And then, there it was. The massif of Mt. Lasta upon which the Lalibela complex is built, is situated just south of Mt. Abuna Yusef. At 4190 meters above sea level, it is the highest mountain in the region and only 430 meters lower than Ethiopia’s highest peak, Ras Dashen. A series of watersheds cuts the highlands of Ethiopia into four quadrants. Lalibela is situated just north-west of the convergence of the main mountain ridges that divides this rugged land. The Priest-Kings of the Zagwe Dynasty chose this isolation, purposely, as an island situated within an ocean of basaltic mountains. As near the center of that convergence as geographically possible, as far away from the corruption of the world, upon the farthest edge of Christendom, at the headwaters of the Tecazze River, the first Priest-Kings of the Zagwe Dynasty founded their monastic capital.
One must not, therefore, approach the Lalibela complex or surrounding churches from the standpoint simply of an archaeologist, historian, architect, or tourist. Lalibela must be seen through pilgrims’ eyes. These stone-hewn structures now retain the skeletal framework of their truer, more spiritual story. I have revisited Lalibela multiple times, seeking the greater contexts of Ethiopia’s previous identity formation in relation to the Aksumite Empire, and the direct connection this “Ethiopian Jerusalem” holds with the Jerusalem of Gold. Especially today, one must sit at the feet of ages past in order to grasp the broader medieval pilgrimage ethos surrounding the collapse of the corrupt, despotic Crusader Kingdoms in the Eastern Levant.
Seeing through pilgrims’ eyes unlocks this most extraordinary of sites to new avenues of comprehension. It creates a means of embracing the essence of the Lalibela-Lasta complex, that of greater Ethiopia, and ultimately, the whole of Africa. It illustrates just how significant and splendid these structures are, not simply as artifacts of devotion, but even more, as icons of faith, edifices of an eternal, yet grounded hope, amidst the darkness of Western Christendom’s early-medieval decay. It is within this light that the earlier churches and those of Lalibela need to be experienced.
From this elevated standpoint, the Lalibela-Lasta churches brilliantly epitomize the initial resurrection of a post-Crusader, Ethiopian kingdom of faith, that shone beyond the shadows of defeat in the Eastern Mediterranean and across North Africa. This sacred space specifically was designed to be a beacon for the many Christian-African kingdoms of the interior, even at times, casting its light upon the dim shores of Europe, stumbling in the pre-Renaissance era. Lalibela’s essence hearkens back to our origins. It remains a message across the centuries, calling all of us home to rest in the embrace of our common mother, Africa.
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Fig. 4 – Relief Map of Ethiopia and Eretria – Note the division of Ethiopia’s highlands into distinct quadrants and watersheds, with Lalibela situated centrally.
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Geology, Jewels, and a Miracle
The structures of Lalibela are constructed within a finger of tuff, a soft volcanic stone, which juts out into the valley. Tuff, as a softer stone made more of compacted volcanic ashes, absorbs water. When it is first exposed, one can easily carve and shape the stone with basic iron tools. I have seen masons and quarrymen dig out huge boulders of tuff and, with hammer and chisel, knock out building blocks, level, square, uniform, in minutes. And then a miracle happens. Once the stone is doused with water and exposed to air, it hardens to near concrete.
Tradition holds that after his 14-year sojourn in Jerusalem and the Holy Lands, King Lalibela received a vision. He was to build a new Jerusalem for a new priesthood serving a new chosen people of God. Visualizing Lalibela within its broader geological location, one grasps the perception of the miraculous. Consider that the site upon which the churches of Lalibela are built is less than two square kilometers of tuff in a region where, for literally hundreds of thousands of square kilometers to the north, and in an east-westerly direction, there is none (Morton, 1978, Williams, 2016). For those spiritually inclined, it is as if when God was crafting the world from time immemorial, he secreted away an infinitesimal nugget of constructional tuff in this land of ever-present, uplifted, hard basalt, for just such a time as this.
From this reddish-gray stone, King Lalibela hews a precious jewel, one of the truly magnificent world masterpieces of religious art. But it is not simply the structures themselves which speak of this brilliance. The churches, as wonderful as each are, are more than simply ecclesiastical edifices. The whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Like all true art, Lalibela contains an astounding, hidden magic.
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Fig. 5 – An original stone from the initial carving out of the structures, kept in a pile beside the church of Beta Giyorgis. Note the chisel marks indicating the types of tools and force used to excavate. The fact such stones were retained on site indicates they were likely considered part of the sacredness of the “work is prayer” adage. (Photo SCW)
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. . . To the Rock that is Higher Than I
In order to gain a deeper understanding of why the Lalibela complex is such a sacred space, one must grasp the ascetic world view within a monastic mental landscape. The most ancient traditions related to the birth of Jesus place it in a cave dwelling adjacent to the house of Joseph’s family in Bethlehem (Murphey-O’Conner, 1992). The fanciful stories of a wooden manger in a wooden stable behind an inn are fabrications of Renaissance artists. Given Christ’s nativity occurs in a cave, this holds special emphasis within ancient monasticism. And then there is the burial after the crucifixion, also within a cave, that completes the incarnational circle to the monastic narrative. Living one’s life in a cave is as close as one can get to living as Christ. And thus, a monastic church in a cave or a church carved out of rock is the epitome of the dwelling of God with man, or the Beta Emmanuel (Hirscfeld, 1999).
The dominant focus on the Lalibela churches and complexes continues to be architectural and art history-based. Subsequently, a critical factor for adequately and accurately expounding the wonders of the Lalibela complex and surrounding churches remains unexplored. By continually ignoring the broader political, social, and cultural formations of the Zagwe Dynasty, scholars have limited the lexicon for creating the richer narrative of Lalibela-Lasta’s far deeper significance.
The era of the Zagwe Dynasty is one of the most impressive periods of Ethiopia’s history (Pankhurst, 1990, Phillipson, 2009, 2012). It is incumbent upon us to endeavor to rediscover, through research of the significant data-sets, the sociological and broader cultural frameworks preceding and leading up to, the rise of the Zagwe dynasty. Further research is required to capture the message within the Lalibela heritage sites beyond merely its architectural significance.
Lasta-Lalibela heritage stands as a uniting historical monument to Ethiopia’s shared historical experience. As contemporary Ethiopia undergoes shifts of cultural and societal identity across ethno-national and linguistic lines, these heritages retain prominent historical value to enable the building of comprehensive, mutual understanding. Lalibela-Lasta represents the continual adaptation of ascribed identities across generations and landscapes. The cumulative transference of societal knowledge, variable skill-sets, practices, cultural material, along with the geographical location of these structures and associated sites, build upon, and enhance community well-being, religious expression, and societal identifiers for each new generation.
Historical Framework of Lalibela-Lasta
Years before ascending the throne, two years after the defeat of the Crusaders in Jerusalem in 1187 by the Ayyubid dynasty, King Lalibela visited Egypt and the Holy Land. While there, he was invited for an audience with the conqueror, Salah ad-Din (Saladin). Because the Coptic Church in Alexandria was responsible for providing the Mutran (Metropolitan) for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Salah ad-Din viewed King Lalibela as under his protection and neutral in the previous Crusader conflicts. Thus, Ethiopian and Coptic Christians were again given access to, and in some instances control of, the holy sites, a privilege denied them under the Crusaders. A Metropolitan (Mutran), as overseer of an ecclesiastical community or See, serves as the primary representative of a patriarch. Under agreement, the Coptic Alexandrian Church sent a Mutran from Egypt and the Ethiopian church would not select its own bishops or Patriarch. It is conjectured that under the Zagwe dynasty, the Priest-Kings broke with this tradition.
A brilliant example of the confluence of these two worlds, Crusader and Ethiopian, is depicted as graffiti in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. As one enters the sanctuary, on one of the limestone pillars, off to the far left, are the sketched images of crusader helmets and coats of arms. Two beautiful, regal African faces, in profile, grace this pillar. Staring into that face, one can easily imagine one to be King Lalibela on his sojourn. Of course, King Lalibela was no Crusader, but it is within this frame of reference, this seeking a common good for humanity and living within the core of the Christian and monastic mandate to love one’s enemies and pray for those who persecute, that we must understand his majesty. Upon this mountain, called Roha in antiquity, translated from the Ge’ez as “pure or clean,” a new focal point emerges of a new dynasty of these priest-kings, or in the local parlance, Presbyter Jan-hoy.
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Fig. 6 – Graffiti in the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, depicting an African face in profile, atop a Crusader helmet. (Photo SCW)
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Finding Our Way
Pilgrimage is designed to set us right, to level the playing field. And Lalibela is one of the most profound places wherein one can be set right. But it takes work. It requires a different set of eyes, spiritual eyes, to see the beauty and wonder of not simply the stone churches, but hopefully, to apprehend the hidden, beating heart of devotion of the ancient, dynamic, living Ethiopic church that forged this icon of faith out of living rock.
In the hectic pantomime of modern Christianity, most have forsaken the practice of pilgrimage. Yet, pilgrimage or sojourning as a spiritual exercise, is a searching for the fingerprint of God. The essential element of pilgrimage is, as the word implies, leaving the security of home and seeking for that which is other. It is an intention of a destination, not simply to a sacred place, but more importantly, to dwell securely within a sacred space (Hirschfeld, 1992, Tsafrir, 1988). For the wearied wayfarer among Ethiopia’s and Africa’s early medieval Christian populace, the churches of Lalibela served and still serve as just such a space.
One major aspect of pilgrimage relates to manual labor as a form of prayer. Indeed, one finds the statement, “work is prayer” among many of the guiding principles of monastic orders. Is it any wonder then we see varying influences within the architecture and decoration in the various structures, especially in windows and cross forms? The retention of Aksumite ecclesiastical architecture, however, remains obvious throughout the Lalibela complex and earlier churches. It can be conjectured that many of these stone churches represent actual, contemporary structures which were subsequently destroyed in the religious wars of 1528-1543. Of these stone-hewn churches, architectural form supersedes function, even within many representational constructed elements. Wooden frames of windows and doors, currently found in the built churches such as Debre Damo and Yimerhane Kirstos, are exquisitely retained in stone in the Lalibela churches
Transcendence
Being religious, however, is not a requisite to appreciating or even experiencing things spiritual. The path an early-medieval pilgrim followed through the various churches illustrates how perfectly King Lalibela incorporated spiritual geography and embodied the deepest elements of the ancient pilgrimage ethos. In Zorzi’s accounts of travelers to Ethiopia in the mid-1440s, he records, “From Asquaga (modern Woldia) to Urvuar (often associated with Lalibela), and there is a king in the said great city, where are 12 churches of canons and a bishop, and the tomb of a holy king that works miracles, and has the name of Lalivela (sic); whither go very many pilgrims from all the lands.” (Crawford, 1956). But new research indicates the actual site of Urvuar to be ruins south of Istayish, serving as the administrative site to Lalibela 25 kms to the north.
The Beta Giyorgis complex, the lowest point geographically, was probably the last of the churches to be hewn. It is situated on a knoll of tuff that descends south of the main hillsides housing the other two, larger complexes. Three carved ravines designed to funnel off water, create an “island” or “mountain peak” amidst a broader ocean of stone. The eastern channel, named Gadet, meaning ‘the boundary marker between two lands’, is linked by a channel to the western gorge, referred to as the River Jordan.
In medieval times, pilgrims would initiate their pilgrimage via one of two paths at this lowest point, at the outflow of the Gadet as it runs into the south-western ravine. Via this deep cut in the bedrock, one enters Beta Giyorgis or St. George’s church within its original design. Up slope and to the west from the Gadet is a holy water site named after the dragon-slaying, mega-martyr, St. George or Beta Giyorgis, where pilgrims in need of physical, mental, or spiritual healing, or those seeking absolution for sins past, could be cleansed and begin anew – a regenesis of sorts, toward a renewed identity.
The Churches
Though dedicated to St. George, local traditions also state its architectural elements tie Beta Giyorgis to Noah’s Ark. Noah is often painted as a portrait of faith, because, as we find in Hebrews 11, Noah heeds God’s warning, believing something that had never before been seen. And thus, he and his family represent earth’s sole human survivors and heirs of righteousness.
Further, in the Epistles of Peter, Noah is held as an example of one whose faith saved not only his family, but also the whole of humanity. The spiritual geography of Beta Giyorgis serves as a rock-hewn ark secured to its own Mt. Ararat, with the priest-kings of the Zagwe Dynasty representing the faithful Noah, saving the broader Ethiopian communities, and consequently, humanity, from a deluge of sinfulness drowning the world as subsequent Crusades and other religious wars raged on further north.
Within the enclosure, to the northeast, as the craftsmen carved down, they hit the base rock of basalt. Too hard to hew, it was left and aptly named, Mt. Ararat, after the resting place of the original ark. And just as Noah’s ark had three levels and a roof, so does Beta Giyorgis, with open windows only on the upper-most level. To enter, one must ascend the seven hewn steps leading into the closed confines, the sacred security of this ark of stone. Each ascending step is higher and narrower than its predecessor, symbolizing the seven heavens, illustrating how each stride in the walk of faith requires more effort, less self-assurance, in obtaining salvation and the righteousness which comes by grace alone. Viewed from above, the series of three foundation steps which encircle the entire building give it the illusion that the last waves of the flood still lap at the now-grounded ark.
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Fig. 7 – The narrowing, ascending steps to Beta Giyorgis. (Photo SCW)
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The Church structure is said to also represent the Arc of the Covenant, containing the Decalogue or ten commandments. In the Chapel of Beta Gabriel, a wooden arc, in the exact style of Beta Giyorgis, beautifully retains that tradition in miniature.
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Fig. 8 – Miniature wooden Arc of the Covenant showing similarities to Beta Giyorgis Church. (Photo SCW)
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The floral motif atop each window could be taken as the olive branch brought back by the dove, or more likely, the vine that Noah planted post-flood and from which he made the first wine. Wine, of course, becomes the essential element of the holy sacrament representing the blood of Christ. Twelve windows, three on each branch of its cruciform shape, can be any of a number of elements, but are most likely for the twelve apostles, sent to spread the good news to the four corners of the world. The roof is carved with a cross within a cross within a cross, creating a Trinitarian unity of the central symbol of Christianity.
Saved from the condemnation of the flood, one exits the ark, and ascends, up across the hand-hewn trough linking Gadet and the Jordan. It is unknown what features, in medieval times, existed upon what is now the walkway and parking lot. Further research may illuminate a passageway demarcating a causeway into the new promised land upslope. Remnants of large hewn ashlar stones demarcate a path that may represent the way through one’s own wilderness wanderings from the realm of the Old Testament into the world of the New.
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Fig. 9 – Built pathway from Beta Giyorgis leading to the narrow alley to the Tomb of Adam – (Photo SCW)
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Orthodox icons of the crucifixion usually depict the cross, planted atop Calvary or Golgotha, the place of the skull. Traditionally, the place where the cross of Christ was fixed to the Earth has been interpreted as the original burial spot of Adam, as represented by a skull and long bones. The ascent, leading to the Tomb of Adam, takes one further up to a narrow, deeply carved alley with the closed-in feel of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Steep steps lead up through the doorway into an enclosure, creating the impression of being enclosed within one’s tomb. Like the confined chapels within Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, these spaces allowed a pilgrim to individually own that she or he is, like the original sinner, Adam, dead in sin ( I Cor 15:21 – “For since by (one) man came death, by (one) man came also the resurrection of the dead”).
From a low door, petitioning humility, one emerges from that tomb, to arrive at the twin chapels of Sinai, also referred to in the literature as Beta Mika’el, representing the giving of the Mosaic law, and Golgotha, where grace and forgiveness were bestowed upon humanity.
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Fig. 10 – Site of the Tomb of Adam looking down, with the dual chapels of Sinai (Beta Mika’el) on the far end, and Beta Golgotha, closer. Note the original door to Sinai (indicated by the top arrow) is rarely utilized today. It should be noted that entrance into Golgotha is only accessible through the Sinai chapel, possibly indicating that salvation comes only by passing through the law into grace. (Jn. 1:17- “Since though the law was given to Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.” Jerusalem Bible, 1966). (Photo SCW)
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These dual churches, representing the old and new covenants, tie the Hebraic or Judaic heritage of the earliest representations of the living church to this modern living Ethiopic heritage and traditions. One of the verses often quoted in regard to this long historicity and connectivity to the promises of God through King David, is Psalm 68:31: “Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God” (KJV). This entire complex reverberates with the sense that these structures are designed to boldly claim that promise fulfilled. In a sense, these structures illustrate that the Gospel has indeed been preached to the ends of the earth.
The first structure, known as Beta Mika’el, or alternatively, as Mt. Sinai, represents the giving of the law. Mt. Sinai, where Moses received the law, proves our need of salvation. Access to the sanctuaries of Mt. Sinai and then Golgotha, originally required one to nearly circumambulate the building, to the far end, and then negotiate narrow steps to traverse the slender path along the exterior wall. Just as the Children of Israel wandered for forty years, and Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness, this path requires of a pilgrim time to prepare for entrance into these two sanctuaries. The eastern door, now rarely used, would have ushered a penitent into the closed confines of Sinai, which contains solid pillars and an aura of heaviness. With high, small windows, condemnation is palpable. Highly-stylized “angels’ eyes” stare, unblinkingly from every corner of each capital.
The second chapel, Golgotha, represents the giving of grace which now covers the debt of humanity’s sin. Beta Golgotha, off-limits to women, hides secrets. It is the only church with life-size relief statuary incorporated in the walls. There is argument as to whether the statuary are original, or later additions. Evidence for the argument that they are original, are similar pillar capitals, as well as a similar feature of a standing cleric, found in Kankanet Mika’el, far up slope from the main Lalibela complexes, on the way to the Hudad Plateau.
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Fig. 11- Relief statue in the chapel of Beta Golgotha – The sheen upon the stone comes from centuries of pilgrims venerating the image in prayers and petitions.
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The back part of the nave houses what is known as the Sellassie Chapel (Phillipson, 2009, Merceier, 2012). Normally a thick curtain covers the entrance to this chamber, protecting, as far as it is known, the only chapel in Christendom with three separate altars, one for each member of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Typical Ethiopic icons of the Trinity represent three sagacious, identical depictions of the one nature of the triune God. All equally share that single nature of Godhead from before creation, all eternally, self-existing. This triunity strongly exemplifies the miaphysite concept of God being of a single nature, rather than the dual nature doctrine – diaphysite – of other Orthodox, Catholic, and Reformed/Protestant traditions (Melaku, 2008).
The long Ethiopic presence in Jerusalem, especially as it relates to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, has forged a deep link to the Holy Land and its spiritual history. Immediately after the Ayyubid re-conquest of Jerusalem in 1187, the Ethiopic church served as primary custodian of these holy sites. It is not unlikely that King Lalibela would have been intimately engaged in that administration. By recreating a tomb of Christ in Ethiopia, King Lalibela may have selected this back chapel as his final resting place, complete with a depiction of a resting or prone Christ, perhaps illustrating in stone, the incarnational aspects of the unified salvific work of both a human and divine nature, central to the belief of the Tewahedo or the miaphysite doctrine.
Having immersed oneself within the covenants of law and grace in Sinai and Golgotha, one then ascends a series of steps and navigates winding carved corridors, further upslope, to the large open area containing Beta Maryiam, the Church of Mary. Flanking this sanctuary are two smaller chapels, the chapel of the finding of the true cross (Beta Masqal) to the north, and the chapel of the 40 virgin martyrs (Beta Danagel) to the south.
Beta Maryiam is the only church that boasts an interior of colorful decorations and painted fresco icons. In the same way that St. Mary served as the vessel for incarnationally carrying Christ, so we as pilgrims, by entering this sacred space, partake in that incarnation and, as the true church, become the physical representation of Christ to the world. The open courtyard proffers the first place that pilgrims might celebrate communally. It is here the festival of incarnation at nativity, Ethiopian Genna, takes place each year. Multiple narratives coalesce within this complex. In a spiritual sense, the whole of the gospel abides herein: The Magnificat of Mary, the nativity, the incarnational ministry of Christ, the crucifixion, the faithfulness of martyrs.
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Fig. 12 – Interior of Beta Mariyam – The carved and painted designs retain the physical representations of the wood-carved, painted interiors of churches such as Yimerhane Kirstos, which predate the Lalibela churches. (Photo SCW)
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To the north lies a carved pool containing holy water where tradition states that barren women might be submerged and obtain fertility. The secret, hidden hope of barren women, also finds a place among the grandeur of this story. Just as God, through Mary, bestowed a physical child to Mary, and thus to the world, so He did for Sarai-Sarah, Revkah-Rebekah, Hanna, and the multiple nameless women who, through tears and social pain, found favor in a God who holds women in the highest esteem.
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Fig. 13 – The submersion pool with Beta Mariyam in the background. The baptistery steps are to the left. In the Early medieval periods, the reverse swastika motif was commonly associated with the tree of life, and can be seen represented in cultural material from Phoenician, Assyrian, and Indian cultural contexts. (Photo SCW)
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One final step, however, is required to usher the pilgrim into eternal, spiritual life. Through a constricting corridor within the imposing cliff face, like a passage through death into heavenly life, pilgrims lastly enter the large open space that houses Bete Medhane Alem, or Savior of the World Church. As the largest church, this would have served as the culmination, the high point of pilgrimage. The open area provided ample space for pilgrims to communally celebrate their renewed salvation. Inside, no imposing icon of Christ as Pantocrator looks down upon a sinful humanity. Here, it is the child-Christ, held by Mariyam, who reigns. From an Ethiopic (EOTC) perspective, this is the deity the world needs today, not the crusade-bent, angry god of so much of western Christendom.
Having completed our pilgrimage, the steps to the north allow one to ascend further, where, with an added hope, pilgrims look uphill, to the symbolic Mount of Olives, from which Christ ascended, and upon which he will return as Savior of the World.
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Fig. 14 – The Mt. of Olives viewed from the Medhane Alem church, finalizing the pilgrimage experience. (Photo SCW)
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Much more can, and should be said about this masterpiece of ecclesiastical architecture, part of this broader narrative within Ethiopian Christianity. The administrative complex further southeast, along with Mt. Tabor commemorating Christ’s transfiguration, contain multiple mysteries in their own right, yet have not been part of the broader discussion of this paper.
Here, it is Ethiopia’s narrative that must prevail. The living church of the EOTC community constitutes the primary custodian of the centuries-old heritage, and it is, therefore, their story to tell. Often, the parochial, colloquial imposition of outside academic, disengaged, world views have dominated the retelling of what is Africa. That must change. In much of the literature about Lalibela and the larger Ethiopic Tewahedo church traditions as a whole, a subtle, or occasionally overt sentiment persists that these traditions are somehow failed attempts at emulating “our more enlightened, more scholarly and sophisticated” western churches, or post-Christian world.
Often academia or scholars seek for minutia, or the mere stones and bones of an ancient tradition. Care is required lest we assume, because Western sacred sanctuaries have been reduced to museums or pubs, that Lalibela could be similarly defined. Continuing research sings a dynamically different story, however.
For now, our goal and honor remains to work with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to train local clergy and heritage management experts and equip them to discover and discern even more of Lalibela’s enchantment. Thus might these sanctuaries and adjacent settlements reverberate with further sacredness within their deeper, intended spirituality. Through continual co-research, it is hoped that more of the hidden messages are revealed as these Lalibela-Lasta complexes and communities still whisper secrets left nearly a thousand years ago.
Qidus, Sanctus, Holy
Like the first outsiders, however, I too must admit to only touching the surface of this mystical Holy Land. One final discovery, however, came to light while researching Ethiopic crosses. When one views the greater whole of the entire ecclesiastical complex of Lalibela, it becomes clear that the actual layout is designed to serve as more than a simple pathway for pilgrimage. The churches, chapels, and tunnels of Lalibela are themselves actually a magnificent, carved, monumental icon of the crucifixion.
Like the Ethiopian hand cross that every priest and monk carries, the bottom of the cross represents the square arc of the covenant. Other traditions relate that it represents the four corners of the world. Connecting the arc and the cross is the handle, representing the passageway to the foot of the cross, planted upon the tomb of Adam. In rare examples, the handle depicts Adam, rooted in his grave, with a shoot from the Tree of Paradise becoming the timber for the crossbeam for the crucifix. This apocryphal story is found in many older traditions, including a thread about King Solomon’s building of the Temple. The four branches of the cross emanating from the center, like the Jerusalem cross, comprise the core of the standard hand cross (Korabiewics, Waclaw, et al 1973).
As part of my research, I have come to the conclusion that every church or chapel in this complex represents an element of Christ’s sacrifice. The dual sanctuaries of Mt. Sinai (Beta Mika’el) and Golgotha comprise the two wounds of Christ’s feet. The Chapels of the Finding of the True Cross and the 40 Martyrs represent the nail-wounds in his hands. Beta Maryiam, the central place for incarnation, fully and beautifully represents the spear to his heart. For some, this similarly represents that Mary, Queen of Heaven and Co-Redemptrix, had her heart pierced as well. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the concept that St. Mary participated as an agent of redemption or salvation for humanity was promoted by the early Franciscans as a doctrine. It is not known to what extent this idea was present within the Zagwe dynasty, if at all. The Bete Medhane Alem, as the culminating sanctuary, honors the Savior of the World, and brilliantly represents his crown of thorns.
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Fig. 15 – Ethiopian hand-cross depicting Adam holding up the cross. The bottom is the Arc of the Covenant and each branch of the cross illustrates a wound, with Mary and Christ in the center (Photo SCW). A map of the Ecclesiastical structures illustrating the natural layout of the various sanctuaries (after Phillipson – 2009).
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As a sacred space, therefore, Lalibela-Lasta continues sharing the dividends of its spiritual economy, bestowing hope and identity to a nation so rich in heritage, but for so long hidden from the outside world.
Cover Image, Top Left: Bete Giyorgis (Church of St. George), Lalibela, Ethiopia. Bernard Gagnon, GNU Free Documentation License, Wikimedia Commons
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Author details: swalkercisuog@gmail.com -ET: +251-966262008 US 425-772-9123
Keywords – Ethiopia; Lalibela; King Lalibela; Lasta; Ethiopianhistory; Zagwe ethiopianorthodoxtewahedochurch; EOTC; stonechurch; pilgrim; urvuar
__________________________ By Samuel Walker
Samuel C. Walker was born and raised in East Africa and subsequently spent fifteen years in the Middle East including Yemen, Israel/West Bank, Jordan, Sudan, and Egypt. He currently is working in Ethiopia. He holds two Bachelor’s degrees; Religious Studies – Anthropology, and Natural Sciences & History, and two Master’s degrees; History and education (Western Oregon U) and Archaeology & Heritage Mgmt. (University of Leicester). For seven years he lived in the Micronesian Pacific islands conducting research on climate change, ecologies, and conducting research as lead field supervisory archaeologist for US Navy projects for EIS and cultural resource management. Since 2013, Walker has worked in Ethiopia, including establishing a Master’s program in Archaeology for Heritage Management and serving as lead field and supervisory archaeologist. As part of his research dissertation, he is working on creating graduate level field-intensive Cultural Resource Management teams (CRMT) specifically to address the critical needs of archaeological site identification, comprehensive field survey, data recovery and excavation field management skills, laboratory analysis and cultural material conservation, and presentation and display of these rich tangible and intangible heritages.
Policy choices are critical to helping developing countries transition to electric vehicles. LONDON/NEW YORK, 17 November– Nations in the Global South risk becoming a dumping ground for used internal combustion engine (ICE)vehicles unless […]
AFRICA Environmental Science Food Latest Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition TOP VIDEOSPolicy choices are critical to helping developing countries transition to electric vehicles.
LONDON/NEW YORK, 17 November– Nations in the Global South risk becoming a dumping ground for used internal combustion engine (ICE)vehicles unless governments adopt policies to seize the benefits of the electric vehicle revolution, warns a report from the financial think tank Carbon Tracker published today.
If governments in the Global South lock themselves into using ICE vehicles, they will remain dependent on fossil fuel imports. Currently, African nations spend $80 billion a year on transport fuels, 2.5% of the continent’s GDP.
But countries can break this dependency by setting policies that support a move to fully electric battery-powered vehicles. (BEVs). This shift would save nations in Asia, Africa, and South America over $100 billion annually on fuel imports, cut their trade deficits, end their dependency on offshore refining, and create new jobs in future industries.
As the chart below shows, nations that lack refining capacity to meet domestic transport fuel demand experience significant capital and foreign exchange outflow. If countriespivot their fleet to electric, these vehicles could be powered inexpensively using domestically generated renewable power, assuming the correct policy environment and industrial strategy is in place.
Ben Scott, Senior Automotive Analyst at Carbon Tracker and author of the report, said: “The Global South’s reliance on internal combustion engine vehicles, and dependency on fossil fuels, holds back the region economically. They can boost their domestic economies by incentivizing a shift to electric vehicles and kick start a positive cycle that brings faster electrification, a smart grid, and increased production and use of renewable energy. All these changes will reduce dependence on foreign nations.”
The new report, Driving Change: How Electric Vehicles Can Rise in the Global South, recommends several policies governments can use to incentivise a shift to BEVs and the creation of a domestic BEV sector – Used Car Import Bans, Age Restrictions, Emission Standards Age Based Excise Duties, eliminating tariffs on electric cars, &supporting domestic production, sales and recycling of BEVs.
Driving Change highlights how switching to BEVs can open new economic opportunities in the BEV value chain, including mineral mining, manufacturing, sales, logistics, servicing, infrastructure creation, and material recycling.
Ben Scotts said: “As the Global North phases out internal combustion engine vehicle sales, some automakers may turn to the Global South to sell these older models, locking the region into fossil fuel dependency. Now is not the time for countries in Africa, Asia, and South America to throw a lifeline to companies who want to maintain the status quo.”
– 10,025 children and youth from 117 cities in 61 countries – A part of IWPG’s initiative to spread a culture of peace- Sends a message of peace all around the world through […]
AFRICA FEATURED General Latest Magazine News Special Edition TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOS– 10,025 children and youth from 117 cities in 61 countries
– A part of IWPG’s initiative to spread a culture of peace- Sends a message of peace all around the world through drawings
This event is part of IWPG’s initiative to spread a culture of peace worldwide by planting the mindset of peace in the hearts of children and youth so that everyone can come together to realize world peace and the cessation of war. This year, 10,255 children from 117 cities in 61 countries participated. Compared to last year, nine new countries joined this year’s competition.
IWPG collaborated with national arts/artist associations to evaluate the drawings and finally selected 43 pieces, including 1 Grand Prize, 1 Gold Prize, 1 Silver Prize, and 1 Bronze Prize for each of the three divisions (9 in total), 5 Awards of Recognition for each division (15 in total), and Participation Awards.
The Head Judge of the finals, Mr. Kani Alavi, President of East Side Gallery, said, “Through this international convention, we must spread the news of peace to people around the world. I believe that if this peaceful cooperation continues, the time for peace will finally come.”
Kanoknuch Klahan (Thailand, Sripruetta School, High School division), who had the honor of winning the Grand Prize, said, “With this picture, I want to communicate the unity of the people of each country in the world. May everyone on this planet help to make peace grow.”
The Gold Prize went to Jennifer Sharon (Indonesia, Elementary division), Yu Jeong Jun (Republic of Korea, Middle School division), and Clarissa Yoselin (Indonesia, High School division).
The Silver Prize went to Jinx Liaqat (Pakistan, Elementary division), Natalia Jay Xin Hu (Malaysia, Middle School division), and Hussam Salah (Palestine, High School division). The Bronze Prize was awarded to Mikaela Allyna Sukma Saputro (Indonesia, Elementary division), Priyanka Chopra (Indonesia, Middle School division), Hyun Soo Lee (Republic of Korea, High School division).
The Award of Recognition went to Alcee Dahnya Zia M. Yarra (Philippines), Sherly Aniket More (India), Yu Gyeong Choi (Republic of Korea), Natthanan Chongkitwitsawakan (Thailand), Navanietaa A/P Jeevan (Malaysia), Mouhamad Yousef (Palestine), Chananya ThongThoi (Thailand), Maheen Gulzar (Pakistan), Purevdorj Itgelen (Mongolia), Shaikh Saima Md. Uusuf (India), Dania Aiesha Bt Zuhairee Ariffin (Malaysia), Khalzaa Enkhsaran (Mongolia), Daniel Suarez (U.S.A), Jawaher Abdalllah Al Ghoul (Lebanon), and Katerina Vrskova (Czech Republic).
Kaylie Lee Kennedy and eight other drawings were also selected to receive the Participation Award.
The Grand Prize awardee will receive a scholarship of 1 million KRW, while awardees of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Prizes will receive 300,000 KRW, 200,000 KRW, and 100,000 KRW, respectively. The Award of Recognition awardees will receive a certificate, and all the awarded pieces will be featured in the art brochure.
In congratulatory remarks, IWPG Chairwoman Hyun Sook Yoon said, “I looked at everyone’s drawings very closely, the world of peace that each child dreams of. I hope everyone remembers this spirit of peace and strives to become leaders that bring peace to the world.”
IWPG plans to host the 6th International Loving-Peace Art Competition again next year.
New global projections in the 8th annual report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveal the grave and mounting threat to the health of further delayed action on climate change, […]
AFRICA Environmental Science FEATURED General Latest Magazine News Radio & TV Special Edition TOP STORIES TOP VIDEOSimprove the health of world populations through improved energy access and security, cleaner air, safer drinking water, healthier diets and lifestyles, and more liveable cities.
New data reveal the catastrophic threat to the health and survival of billions of people all over the world and successful adaptation efforts, from any further delays in action to limit temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, according to the 2023 Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: The imperative for a health-centred response in a world facing irreversible harms.
With the world currently on track for 2.7°C of heating by 2100 and energy-related emissions reaching a new record high in 2022, the lives of current and future generations hang in the balance.
“Our health stocktake reveals that the growing hazards of climate change are costing lives and livelihoods worldwide today. Projections of a two °C hotter world reveal a dangerous future and are a grim reminder that the pace and scale of mitigation efforts seen so far have been woefully inadequate to safeguard people’s health and safety”, says Dr Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown at University College London. “With 1,337 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted every second, we aren’t reducing emissions anywhere near fast enough to keep climate hazards within the levels our health systems can cope with. Inaction has an enormous human cost, and we can’t afford this level of disengagement – we are paying in lives. Every moment we delay makes the path to a liveable future more difficult and adaptation increasingly costly and challenging.”
The 8th Lancet Countdown report led by University College London represents the work of 114 leading experts from 52 research institutions and UN agencies worldwide, including the World Health.
Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) provide the most up-to-date assessment of health and climate change links. Published ahead of the 28th UN Conference of the Parties (COP), the report presents 47 indicators that include new and improved metrics that monitor household air pollution, financing of fossil fuels, and engagement from international organizations on the health co-benefits of climate mitigation.
“There is still room for hope,” says Dr. Romanello. “The health focus at COP28 is the opportunity of our lifetime to secure commitments and action. If climate negotiations drive an equitable and rapid phase-out of fossil fuels, accelerate mitigation, and support adaptation efforts for health, the ambitions of the Paris Agreement to limit global heating to 1.5 °C are still achievable, and a prosperous, healthy future lies within reach. Unless such progress materializes, the growing emphasis on health within climate change negotiations risks being just empty words, with each fraction of a degree of heating exacerbating the harms felt by billions of people alive today and the generations to come.”
Climate inaction is already costing lives and livelihoods
The failure to mitigate climate change seriously is self-evident, with health-related losses and damages soaring globally. In 2023, the world experienced the hottest global temperatures in over 100,000 years, and heat records were broken on every continent, exposing people worldwide to deadly harm.
Even at the current 10-year global average of 1.14°C of heating, people experienced 86 days of health-threatening high temperatures in 2018-2022, over 60% of which were made more than twice as likely to occur because of artificial climate change. Heat-related deaths in people over 65 increased by 85% in 2013-2022 compared to 1991-2000, substantially above the 38% increase expected had temperatures not changed (i.e., accounting only for changing demographics).
The increasing destructiveness of extreme weather events jeopardizes water security and food production, putting millions at risk of malnutrition. More frequent heatwaves and droughts were responsible for 127 million more people experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity in 122 countries in 2021 than annually between 1981 and 2010.
Similarly, changing weather patterns are accelerating the spread of life-threatening infectious diseases. For example, warmer seas have increased the area of the world’s coastline suitable for the spread of Vibrio bacteria that can cause illness and death in humans by 329km every year since 1982, putting a record 1.4 billion people at risk of diarrhoeal disease, severe wound infections, and sepsis [3]. The threat is exceptionally high in Europe, where Vibrio-suitable coastal waters have increased by 142km yearly.
Healthcare systems are the first line of defense for protecting people from the growing health harms of the changing climate. But even the current 1.14°C of heating is putting severe pressure on health services, with 27% (141/525) of surveyed cities reporting concerns over their health systems being overwhelmed by the impacts of climate change.
Strikingly, the total value of economic losses resulting from extreme weather events was estimated at US$264 billion in 2022, 23% higher than in 2010-2014. Heat exposure also led to 490 billion potential labor hours lost globally in 2022 (a nearly 42% increase from 1991-2000), with income losses accounting for a much higher proportion of GDP in low- (6.1%) and middle-income countries (3.8%). These losses increasingly harm livelihoods, restricting the capacity to cope and recover from the impacts of climate change.
“We’re facing a crisis on top of a crisis,” warns Dr. Georgiana Gordon-Strachan, Director of the Lancet Countdown Regional Centre for Small Island Developing States. “People living in poorer countries, who are often least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, are bearing the brunt of the health impacts but are least able to access funding and technical capacity to adapt to the deadly storms, rising seas, and
crop-withering droughts worsened by global heating. Despite this, rich nations have broken their
long-standing pledge to deliver the comparatively modest sum of US$100 billion a year to help vulnerable countries cope with climate change, jeopardizing a fair, equitable transition to a healthy future.”
For the first time, this year’s report provides a disturbing glimpse of what could lie ahead in a heating world. New projections, developed with the support of the Climate Vulnerability Forum (CVF), outline the rapidly growing risks to population health if the 1.5°C target is missed, with every health hazard monitored by The Lancet Countdown predicted to worsen if temperatures rise to 2°C by the end of the century.
Under this scenario, yearly heat-related deaths are projected to increase by 370% by mid-century, with heat exposure expected to increase the hours of potential labor lost globally by 50%. More frequent heatwaves could lead to around 525 million more people experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity by 2041-2060, exacerbating the global risk of malnutrition [4].
Life-threatening infectious diseases are also projected to spread further by mid-century, with the length of coastline suitable for Vibrio bacteria expanding by 17%–25% and leading to 23–39% more cases, and the transmission potential for dengue increasing by 36%–37%—contributing to its rapid global expansion.
“In the face of such dire projections, adaptation alone cannot keep up with the impacts of climate change, and the costs are rapidly becoming unsurmountable,” says Professor Stella Hartinger, Director of the Lancet Countdown Regional Centre for Latin America. “We must go beyond treating the health symptoms of climate change to focus on primary prevention. The root causes of climate change must be tackled through rapidly accelerating mitigation across all sectors to ensure the magnitude of health hazards does not breach the capacity of health systems to adapt. Unless governments finally start to act on these warnings, things will get much, much worse.”
The 2022 Lancet Countdown report highlighted the opportunity to accelerate the transition from health-harming fossil fuels in response to the global energy crisis [2022 Report – Lancet Countdown]. However, this year’s report data reveal a world moving in the wrong direction.
New and updated indicators reveal that investment and lending on fossil fuels are on the rise. The carbon emissions of the global energy system (the most significant single contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions) grew by 0.9% in 2022 to a record 36.8 Gt, while governments keep incentivizing fossil fuel expansion. In 2020, 69 of 87 countries (responsible for 93% of all global carbon emissions) provided fossil fuel subsidies to the net value of $305 billion—exceeding 10% of national health spending in 26 countries and 50% in 10 countries.
The finance sector also contributes to growing health threats, with total private bank lending to fossil fuels reaching $572 billion in 2017-2021. The 40 private banks that lend the most to fossil fuels collectively invested US$489 billion every year between 2017 and 2021 in the industry, and over half increased their lending from 2010-2016, further hindering the zero-emission energy transition.
Together, the world’s 20 most significant oil and gas giants have increased their projected fossil fuel production levels since last year, which would result in greenhouse gas emissions surpassing levels compatible with 1.5°C of warming by 173% in 2040 (up from a 112% increase expected from their 2022 strategies), further reducing their compliance with the Paris Agreement. Concerningly, fossil fuel companies allocated just 4% of their capital investment to renewables in 2022, putting a healthy future further out of reach.
Meanwhile, the most underserved countries are being left behind in the clean energy transition, and inequitable access to clean energy has left the most vulnerable communities reliant on air-polluting fuels. Despite plentiful natural renewable energy resources, just 2.3% of electricity comes from clean renewables in low-income countries (compared with 11% in wealthy countries), and 92% of households still rely on polluting biomass (such as wood or dung) to cook and heat their homes (compared with 7.5% in wealthy nations).
“With the world on the brink of irreversible harm, the fact that governments and companies shamelessly continue to invest in oil and gas amounts to them ensuring that the Paris 1.5°C target will not be achieved,
putting the health of millions of people at risk”, says Professor Paul Ekins, Lancet Countdown Working Group Lead on Economics and Finance. “Both this investment in fossil fuels and the subsidies that continue to be poured into fossil fuel production and consumption must be urgently redirected to incentivize the expansion and affordability of clean, renewable energy and activities that improve public health and resilience.”
Despite the scale of the challenges, the report outlines the life-changing health benefits that could come from a health-centered transition to a zero-carbon future that prioritizes equity and justice within climate action.
At the heart of this ambition is a commitment to enabling and supporting an accelerated transition to clean energy and energy efficiency in low-income countries. “Empowering countries to transition from dirty fuels towards local, modern renewable sources of energy would bring not only immediate health benefits but also reduce socioeconomic and health inequities by developing local skills, generating jobs, supporting local economies, and delivering energy to off-grid areas to electrify homes and healthcare facilities, particularly in areas where energy poverty still undermines people’s health and wellbeing,” says Professor Ian Hamilton, Lancet Countdown Working Group Lead on Mitigation Actions and Health Co-benefits.
Simultaneously, improvements in air quality could prevent many of the 1.9 million deaths every year from exposure to fuel-derived outdoor air pollution and millions more from indoor air pollution.
Shifting to accessible active, public, and electric travel could avert many of the 460,000 deaths caused annually by travel-related PM2·5 emissions while improving health by supporting physical activity.
At the same time, accelerating a transition to healthier, low-carbon diets could prevent up to 12 million deaths due to poor diets every year, as well as reduce 57% of agricultural emissions from dairy and red meat production. These gains would also deliver healthier populations, reduce pressures on health systems, help minimize healthcare-related emissions, and promote health equity.
While swift action is urgently needed, there are some encouraging signs of progress, signaling what could be the start of a life-saving transition. This year’s report reveals that deaths from fossil fuel-derived air pollution have fallen almost 16% since 2005, with 80% of this decline due to efforts to reduce pollution from coal burning.
At the same time, global investment in clean energy grew 15% in 2022 to US$1.6 trillion, exceeding fossil fuel investment by 61%. Meanwhile, lending to the green energy sector rose to US$498 billion in 2021, approaching fossil fuel lending. As a result, renewable energy accounted for 90% of the growth in electricity capacity in 2022, and employment in renewables reached a record high with 12.7 million employees in 2021.
Ultimately, this year’s Lancet Countdown report solidifies the need for global collaboration and action on an unprecedented scale from governments, businesses, and the public. “While ambition to unlock money for adaptation will be critical, health-centered action requires urgent mitigation,” says Professor Anthony Costello, Co-Chair of the Lancet Countdown. “This will require defending people’s health from the interests of the fossil fuel and other health-harming industries. Transformative climate action is needed today to enable a future where present and future generations can thrive.”
Responding to the report publication, UN Secretary-General António Guterres (who was not involved in writing the report) says, “We are already seeing a human catastrophe unfolding with the health and livelihoods of billions across the world endangered by record-breaking heat, crop-failing droughts, rising levels of hunger, growing infectious disease outbreaks, and deadly storms and floods.
“The continuing expansion of fossil fuels is a death sentence to millions. There is no excuse for a persistent delay in climate action. Temperature rise must be limited to 1.5°C to avert the worst of climate change, save millions of lives, and help protect the health of everyone on earth.”