US Embassy, Entrepreneurship Development Center Launch Mentorship Program in Ethiopia

The United States Embassy in Addis Ababa has partnered with the Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) to promote entrepreneurship development in Ethiopia with the launch of a Mentorship Program.

EDC is a part-government entity that aims to enhance the skills and competencies of entrepreneurs through training and business development support to achieve profitability, competitiveness and sustainability.

The United States supports the growth and development of entrepreneurship globally to foster self-sufficiency, initiative and innovation ultimately creating jobs and fueling economic growth around the world.

This Mentorship Program in Ethiopia connects successful aspiring Ethiopian entrepreneurs with experienced entrepreneur mentors, who provide them with coaching and technical assistance to help them grow their businesses.

A total of 14 Ethiopian companies which have been competitively selected will undergo the program for the next six months; identifying specific areas for improvement with their mentors and establishing targets to measure progress.

The mentors and mentees will be honoured during the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2017 scheduled for November this year where the entrepreneur who will have demonstrated the most improvement will receive special recognition. Read more here

14th round of talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over Renaissance Dam fail

The 14th round of talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the latter’s Renaissance Dam on the River Nile have failed. A statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation said on Tuesday that some remaining unresolved points will be discussed later, without announcing the date and place of the new meeting.

The ministry pointed out said that this round of talks of the Tripartite National Committee aimed to study the effects of the dam on the respective countries’ share of water from the great river. The meetings were attended by specialists from all three countries and the current stage of the discussions will focus on determining the technical details of the method to be followed when conducting studies of the dam.

According to Sudanese sources, however, “The Ethiopian side was obstinate toward Egyptian options during the tripartite negotiations, not least with regard to the period while the lake behind the dam is being filled, which is expected to reduce Egypt’s annual share of Nile water.” Read more here

Ethiopia replies EU MPs: Quit criticisms and give 'constructive support'

The Ethiopian government has formally responded to a resolution passed by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) condemning the country’s human rights situation and what it called ‘political persecution.’

The response was carried in a communique issued by the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels, Belgium, which is incidentally the seat of the European Union.

The response titled ‘‘The EP Resolution on Ethiopia lacks understanding on important issues,’‘ tackled five major areas chiefly amongst them, the arrest of leading opposition figure, Dr. Merera Gudina, the state of emergency and Ethiopia’s internal probe into protest deaths.

It can only be hoped that the European Parliament will find ways to positively support the Ethiopian Parliament and other Ethiopian government institutions in the implementation of this framework (human rights), not by criticizing, but through a constructive support.

The two other areas were on the human right situation and finally on the political space. The authorities insisted that the country was making headway with wide-ranging reforms, which needed the support of the MEPs and not their criticisms.

‘‘It can only be hoped that the European Parliament will find ways to positively support the Ethiopian Parliament and other Ethiopian government institutions in the implementation of this framework (human rights), not by criticizing, but through a constructive support,’‘ a section under the human rights situation in the country read.

Responding to the arrest and charge brought against Dr. Gudina, the authorities disclosed that he had violated deliberately the state of emergency rules by meeting with and holding discussions with the leader of a banned group (Ginbot-7) whiles he was in Brussels.

‘‘Dr. Merera Gudina knows very well that Ginbot-7 was designated as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian Parliament due to its numerous terrorist actions in different parts of the country. By meeting and discussing with the leader of this organization in Brussels from 7-9 November 2016, Dr. Merera Gudina deliberately violated the state of emergency.

‘‘As a leader of a political party, he is particularly supposed to respect and protect the laws and to know that anyone who breaches the law will be held accountable, and the European Parliament should also acknowledge this,’‘ the statement added.

It also reiterated that the government went through the due process in declaring the state of emergency which was not decided for political motives but to preserve the country’s stability. It referred to the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report into the protest deaths as a sign of Ethiopia’s ability to probe itself.

Ethiopia said it was disappointed that the MEPs failed to recognize that the government had opened talks with 17 opposition parties and had also launched its second National Human Rights Action Plan as part of efforts to deepen its democratic credentials.

The government has yet to comment on the resolution by 14 United States Senators who are also calling for the opening of the democratic space and respect for human rights. Read more here

Ethiopian icons spotlighted in next exhibit

CLINTON - The Museum of Russian Icons is opening a new mini-exhibit, “From the Vault: Icons of Ethiopia,” on Saturday, May 20. This exhibit features a mix of Ethiopian icons, silver hand crosses, and artifacts from the museum’s collection dating from the 19th and 20th century. Many of the icons were purchased from Ikon Gallery in Berlin, Germany, between 2011 and 2014, including a Mother of God fresco, from the late 18th century that had been removed from the wall and transferred to canvas. “This very rare icon is one of the great treasures of the museum’s collection,” noted Museum Curator Kent Russell.

Ethiopian iconography, which didn’t appear until the 16th century, is easily recognized by the stylized and graphically bold figures with large, almond-shaped eyes painted in bright and vivid colors. These icons could be found in monasteries, churches, and the homes of the wealthy.

A newly acquired “magic scroll” will also be on view in the exhibit. This traditional Ethiopian art form is based on ancient beliefs that illnesses and other crises were the work of demons. A cleric of the Ethiopian Church would create the scroll, customized to the height of the patron, and inscribed with healing prayers and stories of saints and angels triumphing over Satan. They were written in Ge’ez, the liturgical language of Ethiopia. The scrolls were believed to have protective and healing powers, and were always carried by the owner.

"The practice of creating and using magic scrolls continues today, despite attempts by church officials to eliminate what they see as a superstitious tradition,” Russell said.

Next up in the main first floor gallery is “Fantastic Beasts in Iconography,” a family-oriented exhibit which will explore natural and unnatural creatures in icons and their symbolic meanings. The exhibition opens on June 3 with a special Family Day featuring animal-themed games, stories, crafts, snacks and face painting. Read more here

Amharic fidels (Amharic Alphabet)

Amharic fidels

ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ ሆ
ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ ሏ
ሐ ሑ ሒ ሓ ሔ ሕ ሖ ሗ
መ ሙ ሚ ማ ሜ ም ሞ ሟ
ሠ ሡ ሢ ሣ ሤ ሥ ሦ ሧ
ረ ሩ ሪ ራ ሬ ር ሮ ሯ
ሰ ሱ ሲ ሳ ሴ ስ ሶ ሷ
ሸ ሹ ሺ ሻ ሼ ሽ ሾ ሿ
ቀ ቁ ቂ ቃ ቄ ቅ ቆ ቈ ቊ ቋ ቌ ቍ
በ ቡ ቢ ባ ቤ ብ ቦ ቧ
ቨ ቩ ቪ ቫ ቬ ቭ ቮ ቯ
ተ ቱ ቲ ታ ቴ ት ቶ ቷ
ቸ ቹ ቺ ቻ ቼ ች ቾ ቿ
ኀ ኁ ኂ ኃ ኄ ኅ ኆ ኈ ኊ ኋ ኌ ኍ
ነ ኑ ኒ ና ኔ ን ኖ ኗ
ኘ ኙ ኚ ኛ ኜ ኝ ኞ ኟ
አ ኡ ኢ ኣ ኤ እ ኦ ኧ
ከ ኩ ኪ ካ ኬ ክ ኮ ኰ ኲ ኳ ኴ ኵ
ኸ ኹ ኺ ኻ ኼ ኽ ኾ ዀ ዂ ዃ ዄ ዅ
ወ ዉ ዊ ዋ ዌ ው ዎ
ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ
ዘ ዙ ዚ ዛ ዜ ዝ ዞ ዟ
ዠ ዡ ዢ ዣ ዤ ዥ ዦ ዧ
የ ዩ ዪ ያ ዬ ይ ዮ
ደ ዱ ዲ ዳ ዴ ድ ዶ ዷ
ጀ ጁ ጂ ጃ ጄ ጅ ጆ ጇ
ገ ጉ ጊ ጋ ጌ ግ ጎ ጐ ጒ ጓ ጔ ጕ
ጠ ጡ ጢ ጣ ጤ ጥ ጦ ጧ
ጨ ጩ ጪ ጫ ጬ ጭ ጮ ጯ
ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ ጷ
ጸ ጹ ጺ ጻ ጼ ጽ ጾ ጿ
ፀ ፁ ፂ ፃ ፄ ፅ ፆ
ፈ ፉ ፊ ፋ ፌ ፍ ፎ ፏ
ፐ ፑ ፒ ፓ ፔ ፕ ፖ ፗ