Vision Ethiopia 4th Conference September 22, 2017 Final Program
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Vision Ethiopia 4th Conference September 2017 final Program
Vision Ethiopia- ESAT Fourth Conference
Building Democratic Institutions in Ethiopia
የዲሞክራሲ ተቋማትን በኢትዮጵያ ስለመግንባት
September 23 & 24, 2017
U.S. Navy Memorial – Naval Heritage Center; 701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Suite 123
Washington, DC 20004
Final (updated) program and guidelines for presenters
Saturday, September 23
8:30 Registration and Coffee
9:30 Welcome, Master of Ceremonies, order of the day
9:35 Prayers & messages of peace from religious leaders
10:05 Welcome, Ato Abebe Gelaw, Executive Director, Ethiopian Satellite and Radio Station
10:15 Opening and welcome, Professor Getachew Begashaw, Harper College, Chicago, and President of Vision Ethiopia
10:30 Special Session #1
Session Theme: United States’ policy towards the Horn of Africa and the rationale for the draft Bill before U.S. Congress, H.R.128 “Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia”, 115th Congress 2017-2018 and S.Res.168 – “A resolution supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia”
Moderator: Professor Minga Negash, MSU Denver and University of the Witwatersrand
Speaker #1: Mr. Ryan Clark, Legislative Assistant to Congressman Mike Coffman, U.S. Representative for Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District
Speaker #2: Deacon Yoseph Tafari, Colorado, Member of the Advocacy Network for H.R. 128 and Witness before the House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations (Committee on Foreign Affairs), March 9, 2017.
11:30 Panel #1
Panel theme: Outmigration, the diaspora & its role in building democratic institutions in Ethiopia
Moderator: Professor Abu Girma Moges, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Panelists
Dr. Araya Amsalu, Ohio, and Engineer Ayneshet Gelagay, Colorado, Ethiopian Advocacy Network, “The role of the Diaspora in building democracy in Ethiopia”
Ato Dinberu Zenebe, OGDOSUNMU Certified Public Accountants, “Role of the ግዩራን in building democracy.”
Professor Getachew Metaferia, Morgan State University, “The push and pull factors of outmigration in Ethiopia and Government’s attitude of send us your money … and stay out of politics”
1:15 Lunch Break
2:15 Panel #2
Panel theme: Conflict, institutions, rights, transition & national unity
Moderator: Dr. Ashenafi Gossay, Former Asst. Professor at Addis Ababa University, and Fulbright Fellow & Faculty at University of Washington, Seattle
Panelists:
Dr. Semahagn Gashu, Visiting Professor, School of Arts and Sciences, Endicott College, Massachusetts. Author of The Last Post-Cold War Socialist Federation: Ethnicity, Ideology and Democracy in Ethiopia, Ashgate Publisher, 2014. “The future of federal system in Ethiopia”
Ato Metmku Yohannes, Maryland, Former Member of Legal Department, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, “How Ethiopia treats its people with disability.”
3:45 Coffee Break
4:00 Panel # 3
Panel Theme: Redefining Ethiopian-ism amid the resurgence of regionalism and region focused political institutions
Moderator: Ato Yilma Zerihun, Environment Program Coordinator, City of Dallas (Texas).
Panelists
Dr. Aberra Molla, Colorado, Inventor and Patent Holder for “Ethiopic Character Entry and Phonetic Keyboards”. Writing Ethiopian languages using phonetic keyboards (ፊደል).
Commander (Ret) Assefa Seifu, United Kingdom, Former President of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and a former officer of the abolished Ethiopian Navy, Rethinking Ethiopian-ism in post conflict Ethiopia”.
Dr. Erku Yimer, Chairman of Ethiopiawinnet: Council for the Defense of Citizen Rights (ECDCR) and Former Director of Ethiopian Community Association in Chicago, “Ethiopiawinnet: A flagship for Citizen’s Identity; bonded and spirited by fundamental principles of unfettered rights within the territorial integrity of the Ethiopian State.”
5:45 End of Day #1
19:00 Dinner and socialization (on your own @ preferred restaurants)
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Sunday September 24
8:30 Registration and Coffee
9:30 Welcome, Master of Ceremonies & Sunday morning prayer
9:40 Panel #4 PART A
Panel theme: Rights, institutions and the emerging geopolitics in the Horn of Africa
Moderator: Ato Yilma Zerihun, Environment Program Coordinator, City of Dallas (Texas).
Panelists:
W/T Fasika Woldesenbet, Canada, “Equitable food policy in post-conflict Ethiopia”
Ato Geletaw Zeleke, Ethiopian Dialogue Forum and Research Institute, “Ethiopian political organizations and the need for a new code of allegiance”.
11:10 Coffee Break
11:30 Panel #4: PART B
Panel theme: Rights, institutions and the emerging geopolitics in the Horn of Africa
Moderator: Ato Gizaw Legesse, Director of Information Technology at OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington DC
Panelists
Dr. Yohannes Zeleke, Research Collaborator at the Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of Natural History and Licensed Tour Specialist. Washington DC, “The Myth and realty of the Ethiopian elite in the making of Ethiopia”
Dr. Ayele Tadesse, Formerly Auditor, Price Waterhouse Hungary, and Expert in Finance and Tax, Nashville Tennessee, “የዲሞክራሲ ሽግግር በኢትዮጵያ”, Lessons from other Successful Transitions
1:00 Lunch Break
2:00 Special Session #2
Session theme: Perspectives from Ethiopian political organizations on building national democratic institutions
Moderator: Professor Getachew Begashaw, Harper College, Chicago
Speakers
Dr. Mesfin Abdi, Oromo Democratic Front & Ethiopian National Movement
Ato Tazebew Assefa, Amhara Democratic Movement Force (ADMF)
Lieutenant (Ret) Berhanu Woldesenbet, Southwestern Ethiopia Democratic Forces
4:00 Coffee break
4:15 Panel # 5
Panel theme: Corruption, public trust, institutions and economic development
Moderator: Dr. Ashenafi Gossay, Former Asst. Professor at Addis Ababa University, and Fulbright Fellow & Faculty at University of Washington, Seattle
Panelists
Professor Seid Hassan and Professor Minga Negash, Murray State University and MSU Denver “Corruption, state capture and the effectiveness of anticorruption institutions in Sub Sahara Africa: the case of Ethiopia”
Professor Abu Girma Moges, University of Tsukuba, Japan, “Ethiopia: Economic Policy, Institutions, and Long-Term Development Objectives”
5:45 Conference communique and vote of thanks
6:00 End of conference
Guidelines for presenters, moderators, participants & the media
We are delighted that you will be participating in the Conference on “Building Democratic Institutions in Ethiopia” which will be held between September 23 & 24, 2017 at the U.S. Navy Memorial – Naval Heritage Center; 701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Suite 123. These guidelines are issued for all conference participants (moderators, panelists, speakers and audience) to establish standards and expectations.
Registration
Registration for the conference will take place in the foyer of the conference venue starting from 8:30 am, September 23 & 24, 2017. Since the venue is rented starting from 9 am, please be patient. Please be there on time; allow sufficient amount of travel time as DC traffic and locating the venue may require extra time. All meetings will start right on time regardless of the number of people present. Therefore, your punctuality is appreciated and it is very important not to miss any session.
Guidelines for Moderators
One of the most important responsibilities of session moderators is enforcing time allotments; start and finish sessions on time. We ask moderators to do the following:
• Please arrive at least ten minutes before the scheduled starting time to make sure that all necessary audio and visual equipment are in full operating order.
• State the ground rules at the beginning of the session. Introduce all panelists at the beginning of the session.
• Insist on collegiality and a tone of respect during Q & A at all times.
• Monitor the clock. Presenters should be alerted five minutes before the end of their time and are stopped on time.
• Ensure that questions from the audience and response from presenters are short and to the point, max 2 minutes each, and give regard to que at the microphone.
Guidelines for Presenters
The goal of presentations is to make the public aware of issues that affect Ethiopia. It is to inform Ethiopians about your considered work, for the wellbeing of all Ethiopians and indeed humanity. It is to engage in discussion, and learn from each other’s research and experiences. It is not a platform for marketing. Please, follow the following guidelines to make your presentation effective:
• Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes in advance of your session start time in order to prepare, set up, and check any technology you might plan to use.
• Ensure that review comments on the earlier version of your papers are incorporated in your presentation. Please fine tune your presentation to the theme of the panel. Ensure that your presentation is of high quality, visible and understandable by the general public. Note that your presentation is targeted at the people of Ethiopia both at home and in the Diaspora, and not limited to the participants in the conference hall. As much as possible avoid technical jargons, crude generalizations, and inflammatory and/or offensive language. Use the formal names of political organizations, institutions or individuals.
• Keep your talk to 25 minutes or less. Try to get your key messages across as early as possible. If your presentation is longer than allotted time you run the risk of being cut off, without finishing.
• As courtesy to others, please always remember that you are taking others time when you are going beyond the time allotted to you.
• Avoid anecdotal evidence and being prescriptive and too opinionated without sufficient evidence.
• Limit your answers to any question directed to you to two minutes or less.
• Authors who believe that their paper meets the standards set by the Ethiopian Journal of Innovation and Foresight (http://www.nesglobal.org/eejrif4/index.php?journal=admin) can submit directly to the journal. Vision Ethiopia does not prohibit authors from publishing their work in other outlets.
Guidelines for Audience
Audience involvement is a crucial part of this conference and we encourage all to participate during the Q & A time. If you are interested to ask a question:
• Please line up in front of the microphone and politely wait and listen while others before you are asking questions.
• Make sure that your question is relevant to the theme of the session; identify your name and the presenter you want to answer your question.
• It’s a matter of courtesy for everyone in the room to be brief and ideally ask only one question within a maximum of two minutes, no long commentaries and discourse as that would require longer engagement outside the allocated time.
• Please note the difference between panel discussions and special sessions. Panels are responses to the three rounds of call for papers. The papers were reviewed.
Guideline for Media
All members of the media are welcome to attend the conference, ask questions and report about the conference. Please note that since Vision Ethiopia is in partnership with ESAT, ESAT has the exclusive right to record and transmit the proceedings of the conference to the general public. The intellectual property rests on the authors of the papers. Clips and sound bites for each session which are no longer than five minutes might be taken for reporting purposes. Other than this, no part of the conference may be videoed or recorded in full and transmitted without the knowledge and prior approval of Vision Ethiopia.
