WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tsehai Conferences announced its third Annual Conference, which will be held at George Washington School of Law in Washington, D.C., a city renown for its vibrant yet burgeoning Ethiopian community, from June 28 to July 3, 2008.
The conference theme, “Ethiopia’s Youth, Ethiopia’s Future,” will serve as a forum to discuss new developments in Ethiopia’s social and political landscape and provide participants with the opportunity to network with leaders in diverse sectors of the Ethiopian community from around the world.
Founder of Tsehai Conferences Elias Wondimu, an exiled journalist and now Publisher, said, “as Ethiopia passed its watershed millennium mark almost one year ago, it is important to remember that the youth have arrived to claim its future.” In this spirit, Tsehai Conferences proudly announces the first conference that focuses on the youth and about the future of the youth. “The youth are frequent subjects of conversation, but in spite of their significant role, very little space has been made for them,” Wondimu said. “Tsehai Conference 2008 will lead the effort in bridging this gap,” he added.
Most importantly, the conference will remain a neutral space to ensure that the conference continues to have the most thorough and deep conversations possible, Wondimu explained. “The conference is not ideological, rather it is a medium for the exchange of thought.” The Conference also aspires to help participants gain insight into the past by featuring leaders of the 1970’s student movements and the then political leaders, and also highlights today’s young professionals and community leaders to show their vision for tomorrow.
The conference will include a film festival featuring various documentaries as well as a feature film, lectures and numerous panel discussions. The panelists will address current issues that have been at the center of discussions, past legacies, current challenges and future prospects. While helping us understand various problems Ethiopians confront, panelists will also recommend strategies for solving problems and moving ahead forward.
“Bringing the youth into the center of our conversation allows us to learn from our past mistakes without recrimination, and frees us to look into the future with an open arms towards each other” Wondimu said. “It is important for us to accept that it is impossible to undo our past mistakes, but we can do the right things today, in order for the young generation to start fresh and build the future with a new vision.”
Tsehai Publishers widely known for its books conceives of the conference as an important supplement to its contribution to knowledge production. Indeed “to many of our authors, it is an opportunity to get out of one’s desk and interact with the public, a page simply is not enough for people to truly understand the humanity behind the dialogue,” Wondimu said.
Tsehai Conference panels will provide attendees perspectives from distinguished friends and Ethiopian scholars, researchers, politicians, artists, educators, historians, social scientists, journalists, and authors who will be addressing diverse issues of importance in a format that can engage its audience into fruitful discussions. Our distinguished panelists will include Messay Kebede, Alem Hailu, Damtew Taffesse, Ayele Bekerie, Davis Shinn, Sulyman Young, Yonas Kifle, Kay Shelemay, Tseday Abera, Terrence Lyons, Pietro Toggia, Muse Clark, Belachew Yemaneh, Winta Teferi, Ellias Fullmore, Nahom Beyene, Abezash Tamrat, and more. (check the website for updated list.)
The conference is sponsored by the George Washington University, School of Law; Loyola Marymount University; Katten Muchin Resenman LLP; Howard University’s African Studies Department; PEN USA; Antioch University, Los Angeles; and George Mason University’s Center for Global Studies. The conference is also a collaborative effort, including the Ethiopian Heritage Foundation, Tsehai Publishers and Distributors, Ethiopian Institute for Nonviolence Education and Peace Studies, AGM Enterprise and the African Tribune.
For more information regarding past conferences and details regarding Tsehai Conferences 2008, visit the website at http://www.tsehaiconferences.com, or contact us via email: [email protected].
Nader Alsheikh can be reached at via email: [email protected].