Ethiopian National Dialogue to launch in October
MIND-Ethiopia, a local initiative, announced it plans to launch the national dialogue in October 2021. This was disclosed at a discussion the consortium held with various stakeholders on the preparations made so far since its establishment last year.
Dubbed Multistakeholder Initiative for National Dialogue (MIND), the initiative was launched in August 2020, by eight organizations drawn from civic societies, the government and political parties.
Over the past one year, MIND has been holding dialogues at different levels with various representatives of the general public including political parties, local level community members, media stakeholders, historians, and the government.
So far, more than 44 million people have been discussing at different levels to gather topics for the main national dialogue.
“It should not be a dialogue for the elites only. People should engage in the dialogue by identifying topics that are relevant to their respective interests,” Negusu Aklilu, one of the founders of MIND-Ethiopia explained.
Therefore, community members at different levels identified various topics relevant for them and some administrative matters raised in the process were resolved on the spot, Negusu said.
The successes over the past one year, according to Negusu, include identification of agendas for the dialogue as well as the secrecy of the discussions held.
Ambassadors’ Group and Technical Working Group were also established by diplomatic missions and aid organizations operating in Ethiopia. These include Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, USAID, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and others, it was stated.
The continued violence and conflicts, rigid political culture, complex and dynamic political landscape, inconsistent and vague messaging concerning the national dialogue from various institutions were identified as challenges for the national dialogue.
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