FES last week brought together young leaders from East and
Central Africa for a four days conference in Addis Ababa. This conference
incorporated presentations from guest speakers, deliberations from the
participants and a visit to the African Union Headquarters. In we had dinners
so as to socialize and get to know about each other’s countries in an informal
setting.
Kenya was ably represented by a contingent of five [three
gents and two ladies] who hail from various backgrounds. This was my first time
in Addis and in the wake to the visit I had got different perspectives as to
what to expect in Addis Ababa. Some of the things I had been told to expect
turned out to be true while others we’re NOT.
Better Understanding
of East African Region
One of my main take-away from this conference is a better
understanding of this region. I greatly appreciated presentations and talking
to Rwandan delegation. This folks have a lot going on in their country. I also
learnt of their two months initiative where they crowd source monies from the
populace to fill in the gaps of donor money. I thought this is a pretty good
nation building tool where you have folks from all social structure
contributing money to build their nation. I also got to appreciate the
leadership of HE Paul Kagame. The folks in Rwanda approach things in a
different way as opposed to us!
The Southern Sudan delegation also caught my eye. The
delegation was made up of US and British educated young lads. These guys also
are NOT politicized as we are and are time conscious and have a western look.
We talked at length with this delegation and I got an insider’s perspective
into happening in Juba.
The other insights generated are how outsiders perceive
Kenyans especially Ugandan’s. The Uganda delegation had this joke
‘I have finished my diner as fast as the
swearing ceremony of Kenya’s president’
If you are an
Investor Ethiopia is the place
In Addis Ababa you will not miss seeing rapid infrastructure
development. Just to drive the point home from my hotel lobby I was able to
spot more than ten building being out up. Also during our visit to the AU hq we
saw the building of Sheraton Hotel next to the AU hq.
However, this said I experienced problems of changing my
foreign currency. If you are visiting Ethiopia then it is best advised you
change your currency at the airport. Otherwise you risk exchanging your cash in
the black market which charges a premium of about 10%.
In terms of the media I had a look at the hotel newspaper
and it seems very small and only does reportage with very few opinion pieces.
The town has a huge Chinese influx. The road from the
airport is being constructed by the Chinese.
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| China Aid Plaque at AU Hq |
The African Union
Visit
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| AU Hq |
There is lots happening at the African Union and as a
citizenry we should ask for more reporting. I learned of the ‘I am African
Project’ there plus in my opinion there are lots of opportunities which Kenya
can tap into at the AU.
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| I am African Project |
In the arts, I was able to see a quite a few paintings which
had been donated by Northern African states namely Egyptian & Algerian
government.
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| Art at the AU Hq |
Ethiopian Nights
Ethiopians unlike Kenyan’s really appreciate their culture
and you will notice despite the economic growth the country is experiencing it
is still a melting pot of rich traditions. In fact most of the Ethiopians
prefer to speak in their dialect and English I came to learn is taught from
secondary level of education.
 |
| Ethiopian Nights |
Bottom Line
Young leader and youth should be given more chances to
interact so that the region can forge cohesion from an early age. If it could
be possible to begin such initiatives from as back as high school it would be
great. Also, more chances for citizens from Africa to visit the AU HQ’s are
needed.
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