Experts to Help Ethiopia Gear Up for Future Challenges
ADDIS ABEBA – Over 300 Ethiopian academics from various sectors are set to meet in Addis Ababa to help the country draw economic policy that could withstand possible challenges in the coming 30 years.
The international conference, to be held under the theme Ethiopia2050: Grand Challenge and Opportunities from Dec 19 to 20, plans to bring experts from home and abroad together.
It aims to deliver diverse perspectives on the national development plan supporting document for policymakers, the organizers of the conference say.
The conference will gear up the country to respond to the growing population that is expected to be around 200 million by 2050, according to Ethiopia 2050 International Steering-Committee.
Unless proactive efforts in predicting these massive needs are carried out early and thoughtful plans to address these are prepared accordingly, it will be hard not only to eliminate poverty but also to avoid the threat of the accompanying highly destabilizing societal problems, they said.
The committee has identified at least 10 Grand Challenges that will be covered and discussed in the two-day conference, said Tesfaye Workneh (Eng.), president of one of the organizers Join Ethiopia Engineers Associations (JEEA).
These challenges are related to health, clean water, large-scale urbanization, food security, energy demand, education, employment, sustainability and environmental issues.
Besides, the meeting will deliberate on ways to develop manufacturing, transportation and ICT infrastructure expansion.
Tesfaye said participants will recommend possible solution frameworks for policymakers to prepare the country and respond to multi-sectorial challenges that could happen in 2050.
“Our interest is giving the chance to the next generation to live a better life by making better policy directions now,” Tesfaye added.
Apart from JEEPA, the Ethiopian Academy of Science (EAS), Ethiopian Economic Associations (EEA), and Unity University are the co-host of the conference which will be held at Skylight Hotel.
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By Sisay Sahlu
