Ethnicity is a key element of an individual's identity. Within a society, sometimes as a result of a process of migration, ethnicity has implications for social inclusion and access to rights at both the national and international level. We work with partners on key UK and Ethiopia developments and networks at both policy and civil society levels to enable us to positively enhance accommodation of ethnic diversity and cultural pluralism within a democratic political framework.

What did we do?
In April we organised an event entitled 'Ethnic Federalism: the challenges for Ethiopia' in partnership with Addis Ababa University. The seminar was hugely successful, in that it brought together policy-makers, civil society activists and academics to discuss Ethiopia's key governance issue in a cross-comparative light- alongside case studies from Nigeria, India and Europe (thus taking Ethiopia discussions on ethnicity away from a country-specific or even 'Africa only' focus). This event achieved high impact in-country, both at academic and policy levels.

What was the purpose of this activity?
The purpose of the seminar was to consider some of the key issues that have arisen from the Ethiopian experience of ethnic federalism, in the light of:

			recent discussions by political theorists concerning the accommodation of ethnic and cultural diversity in democratic states; and
			the recent history of other multi-ethnic and multi-nation states, in Africa and elsewhere.

What was the aim of this activity?
The overall aim of the seminar was to suggest creative and imaginative answers to the following question:
What can we learn from the Ethiopian experience of ethnic federalism over the past ten years, and from the experience of other countries, that could help Ethiopia meet the challenges that lie ahead in constructing a democratic society that recognises the rights and aspirations of minority groups?

Specific aims included the following:

			to put the Ethiopian model of federalism in a wider context, theoretically and empirically;
			to consider how the implementation of a political system based on territorially defined ethnic units has affected ‘ordinary Ethiopians’;
			to provide an opportunity for academics to engage in dialogue, discussion and debate with policy makers, government officials and representatives of civil society; and
			to encourage critical reflection on taken-for-granted assumptions so that imaginative and creative answers may be found to the general question posed by the seminar.

For more details, please contact:
Telephone: +251 (0)11 155 0022
Fax: +251 (0)11 155 2544
E-mail: information@et.britishcouncil.org