Ethiopia is coffee’s birthplace, it is said and Ethiopians take their coffee seriously. From the elaborate “coffee ceremony” in towns and villages up and down the country, to the sipping a macchiato with the Sunday papers in one of the capital’s many cafes, coffee is ever present. Many of Addis residents have favorite haunts – most of them small cafes which are located around the corner from their apartment or workplace, usually prepared by one young woman, dressed in the traditional Ethiopian costume of a white dress, – and nothing will make you feel local like finding one of your own. But in the meantime, here’s a selection of notable spots that place a particular emphasis on the ambiance and the quality of the coffee.

Tomoca

This seriously small and sophisticated cafe on Wavel Street is seriously appealing.Beans are roasted on-site and when pulled just right, the shots are intense, drinkable on their own or excellent in a cappuccino. Addis Ababans and visitors alike know it as the coffee shop to go to. The patrons said that they started roasting their beans in 1953 in order to take coffee into their own hands and today produces seven different roasts from Harrar, Yirgachefee, Sidamo, Limu, and others.
Off Churchill Road, on the same road as Book World

Harar coffee (Mokarar Coffee Roaster)
The coffee shop, located on Belay Zeleke Rd, is famous for serving pour-over style, plus the atmosphere of a true, down-to-earth coffee shop. It has been in existence since 1944 at different location, with bigger space around Tewedros Square. The current shop is modest, it could easily be missed yet when you find it the reward is high. Quality is constant, price lower than with other inflated coffee houses.
Located in Piazza, few hundred meters from Saint George Church on Semien Hotel Road (Dejazmach Belay Zeleke Street), just up from Giorgis.

Café Choche
Café Choche is a relative baby compared to some of the shops on the list, as it officially opened in July 2011. Yet the coffee shop has taken the city by storm for its dedication to coffee. Nestled at the far end of the historical railway building at La Gare bus station, Choche coffee is earthy and complex, and sourced from farms that maintain sustainable practices. The place has been created by Rahel Zewdie-Sleeuwagen, who comes from choche, a small town 45kms from Jimma, and who has returned to Ethiopia after 18 years abroad. More than the coffee and food, it’s that neighborly atmosphere, not to mention the outdoor seating amid colorful flowers and the inside wall lined with old black and white photos of Addis through the years.

On the left side of La Gare Station,

Robera Coffee Gallery
This is a cozy spot for a perfectly brewed cup of coffee which has been operating for the past 20 years. The beans are roasted daily in the big roaster out front, filling the air with irresistible aromas, and are brewed by trained baristas.
On the main road of Gerji coming from CMC road, Sahelete Maryam Church (close to the Mexican Embassy).

An Ethiopian court on Thursday dismissed the appeal of blogger Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage who were jailed last year for terror-related offences. “The sentencing is still correct so there is no reduction,” said Supreme Court judge Dagne Melaku, confirming Eskinder’s jail term of 18 years and Andualem’s life sentence.
One of the charges — serving as a leader of a terrorist organisation — was dropped, but had no affect on sentencing. One of the charges — serving as a leader of a terrorist organisation — was dropped, but had no affect on sentencing. After the ruling, Eskinder made an emotional appeal to the court which was crowded with family, friends and diplomats.
“The truth will set us free,” he said. “We want the Ethiopian public to know that the truth will reveal itself, it’s only a matter of time.”
Both men are accused of links to the outlawed opposition group Ginbot 7. “The walls of justice will be demolished,” Andualem told AFP. Four other men also jailed for terror-related charges had their appeal quashed.
AFP via Global Post

This Sunday, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrate Fasika, (Easter). After a long fast of eight weeks they feast on meat and alcoholic drinks and exchange greetings of well-wishing with their neighbors and relatives. On Easter Eve, Ethiopian Christians participate in an hours-long church service that ends around 3 a.m., after which they break their fast and celebrate the risen Christ. The following photos show reading of the resurrection by priests from Lalibela town, where the churches built underground are regarded by some as the eighth wonder of the world. Just after the Gospel readings, the proclamation of the resurrection is expanded by the song sung by the debteras (first with sticks, then with drums and sistra): «Today is a joyful day, the Sunday (sanbat) of the Christians, because Christ is risen from the dead».

A new book chronicling the use of photography as communication and propaganda medium in Emperor Menelik II’s palace is set to launch next week here in Addis Ababa. The book entirely written in French and entitled, ‘Le Roi des rois et la photographie. Politique de l’image et pouvoir royal en Ethiopie sous le règne de Ménélik II’ is the offering from the French scholar, Estelle Sohier and is said to be the first to focus on this topic. The author said her book is about the history of the creation of photographs by the court, their uses, and their political stakes. “These documents bring a new perspective to the history of Ethiopian royalty at the beginning of the 20th century and its relations with the outside world,” she said.
Estelle received her PhD in history from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the University of Naples in 2007. She is now a lecturer at the Department of Geography of the University of Geneva. Her current research focuses on the history of photography and its political uses between 1880 and 1930.
The book would be launched on 14 May at two different venues, one at the French Center for Ethiopian Studies (CFEE) at 12.30 pm and at the Alliance Ethio-française at at 6.30 pm.

Ethiopian police in Addis Ababa questioned an editor for several hours yesterday in connection with a story published in October about the widow of the late Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi, according to news reports.
Officers in the Ethiopian Federal Police Crime Investigation Department interrogated Ferew Abebe, the former editor-in-chief of the private Amharic-language weekly Sendek, about his sources for the October 10, 2012, story that said Azeb Mesfin, Meles’ widow, had refused to leave the Ethiopian national palace nearly two months after the prime minister’s death, local journalists said. The story, which was widely covered in local and international press, cited government sources as saying that Meles’ successor, Hailemarian Desalegn, was unable to live in the palace.
Ferew refused to identify his sources and cited Ethiopian laws that guaranteed the rights of a journalist to keep sources confidential, local journalists said. According to the Ethiopian penal code, a court can compel journalists to reveal their sources if a crime has been committed against the constitutional order, national defense force, or security of the state, which constitutes clear and imminent danger.
Police released Ferew on a bond of 5,000 birrs (US$265) pending further investigation, according to the same sources.
On Monday, police also summoned a deputy editor for Sendek to question him about the same story, local journalists said. He was released without charge. “Ethiopian police’s demand that Ferew Abebe reveal his sources for a story published seven months ago is intimidation and tramples on the protections afforded to journalists under Ethiopian law,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “We call on authorities to abandon their long-standing pattern of vindictive persecution of journalists who raise questions about issues of public interest, such as the occupation of a public building by the former first lady.”
At least seven journalists are behind bars in Ethiopia, making the country the second leading jailer of journalists in Africa, according to CPJ research. Ethiopia trails only Eritrea among Africa’s worst jailers of journalists, CPJ research shows.

Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s new patriarch, Abune Mathias has officially joined the microblogging website Twitter, securing the account @EOTCPatriarch.
His first tweet dated on March 10 reads,
Good morning from Addis Ababa! My brethren, pray for the unity of our Holy Orthodox Church and each other as we enter the Great Holy Lent.
Abune Mathias, who has previously served as archbishop of the church in Jerusalem, was enthroned on March 3, 2013. The 71-year-old patriarch has lived abroad for more than 30 years, which probably explains why he is embracing the new technology.In another tweet dated March 20, the Patriarch said that he misses Jerusalem, but he is honored and humbled “to serve our Holy Church” at the Patriarchate in Addis Ababa.
The Patriarch’s tweets are spiritual in nature, reminding people to serve the poor and keep them in their prayers. His desire to connect with citizens regularly suggests that he is keen to be seen to be engaging with the concerns of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Right now, the Patriarch has over 357 followers, and he appears to be the first head the Ethiopian Orthodox Church active on the platform.

A panel discussion to explore Emperor Haile Selassie’s role and Ethiopia’s contribution to the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), a precursor to the AU, was abruptly cancelled. The panel, planned to quell a controversy over a lack of credit by the ruling party for the Emperor, was to have been held at Old Plenary Hall of the African Union here in Addis Ababa this weekend as part of the 50th anniversary of OAU. The organizer, Hailesellasie I Memorial Foundation, said scheduling conflicts of the panelists had caused the cancellation.
The program had been scheduled to be chaired by Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president and was to be attended by a distinguished list of panelists such as former president of the Addis Abeba University, professor Andreas Eshete, a lawyer and senior official during the Imperial era, Teshome G. Mariam, former mayor during the caretaker administration of Addis Abeba, Brehane Deressa, and former head of Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency, Selome Tadesse.
Many Ethiopians are voicing frustration over the disregard for Emperor Haile Selassie’s role and contribution during the OAU’s establishment as well as supporting the liberation struggles of many African countries.

Ethiopian security forces arrested two sons of prominent opposition figure and internet activist Assegid Gebre Selassie in the northern town of Mekele, hauling them off to a remote location without showing a warrant, he told local magazine.
“My two sons are incarcerated at different prisons, one at illegal solitary confinement called 06, which is not even known by legal institutions,” Assegid said. He discovered the location days later, after contacting various responsible bodies, though his permission request to visit them was denied.
Ahferom Assegid and Yemane Assegid were probably detained on a charge of putting their father’s writings online, according to media report. No trial date had been set by late year.
According to the activist, “the security forces did not present an arrest warrant.” One of his sons who suffer from health problems was “not allowed to take his medication with him.”
A one-time TPLF apologist and leader, Assegid later became a firm opponent of the party and is now member of the opposition political party known as Arena Tigray for Democracy and sovereignty. He himself was imprisoned a number of times for his writings about human rights violations, sectarian discrimination, and repression of the political opposition.

Poetry will have a place at the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity, the precursor to today’s African Union. Award-winning Ethiopian-British performance poet and playwright Lemn Sissay is in town and he will be performing at different venues in Addis Ababa for the for the celebration of the Golden Jubilee.
The first event will take place on Wednesday, 22 May at the National Theater, where the poet will be performing selections from his internationally acclaimed works. Beweketu Seyoum and Ephrem Seyoum will be supporting him for the event which is free and open to the public.
Sissay will also be reading at the Addis Ababa University’s IES on May 23rd 6-8 PM and will lead workshops at the National Library/ Archives on May 24th 2-4 PM.
Sissay’s compelling poems and plays are anchored in his experiences growing up as a child in the care of the state and the only black person in his community in suburban Lancashire, England. At once deeply personal and profoundly universal, his works address social, cultural and political issues through both the heart and head, striking to the core of common humanity, it was said.
As it is stated in his authorized biography, Sissay is author of five books of poetry spanning twenty five years. He reads on stages throughout the world. He is an honorary Doctor of Letters and was awarded the 2010 travelling award scholarship from the Society of Authors. His play Something Dark directed John McGrath (artistic director of National Theatre Wales) is winner of a RIMA award and has been performed throughout the world. BBC made a television documentary about his life – Internal Flight. In 2010 he was made a MBE by the queen of England for services to literature. Lemn is Patron of The Letterbox Club and The Reader Organisation. He is education ambassador for Arvon Foundation and Trustee of World Book Night.

At least five men drowned after the boat they were traveling capsized in Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia, Monday evening. The crowded boat went down about a mile off from Baher Dar, while heading to the village of Gorgora, when waves started coming over the stern of the boat.The villagers were returning after offering prayers and making sacrifices at the site, Abay Ras.The boat called Fasiledes belonged to the state owned Lake Transport Enterprise and was said to be not in a good form, although officials said they were still not certain why it tipped over. It was not known as to how many people were on board and the search for survivors continues today.
Lake Tana is the source from where the famous Blue Nile starts its long journey to.

Ethiopian activist Bogaletch Gebre has won an international prize for her campaign to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM). Bogaletch was awarded the King Baudouin Prize in Belgium for confronting “culturally entrenched taboo subjects”, the selection committee said. She helped reduce cases of FGM from 100% of newborn girls to less than 3% in parts of Ethiopia, it said.
FGM is practised mainly in communities in Africa and the Middle East. Also known as female circumcision, it is seen as a traditional rite of passage and is used culturally to ensure virginity and to make a woman marriageable. It typically involves removing the clitoris, and can lead to bleeding, infections and childbirth problems.
Ms Bogaletch told BBC Focus on Africa that her message to community elders who promoted FGM was: “Daddy, you lived your time. This is our period, our children’s period. We don’t want to kill our children. I hope you are wise enough to accept that.” The Belgium-based King Baudouin Foundation awarded Ms Gebre the 450,000 euros ($580,000; £385,000) prize for her “innovative” campaign to eradicate FGM.
The Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma (KMG) group, which she founded, focused on arranging “community conversations” in areas of Ethiopia where illiteracy levels were high and FGM “endemic”, the Foundation said in a statement.”By implementing this approach across communities in Ethiopia, Boge and KMG lowered the incidence of FGM in 10 years from 100% to less than 3% of newborn girls in the areas where they work,” it added. Ms Bogaletch told BBC Focus on Africa that supporters of FGM believed in the “subjugation” of women. “It has nothing to do with culture… We don’t even know where it comes from,” she said. “How can something which is killing women, harming women, and our children too, be accepted as culture?”
In February, the UN said data showed that fewer girls in Africa and the Middle East are being subjected to FGM and it is possible to end the practice. FGM was particularly in decline amongst the young in Kenya, it added.
In December, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling for all member states to ban the practice.
BBC News

My article “Ethiopia’s love affair with coffee” is published today in Mail and Guardian’s Voices of Africa.Check it out and let me know what you think.
Addis Ababa may be the heart of Ethiopia, but coffee is its lifeline. The coffee-drinking ceremony is a daily ritual on the streets and in homes, and it trumps instant granules and pods by far.
Elleni Kassaye (26) runs a small coffee shop in the Haya Hulet district, located on the eastern part of the sprawling capital. She wears her Ethiopian heritage with grace, translating it into her establishment and its array of beverages and foods. Elleni’s specialty is jebena buna, a coffee prepared in a clay pot, with a wide round bottom that leads up to a long, narrow spout with a handle. Like the mothers and grandmothers of many generations before her, she is wearing a traditional white dress with a colourful woven border.
I watch Elleni as she slowly stirs a pan of beans over a flame while aromas of frankincense float across the room, which has grass spread on it to add to a relaxed ambience. She waits patiently for the beans to change to a darker colour. The café is packed with people both young and old, chatting, laughing, gossiping, and discussing news. Ellen continues stirring and shaking the pan back and forth so that the beans don’t burn. As they start to pop, she removes them from the heat and passes them around for all the customers to inhale the aroma. Read the rest at Voices of Africa.

Ethiopian intellectual Taddesse Tamrat, the pre-eminent historian of medieval Ethiopia, died Tuesday in a hospital in Chicago, where he was being treated for acute sickness. He was 78.
A towering figure in Ethiopian medieval history and one of the first full-time members of staff at the Department of History of Addis Ababa University, Taddesse became an active and prolific scholar and teacher whose students became well-known academics in the field.He is the author of the internationally acclaimed “Church and State in Ethiopia: 1270-1527″, seen as a pioneering monograph on nineteenth century Protestant and Catholic missions in Ethiopia.Accessibly written, it reached a large public and inspired an interest in church history and monasticism in many casual readers, as well as in some who went on to enter the profession. Professor Marilyn E. Heldman, author of African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia, described the book as “the essential text for the history of the highland Christian state of Ethiopia during the period of its development as the dominant state in the Horn of Africa”.Professor Charles F Beckingham, Emeritus Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of London, wrote that the book offers “the reader much more than the title might suggest, for it examines most aspects of the Ethiopian state and the Ethiopian church from the supposed restoration of the supposedly Solomonic dynasty to the eve of the Muslim invasion [Ahmed Gragne] in the sixteenth century.”
Professor Taddesse has also produced several articles on Ethiopia that have appeared in numerous academic journals, magazines and newspapers.
He helped form the Institute of the Ethiopian studies, centre for the international studies of the arts of Ethiopian, and was one of its Directors and the Addis Ababa University Press, where he was one of its most admired figures for a decade, serving as director, and editor.
Living in the United States for a number of years, the late Professor served as a visiting professor at the University of California, Northwestern University, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Professor Taddesse was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) in London in recognition of his work as one of Africa’s foremost modern historians. He received his PhD in History from SOAS in 1968, specializing in the history of Ethiopia and he was published extensively throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
As an eminent Ethiopianist, Prof. Tamrat was highly regarded for his views on the history of Africa and the Ethiopian people,according to a post on the Soas website. He was a strong advocate of an indigenous history of Africa written by Africans rather than the Europeans, it was said.He was also an accomplished linguist, translating Tobbya, Ethiopia’s first novel, which appeared in Amharic in 1900. Professor Tamrat was frequently interviewed for his views on modern African history and guest lectured at numerous international symposiums and conferences.
Tadesse is survived by his three daughters.

As Addis hosts the celebration of 50th Anniversary of the African Union, the image-conscious Ethiopian officials are trying to get call girls off the streets. Witnesses said the police have started rounding up all the street girls they could find in areas such Chechnya, Haya Hulet, Kazanchis, Bole. Owners of bars in those areas were told yesterday not to let bar girls leave the establishments. A police team was set up to address vice-related crimes, especially to arrest girls working on street corners. Their number in those areas seems to be decreasing with the law-enforcement developments. The government carries out such crackdown campaigns against prostitution when high profile meetings take place. Stricter laws are one way to clean up the crime, but it takes more than that to change the image and really turn this area around, said an observer. “It seems a futile effort as those women will simply contact pimps and delalas (brokers) to look for clients,” a bar owner in Kazanchis area said.
In Ethiopia, prostitution itself (exchanging sex for money) is not illegal, but the surrounding activities (operating brothels, pimpimg, soliciting sex etc) are illegal. Authorities often turn a blind eye to these activities, ensuring a roaring trade. Women at Risk, a not-for-profit organization based in Addis Ababa estimates that there are 150,000 prostitutes in the capital.
Some say the summit will only give a spurt to the already booming sex industry in Ethiopia which demeans the international image of Ethiopian women.The crackdown for the AU summit includes homeless and jobless people, shoeshine boys who are seen as potential troublemakers.

Award-wining photographer Aida Muluneh will present “So Long Letter”, her second solo show on May 31st, 2013 at Addis Ababa’s TO.MO.CA gallery. The exhibition is a dedication to women in Ethiopia and is inspired by one of her favorite books “So Long a Letter” by Senegalese writer Mariama Bâ, she announced on her Facebook page.
Aida first exhibited at Asni Gallery in 2012 that showcased her photographs combined with drawings. She became known for her photographs that explored the country through, identity, culture, personal journey and family. Throughout her work, the artist tackles the issue of memory, dislocation, the self and “otherness”, that remains open to the spectator’s imagination.
Aida was born in Addis Ababa in 1974. She later attended high school in Canada where she studied photography. She graduated in film from Howard University, Washington D.C. in 2001. Aida is the recipient of the 2007 European Union Prize of the Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, in Bamako, Mali and winner of the 2010 CRAF International Award of Photography in Spilimbergo, Italy.
Aida’s works are found in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Biblical Art, New York. She has exhibited her works in Belgium, Canada, China, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, the Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, South Africa, the UAE and USA.
Opening day. May 31st, 2013 at 6:00pm, Galleria TO.MO.CA which is located in front of Canadian Embassy in Sar Bet, For more information, call at +251 933527134.

Wendy Laura Belcher, an assistant professor of comparative literature and African American studies at Princeton University, specializes in medieval, early modern and modern African literature. One of her key interests is in how African thought circulated in Europe before the 19th century, which she explores in her latest book by focusing on the influence of Ethiopian thought on the work of the English author Samuel Johnson, according to an article published on the University’s website on August 2, 2012. In 2011, Belcher spent a year in Ethiopia on a Fulbright fellowship researching ancient manuscripts illuminating the lives of women now regarded as saints in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which dates back to the fourth century. She also took the opportunity to photograph a range of scenes and subjects during her visit. Stories from Ethiopia and the African continent have resonated with Belcher since childhood, when she lived in Ethiopia and Ghana. Her first book, “Honey from the Lion: An African Journey,” is an autobiographical account of her time in Ghana.
Get the whole story here.

The European Union Film Festival, a festival that presents films about contemporary European life and culture, will start tomorrow in Addis Ababa.
Running through June 17, this year’s edition will feature 16 European films including the Intouchables, France’s biggest international hit ever, a story about a disabled aristocratic millionaire and a good-humored black guy whom he hires as his aide.
The festival always opens with a film from the country currently designated for the presidency of the Council of European Union. This year it is Ireland, so “Stella Days”, starring Martin Sheen in a critically acclaimed performance as an embattled Catholic priest who tries to introduce the movies to his conservative rural flock, screens at 6.30 p.m. Monday at Alliance Ethio-Française.
The polish film, Mill and the Cross, about 16th-century Flanders and those of the canvases of its great painter, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, will be shown at Goethe Institute on Tuesday 6.30 p.m.
The Italian Cultural Institute, Goethe Institute and Alliance Ethio-Française will be the venues hosting the festival.
Find the whole list here.

A large collection of drawings and paintings by the artist Dereje Demissie will be on show in Addis Ababa this Saturday at LeLa Art gallery. The exhibition titled “Cycle” runs from 8 June, 3pm onwards until 23 June.
Graduated from the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts, and exhibited in leading galleries in Ethiopia, Sudan, Dubai, Germany and Uganda, Dereje began to make an impact with his portraits and landscapes, rendered with high-keyed flickering colors.
LeLa Gallery art curator Leo Lefort said Dereje’s ‘Cycle’ exhibition offers an eloquent testimony of the need to develop the art of ‘seeing’ in depth the invisible realm. He said by emphasizing the expressive potential of natural formal elements, Dereje built a fine bridge between naturalistic painting and abstraction. The exhibition looks as if “ the observation of nature -mainly occurring in the South of Ethiopia, where Dereje often travels- led him to abandon all basic principles of reproduction, learnt with influential teacher Getahun Assefa, painting only with pictorial elements, not for the purpose of figuration but with the aim of a quasi mystical revelation,” said Leo.

Raised in Canada, now living and working in Addis, Aida Muluneh is an artist of humane sensibilities, as her recent photographic work illustrates. With a background in film and photography, Aida has been focusing on photography for the past ten years and her images have appeared in numerous exhibitions in Cuba, Canada, England, Germany, Israel, Spain and Mali. A book of her work, called “Ethiopia: Past/Forward,” was published in September 2009 in Belgium.
Aida seems to be drawn to a sense of place and timelessness, known and familiar, self and other. Most of her images are black and white, which are inspired from her way of looking at the world in black and white. “Truth is either black or white. Human elements are exhibited though it. Black and white is the foundation. Color is tricky. But whatever I use, my focus is capturing light,” she says. Her shots depict the lives of regular folk: a girl on a horse, a woman at the doorway, women holding hands with their faces obscured, a pretty veiled girl looking at us with Bob Marley poster behind her. The photos capture the raw human emotions of mourning, anger, contentment and they come out as a touching story of girls and women becoming visible and discovering their self-acceptance. The photographer’s favorite image is of an old woman taken in Dessie town. The widow’s weathered skin and wrinkled face, her failing eyes become one with scenes of melancholy, but also tenderness. “I entered her humble home and the first thing that I noticed was the fact that she had an egg on her bed. I decided to shoot the bed and as I looked up I saw this amazing ray of light enter her darkened house through the doorway. I asked her if I could take a photo of her and hence, this was the image created,” Aida said. The woman appears tired, undefended but there’s no cruelty, no satire in the portrait, only tenderness.

But Aida’s experimental and best works are those artworks in which she tried to blend photography and hand drawing. The images in it invite the viewer to make her or his own narrative as inspired by the subjects. Aida states she has been exploring this possibility in the past two years and she has been progressively working on incorporating various elements and taking it one more step by adding paint in this exhibition. “I started out as a photo shoot with my dedicated friend and model Selam who endured long hours of sitting for me as we painted her body with whatever we could find. Initially we had the lofty idea that we can make our own body paint …based on some random receipt that we found online…that didn’t work so well but what we discovered is that we can do so much with flour…. We completed the shoot in a day, after which point I made the prints and glued it on leather,” Aida explained.

Both in print quality and sheer scope this exhibition deserves tribute. Eshetu Tiruneh, Art Director of Tomoca gallery and director of the Enlightenment Academy said “It has been exciting to witness the development of this body of Aida’s work. These works connect to the innermost human desire to create a personal narrative through images.”
The photos are on show at Galleria TO.MO.CA which is located in front of Canadian Embassy in Sar Bet and the exhibition will run until June 27, 2013.
(Photos taken from artist’s Facebook page)

Society of Ethiopians Established in Diaspora (SEED), a nonprofit organization based in the United States, conferred membership honor for four Ethiopians and a late American congressman for their outstanding contributions in their respective fields. On its 21st annual Award night SEED honored Ras Mengesha Seyoum, Habte-Sellassie Tafesse, Mekdes Zelelew, Prof. Sosina Haile, and the late Congressman Donald Payne as “Honored Members” at an event in Washington D.C. on May 26.
SEED Secretary, Aklilu Demessie told Voice of America Amharic that the personalities were selected for their inspiring academic, social, cultural and scientific success, and they have done so while remaining true to their roots. “We wanted to recognize their steadfast commitment to the pursuit of excellence and to publicly acknowledge their achievements,” Aklilu told VOA.

The award for Leul Ras Mengesha Seyoum cited for “his outstanding contributions in the development of rural Ethiopia; for the role he has played in the enhancement of communication infrastructure, transportation, education, tourism, governance in the home land, as an outstanding Governor.” Akiliu described of the former Governor as someone who has spent his life bringing people of like minds together to solve problems of common concern. Leul Mengesha was governor of Arusi from 1952 to 1955 and governor of Sidamo from 1955 to 1958 and prince and governor of Tigray from 1960 to 1974. As vice minister in the ministry of communication, he was instrumental in foundling Bole international airport and helping the country in acquiring Boeing 720B from Continental Airlines. While SEED did its part to remember the public figure, Ras Mengesha also missed the 50 anniversary of the AU meeting in Addis Ababa to be in Washington D.C for the award, Aklilu told VOA.

W/r Mekdes Zelelew was accorded recognition for “her selfless deportment, as role model who has endeared herself to our community and in Addis Ababa-Ethiopia in particular,” SEED announced. She is an “inspiring and self-less humanitarian who has made significant difference in the lives thousands of men, women and children in Ethiopia,” it was said. Mekdes is general manger of Integrated Family Service Organization ( IFSO), an NGO based in Addis Ababa, the provide sponsorship service for vulnerable orphan children and establishes a training centre and provide training in hotel and childcare skills for youths in charge of the vulnerable households. Mekedes was saluted for her “demonstrated love for Ethiopia and Ethiopians, for her civic responsibilities and successful leadership in IFSO, and for all her distinctive contributions to our society,” said the SEED Secretary.

SEED also honored Lij Habte-Sellassie Tafesse, considered by many as the father of Ethiopian Tourism. The former Ethiopian Minister of Tourism Habte Selassie was saluted for his “innovation and excellence in Ethiopian tourism”, having revolutionized tourism in Ethiopia in the 1960s. Habte Selassie coined the phrase, “Thirteen Months of Sunshine”, in referring to the Ethiopian Calendar, which in turn provoked the imagination of visitors. He played a major role in the creation of the Historic Route, which to this date has remained as the most popular segment of Ethiopia’s tourist attractions, Aklilu said.

Other recipient of the SEED includes engineering professor Sossina Haile of the California Institute of Technology. Sossina earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992, the first Ethiopian to earn PHD in this field. Newsweek Magazine named her one of “12 people to watch in 2008. Prof. Sossina received the award for her promising research and discovery of a new class of fuel cell technology that has brought promise to the world’s energy needs. “As a venerated teacher and role model to the Diaspora Ethiopians, Africans, Americans and others, in appreciation of the rich and positive contributions, she has made by exemplifying the highest ideals and standards of our community, “the citation reads.” Aklilu said the speech Sosoina made on the occasion touched the crowd in accepting this latest honor, which she said feels different because “it is given from her own people”.

SEED also singled out the late US Congressman Donald Payne who was honored posthumously. Donald Payne’s daughter Wanda Payne was on hand to accept the SEED Award for her father who lost his months-long battle with cancer on March 2012. The congressman was recognized for his courage in defending freedom and civil liberties of Ethiopian people. “He was a role model to African- Americans Diaspora Ethiopians, Africans and others. “Rep. Payne was described as a very special friend of Ethiopia who strove for years to help improve the human rights situation of the country.“We feel privileged to present his family with the award in honor of his service to our community and ensure that generations to come remember the sacrifice he made for all of us,” Aklilu said.

The honorees share the stage and event with the high school and college graduates honored on the night. The students are awarded for their community service and extra-curricular activities. Tamra Nebabu, a student at Alexandria’s Bishop Ireton High School, is one of high school seniors to achieve this honor. She was given 225 thousand dollars.
Since 1993, SEED has been giving a platform to recognize Ethiopians and Ethiopian friends who showed outstanding achievements and stand out as role models from among the educators, scientists, artists, religious leader, high school and university students and community leaders without any preference for education and career category.