Ethiopia, the political capital of Africa, has hosted the 5^th International Multidisciplinary Knowledge Exchange conference for the first time in the soil of Africa from December 14- 15, 2015 at Africa Hall, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Themed ‘’Connecting Knowledge and Innovation”, the conference has been designed to foster knowledge exchange; increase synergies between global science based organizations and improve linkages between international scientific research programs. Further, the conference has intended to explore ways of using science and technology to support economic progress in Africa and finally to establish a sustainable forum for sharing education and learning.

In his opening remarks, HE Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Minister, FDRE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged all the Ethiopian Diaspora to actively engage in knowledge creation and technology transfer particularly for nation building process. “We believe that the untapped knowledge of the Ethiopian Diaspora will help us for betterment in our social and economic development efforts,” he added.

Amare Desta (PhD), Co-founder and Chairperson of GKEN in his part has emphasized that the conference is aimed at exploring how African knowledge based entities can increase their knowledge and innovation as well as to explore how best to collaborate with and participate in science and evidence based research projects coming from various disciplines. “To reduce the high rate of developing countries’ brain drain and bridge knowledge gap witnessed so far, organizing conferences like this is not enough by itself. We need to go beyond.”

Providing participants with ample opportunities for formal and informal networking, the event has hosted distinguished keynote addresses, panel discussions as well as several research paper presentations on various disciplines followed by question and answer sessions. It has also featured presentations and discussions on various national and international new initiatives which include Ethiopian Doctoral and Masters Academy as well as two initiatives of Addis Ababa University students: Youth Negotiations on Climate Change Convention and Yellow Movement.

Organized by Global knowledge Exchange Network (GKEN) in collaboration with Jimma University, Alliance for Brain Gain and Innovative Development, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University and Network of Ethiopian Scholars, the conference will continue in Jimma University, Jimma until 18 December, 2015. Partnering with the organizers, Addis Ababa University, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education have also contributed and played a significant role in making the conference a success.

In addition to HE Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Minister, FDRE Ministry of Foreign Affair, HE Ato Shiferaw Shigute, Minister, FDRE Ministry of Education and Prof. Afework Kassu, State Minister, FDRE Ministry of Science and Technology, this milestone international conference has brought together more 300 academics, researchers, and professionals across the world.

Commenced in 2011 for the noble cause of exchanging knowledge and experiences among African researchers, academics, practitioners and students from a variety of disciplines and to address development needs and bridge prevailing technology innovation gaps in Africa, the Global Knowledge Exchange Network is an organization of volunteers initiated by Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia in the United Kingdom. This model is believed to be a promising model for promoting brain gain in support of Africa’s growth and sustainable development.

Legally registered in the UK as nonprofit organization, the Global Knowledge Exchange Network has organized four international conferences of similar nature in the UK since its establishment.