Addis Ababa University (AAU) held a panel discussion with a theme of “Public Holidays to Common Values and Nation Building” at the Main Campus with the attendance of scholars including the University’s president and a number of students from various colleges, on the 5^th of October 2023.

The discussion incorporating Ethiopian public festivities including the Irreechaa culture was coducted with enriching speeches and scholarly research-based presentations followed by audience comments, questions and all-round discussions.

The Interim President of Addis Ababa Universities, Samuel Kifle (PhD), stated in his opening speech that universities should be places where constructive ideas be evolved, discussed and transformed into productive elements that can prosper and democratize the country.

According to Dr. Samuel, discussing ideas with open hearts in universities helps to find solutions for problems not only to the university but also to the country as a whole. If the youth are handled very well and made to focus on their main duties of education with academic freedoms, their combined efforts will make Ethiopia one of the influential countries in the world, he added.

Dr. Samuel said that celebrating public festivities together in a country with diversified cultural identities should focus on mutual respect and unity. “When we celebrate our public festivals together, we intensify image building and increase our economic benefits through attracting both indoor and foreign tourism, and build a peaceful, democratic country with a people of shared values,” he stressed.

Dr. Samuel added that we are not people who need to worry and debate on colonial cultures as our fathers and forefathers have left us a sovereign country with multi-cultural and ethnic diversity that own strong unity, scarifying their precious lives on various fronts.

“Though some cultures evolve from some ethnic groups due to certain circumstances, they are the wealth of all of us, because all our elders paid a lot together for the transition of these heritages from them to the generation we are now,” the President intensified further.

Dr. Samuel stated that celebrating public festivals together in the future will help much in knowing each other and filling historic evidence gaps through time. The country that the youth going to be responsible for should be peaceful, economically strong and have well developed democracy, he added.

“To have such an Ethiopia, you should discus and take governing ideas, learn for knowledge, seek wisdom and truth, share ideas and understand each other.  Your competition and debate should be on science, technology and sovereign idea which lead you to establish an everlastingly strong and sovereign country,” he summarized.

Two AAU scholars, Zelalem Tefera (PhD) and Tadesse Jaleta (PhD) delivered presentations that focused on public holidays in general and the Irreechaa festivity in particular stating their social and economic values, public cohesion, pedagogical importance, transformative natures and so on. Irreechaa for instance is “A symbol of peace, solidarity, fraternity, hope and bright future,” Dr. Tadesse stated.

Editor: Abraham Girmay

Photo: Fikremariam Beyene