Addis Ababa University (AAU) hosted a three-day Ethiopian National Public Administration Conference in collaboration with Ambo University, KU LEUVEN Public Governance Institute and Ethiopian Public Administration Association (EPAA) in partnership with vlir-uous Sharing Minds, Changing Lives and Belgian partner at Eshetu Chole Hall from 20^th – 22^nd July 2022.

Bizunesh Mideksa (PhD), Vice President of Research Community service at Ambo University, said in her welcoming remark that Public administration in developing nations, including Ethiopia is influenced by globalization processes.

“Even though there have been attempts of transformations, reforms, etc using different models imported from elsewhere abroad, the transfer of such concepts and practices from one society to another is full of pitfalls and barriers due to different societal, cultural and historical backgrounds,” Bizunesh said.

She further stated that attempts of inheriting and borrowing the models from abroad often end up with incompatibility and made the public administration systems context less. Most public organizations in developing countries are reluctant to change and tend to uphold or stick to their traditional values, she added.

TheVice President of Research Community service told the staff reporter that the conference will give researchers, policy makers, public administrators, etc. an opportunity to share their knowledge, skill and experience towards the right transparency in public administration sectors.

Bacha Kebede (PhD), President of EPAA, said in his keynote speech that the issue of sustainable development should concern both developed and developing countries at all levels. He added that all social actors are responsible for achieving economic, social and ecological goals, resolving the grand challenges in public administration and building inclusive, effective and accountable institutions,.

“Such institutions should not promote the vested interests of the very few but to that of the people at large to resolve societal problems. They will not institutionalise the power of the few and the powerlessness of the many; reinforce historical, structural, socio-economic and political inequalities,” he quoted UNDP’s 2019 article.

“We need to harmonize indigenous and global knowledge; promote quality, relevance and equity in teaching, research and community services; the use of sustainable development goals: national, regional and local agendas as a framework so as to resolve political administrative problems and ensure sustainable development,” Bacha added.

Shumey Berhie (PhD), Director at Industry Linkage and Technology Transfer of AAU, stated in an interview that the conference is designed to explore in depth how to achieve sustainable development goals in the process of building institutions and to suggest important scientific solutions.

Dr. Shumey explained in detail that it is impossible to achieve national development ideas and plans without sufficiently trained, effective and organized civil service institutions. In order to achieve their sustainable development goals, institutions should build their multi-faceted development capacity and should conduct researches in cooperation with various national and international institutions.

H.E. Francois Dumont, Ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti, Permanent Representative to the African Union, IGAD and UNECA; Kingdom of Belgium, in his keynote address said that the reforms and their implications launched in Ethiopia will involve all the levels of the administration from the Federal Civil Service to the Regional and Local Government levels.

Francois noted that AAU and Ambo Universities have been played significant roles as drivers and actors of change. He said, “In partnership with the University of LEUVEN, my country, Belgium will contribute to ensure and improve access to knowledge, improve research and stimulate innovation in order to contribute to sustainable development.”

Official representatives of Ethiopian public universities including AAU, Ambo, Civil Service, Woldia, Arbaminch, Kotebe, Wachemo, Hawassa, Bahirdar, Wolaita Sodo, Mettu, Wollega, Dilla and others attended the conference.

Reporter: Theodros Shewangizaw

Photo: Andualem Aseffa

Editor: Abraham Girmay