George Ayittey is a Ghanaian economist known for his argument that “Africa is poor because she is not free.” He asserts that corruption of modern oppressive autocrats and complacency of citizens are the bedrock problems of many troubled African states. Dr. Ayittey calls for democratic government, debt reexamination, modernized infrastructure, free market economics, and free
Mr. Abdelwahab Hassan is the President of the Egyptians Center in Falls Church Virginia. Mr. Hassan is also a former candidate to the presidency of Egypt. He decided to quit his political campaign and candidacy when the Egyptian regime enacted constitutional changes which prevented any dual citizen from running for presidential office. Currently, Mr. Hassan
Mokhtar Kamel has been a political activist for about 9 years and is presently the Communication Director of the Alliance of Egyptian Americans, an NGO working on the democratization in Egypt and the empowering of Egyptians in the US.
Mokhtar kamel graduated from the School of Economics and Political Science in Cairo University. While in Egypt
Guled Kassim is a Human Rights activist and now hosts a political talk show that can be heard in the DC Metropolitan area on am 1580 on Mondays from 9:00am to 10:00am. Immigrated to the US at the age of 10, Served in the United State Marine Corp, and studied History at University of Maryland.
Fitsum Alemu is a practicing attorney in Arlington, Virginia. He has also written numerous human rights articles and pieces. Before he became a private practitioner he had worked for Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities (NEKI) in Budapest and managed litigation and training projects which were funded by European Roma Rights Center and
A prominent Ethiopian journalist, has been in and out of prison several times while he was editor of one of several newspapers shut down during the 2005 crackdown.
After nearly five years of tug-of-war with the ‘system,’ Eskinder, his award-winning wife Serkalem Fassil, and other colleagues have yet to win government permission to return to their
Fekerte Gebremariam, a human right activist, joined the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party to struggle for democracy equality and justice in Ethiopia. Mrs. Gebremariam, is an advocate of unity, continued her relentless effort for the formation of unity among all civic and political organizations. Mrs. Gebremariam is currently working for Montgomery county government at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Ayal-Sew Dessye; Brief Bio:
• A graduate of Woizero Siheen Comprehensive High School, the renowned Haile Selassie I Military Academy and The distinguished French Special Military School, École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr.
• Studied Criminal Justice and International Relations in US
• As a young commissioned officer in the Ethiopian Armed Forces – especially in the famous “Flying
Aklog Birara, PhD. is a former Senior Adviser on Racial Equality to the World Bank economist and author of Waves: Ethiopia’s Endemic Poverty that Globalization Won’t Tackle.
Kassa Ayalew, MD, MPH, is a Virginia based Ethiopian American Activist and Physician who believes in the strong connection between medicine and human rights.
Kassa is one of the founding members of March 4 Freedom and Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy. Presently he works to stop genocide and dictatorship in Ethiopia by mobilizing and empowering concerned citizens
Andualem Arage is a Head of Public Relations Committee, at the rank of Vice Chair for Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ). Click .
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Dr. Mulugetta Seyoum, is an educator and a political leader. His formal education includes Master in Education from Addis Ababa University (AAU). Dr. Mulugetta has taught In AAU. Due to his political activism he was detained by the Military regime. Dr.Mulugatta served as a chairman of COEDF ( Coalition of Ethiopian Democratic Forces). He is
Ephrem Madebo is an economist , human rights and political activist who lives in Alexandria, VA. He worked in Northern Regional Planning office in Asmara for six years before he was forced to leave his country.
He earned a BA in Economics from Addis Ababa University; BSC in Decision Sciences and Management Information System and MSC in
Wesenyelesh Debela, a human right activist joined the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party in her young age, fought for peace democracy and justice. Mrs. Debela, volunteers in community based institution dedicates her time to maintain Ethiopian tradition, custom and heritage. Mrs. Debela, resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, earns her BS in Commuter Networking, currently works at
This is a half day experience like no other. The conference provides a unique venue for Ethiopians in the realms of advocacy, politics, media, and technology to gather and collaborate on how best
The meeting will address the following topics: Where things stand in Ethiopia today? What are the key lessons we can learn from the Arab Spring? What needs to be done now? Where to things stand
