AAU Holds National Forum: “The Role of Intellectuals in Nation Building”
Addis Ababa University (AAU) has organized a four-day discussion forum with a theme of “The Role of Scholars in Nation Building” which is underway in various colleges of the University from January 3-6, 2023.
The forum goes on with the presence of senior government officials, Professor Tassew Woldehanna (President Professor of AAU), Dr. Mihret Debebe (Chairperson of AAU Board council), administrative heads of all colleges, lecturers and different scholars.
The forum so far revealed that the discussion was prepared with the platform to make Ethiopia prosperous in all aspects through standing together and winning the competitive nature of the world, solve existing national problems through communication and unreserved support of scholarly solutions, conducting problem-solving researches and strengthening community services.
Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance of the FDRE, chaired the first day of the forum and presented the key points on the Role of Intellectuals in Nation Building focused on Ethiopia’s political, economic, diplomatic, peace and security achievements as well as the challenges and the problems that Ethiopia faced within the past four years.
The Minister said that Intellectuals can play the major role in overcoming the existing challenges for comprehensive nation building, maintaining peace, creating consensus on the common issues of the country to move towards prosperity.
“It is well known that the world has experienced the industrial revolution in the last two hundred and fifty years with a great progress of science and technology and new inventions which has highly changed the human beings’ way of life. And this has all happened due to the great contributions of scholars in all directions,” he said.
According to the discussion, in order to terminate the destructive political culture of Ethiopia, intellectuals should free themselves first from bias and play their positive roles in bringing the society into political-ideas that based on cultural-grounded, knowledge and truth.
Therefore, in order to build the Ethiopian government, to fulfill the citizens’ desire to live in a prosperous country and provide a lasting solution to the lack of peace that has been challenging the country’s existence, scholars have to support with their knowledge and research skills they have.
Taking the primary objective towards generation and human resource building, intellectuals have to focus on preparing competent and morally shaped children as well as young generation through effective education system by teaching them to love their country, transform it with developed economy in all fields, and build a society with developed democracy.
The discussion forum will continue in different colleges endowed with group and audience discussions, questioning and answering for days.
Source: Addis Ababa University