ABOUT US
The idea of celebrating the coming Ethiopian Millennium in a unique way has been in most people's mind for a while. Deep within all Ethiopians the coming of our millennium stirs a kind of emotion very hard to describe. Certainly, it's a distinctively different emotion than the Y2K millennium of 7 years ago. It is also true that most Ethiopians would want to be in Ethiopia for the coming of this New Year. Even for a day. However, due to innumerable personal and other reasons, the majority of us will not be in Ethiopia. Ethiopians in Diaspora also remember when September 11 was simply just another day until the terrorist acts against the United States in 2001. Before that faithful September 11, 2001, most Ethiopians don't remember where they were in the previous New Year Days; may be they were in school, or at work, or on a day off running errands.. Some weren't even aware of the day until some kind soul wishes them "Happy New Year" via e-mail or voice or voicemail. When you live under a Gregorian calendar, what is truly yours sometimes falls through the cracks of time. And, all of us moaned: Addis Amet qere beAgerbet!
With these conflicting emotions in mind, like-minded Ethiopians started discussing the emotional, cultural, historical and social need of celebrating the coming Year 2000 Ethiopian Calendar differently. The cumulative of small discussions and wishes enabled many members of the Ethiopian community in North America to call for a meeting in Washington DC to form what became a Committee for the Celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium. Although the CCEM is based in Washington DC for the primary reason of running a celebration during the New Year, CCEM is supported and embraced by strong Ethiopians all over North America.
Here are some of the objectives around which CCEM is established:
- To celebrate the arrival of the new millennium with extravaganza with fellow Africans and Friends of Ethiopia;
- To welcome the new millennium with a determined collective sense of pride as Ethiopians;
- To introduce Ethiopia and its diverse unique calendar, history and culture to outsiders and celebrate and recognize Ethiopia's contribution to the world;
- To come together and show our solidarity with fellow Americans, Africans and friends of Ethiopia;
- To mark a new beginning of trust among different Ethiopian organizations working on diverse fields for the betterment of Ethiopia and Ethiopians;
- To honor remarkable Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia who have made significant contributions to Ethiopia and its people;
- To have days of reflection on the achievements and lessons learned of Ethiopia and its people as embarks on the New Millennium;
- To form dialogue and study groups and discussion groups of individuals on peace stability and prosperity in Ethiopia and neighboring nations;
- To celebrate Ethiopian New Year with music, food, arts, culture and four-days long extravaganza in the No. 1 Capital City of the world and the Ethiopian Diaspora.
For more information, please feel free to contact us at infor@ethiopianmillennium2000.com