The much awaited Ethiopian Millennium Celebration in Washington DC kicked off in earnest with information technology symposium. On early Friday, Sept. 7, 2007, the “who and who” of information technology within the Ethiopian Community around the USA cities flocked into the World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC. With 50 or so in attendance in Washington, D.C.; approximately 30 joined in the symposium in Addis Ababa via video simulcast.

The purpose of the information technology symposium was to assess the current state of technology transfer in Ethiopia and to explore how to expedite the transfer of technology as a means of reducing poverty and increasing prosperity for Ethiopians in the next millennium. The symposium was also organized to connect Ethiopian information technologists within the United States as well as in Ethiopia.

Comments from attendees were favorable and constructive. Fikrete of Alexandria, VA felt that the symposium was an excellent venue for connecting with fellow information technology professionals. Her only misgiving about the symposium was the speaker-centric feature of the symposium. Fikrete would have appreciated more dialogue between the presenters and the attendees. Alem of London, England was inspired to see highly talented Ethiopian technology professionals inside and outside Ethiopia. One of the remarks that resonated with Alem was the realization that advances in information technology are more than building the physical infrastructure of technology in Ethiopia. Alem expressed that the Ethiopian Government’s restrictions on Ethiopian web sites is one of the barriers of advances in information technology in Ethiopia.

The half day symposium featured topics such as the role of technology in advancing the quality of life of Ethiopians, outsourcing, project management discipline, information security and the role of the Diaspora in the advancement of technology in Ethiopia. One of the keynote speakers at the symposium was Noah Samara, Chairman and CEO of Worldspace and a pioneer of digital satellite radio. Worldspace provides digital satellite audio, data and multimedia services primarily to the emerging markets of Africa and Asia.

The symposium is an excellent start in connecting Ethiopian technology professionals. The presenters and the attendees expressed lots of optimism in words in body language about the future of information technology and its role in improving the lives of Ethiopians. The symposium can truly be considered a success if this forum serves as an inspiration to create a vibrant Ethiopian information technology professional group, which is currently non-existent. An outcome short of creating an ongoing knowledge exchange at an Ethiopian Information Technology Group would only be a rehearsal for another symposium to be held at the turn of the next millennium.