They came from Frankfurt. They came from Seattle. They came from Vancouver, Canada. They came from Baltimore. They came from Atlanta. They came from San Francisco. Ethiopians came from all corners of the world to be served up knowledge buffet ushered in by some of the best and the brightest Ethiopian scholars and practitioners.

While the Howard University medical students were busy learning and treating their patients; about 500 Ethiopians packed into the western wing of the Howard University Medical School Auditoriums to hear scholarly presentations addressing issues facing current Ethiopians and actions needed in the next millennium.

The symposium, held on September 8-9, 2007, was a dream come true for Neamin Zeleke, Chair of the Symposium Committee of the Washington DC Millennium Celebration Organizing Council. Neamin, who tends to smile first and then speaks, led a team that worked tirelessly to assemble presenters from diverse disciplines. The night before the symposium kick-off, Neamin was burning the mid-night oil making final stops at the Kinko’s, the Office Depots and the Staples around the metro DC area printing symposium packages. Neamin appears to be an excellent judge of talents. He meticulously hand picked talented and dedicated presenters at the symposium line up. How did Neamin manage to receive a commitment for complimentary presentations from high paid speakers? Neamin’s secrets to obtaining commitments from potential speakers include: (1) expressed sincere appreciation for scholarly work (2) flexibility to accommodate unique requests from each speaker (3) expressed gratitude for the offer (4) demonstrated personal interest in the well-being of each volunteer speaker (5) ability to articulate the importance of each topic to the greater purpose of strengthening the intellectual capital of Ethiopia. The real secret to Neamin’s success as a coordinator of the symposium was by generously expressing the value of each contributor.

The symposium covered the A to Z of issues of interest to building a democratic Ethiopia. Topics included: building democratic institution, ethno politics, human rights, foreign affairs, history, language, civic society, youth development, women’s issues, conflict resolutions, literature, economic development, finance, mass media, sustainable development, global warming, community development, congressional advocacy, good governance, health, education, business, and decertification.

The presenters included: university professors, authors, researchers, government officials, business owners, media personalities, social service providers, congressional staffers, scientists, engineers, health professionals, human rights advocates, lawyers and educators.

Among the featured presenters included: Professor Al Mariam, California State University, Dr. Brook Lakew, NASA, Selam Mulugetta, Special Assistant to U.S. Congressman Mike Honda, Ambassador Ayalew Mandefro, Former Ambassador and Minister of Defense, Dr. Negede Gobeze, Author & Political Activist, Belgium, Nebiat Solomon, Director of African Affairs of the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Ephraim Madebo, System Engineer, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Fikre Tolossa, Writer, Poet & Author, California.Dr. Aberra Molla, Ethiopic Computer & Software, Inc. Colorado.

Symposium attendees have expressed the following impressions:

“It is delightful to see individuals from various political views on the same platform”
Bezu, Vancouver Canada

The presenters have articulated the issues that encounter Ethiopia. I would have liked to hear more about the solutions to these problems.
Yohannes, Tacoma Park, Maryland

“My friends and I came all the way from Missouri to learn the solutions related to human rights violations in Ethiopia."
Aster, Missouri

“The issues and problems that appear to be obvious. I would have liked to hear more alternative solutions”
Former Ambassador Ayalew Mesfin, Washington, D.C.

One of the “out of the box” presentations at the symposium featured Dr. Brook Lakew of NASA on global warming. In addressing global warming concerns, the NASA scientist, Dr. Lakew, recommends that Ethiopia needs to shift from producing agricultural products to importing agricultural products to avoid the depletion of soil. Other related eye opener green recommendations that Dr. Lakew presented include:

• Convert the country into a giant network of small and large parks with heavy involvement of the private sector
• Make hospitality industry a major component of the economy
• Meet energy demands via ever more abundant solar energy
• Strategically convert farmers and unskilled youngsters into gardeners, park rangers and tourist guides, and hospitality industry leaders

Evidence of the attendees’ overwhelming desire to learn more about the issues and solutions for their homeland was the fact that the number of attendees got bigger and bigger in sessions that went way beyond the finishing time. For example, the closing session ended four hours after the scheduled end time. Hundreds of attendees packed into the Howard University Hospital Auditorium to participate in a panel discussion that featured the Ethiopian unity.

Such energy by the scholars and the overflow of desire by the attendees points to an obvious demand for ongoing dialogue among Ethiopians to further explore the issues and alternative solutions. The need for organized and recurring knowledge sharing opportunities is a no brainer. However, the fatigued millennium council members are not thinking beyond completing the festivities at hand and going back to their daily routines. The greater community that enjoys the fruits of such efforts needs to step up in support of these organizers by providing real volunteer hours and other resources.