Kotebe University of Education (KUE) hosted the first joint international conference on ‘Education in Emergencies in East Africa: Implications for Sustainable Development’ in collaboration with the College of Education and Behavioural Studies, Addis Ababa University, and Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Ebba Mijena, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Higher Education Academic Affairs of the Ministry of Education of FDRE, emphasised that the productivity of the citizens and hence the development of the nation could be realised when the government and all stakeholders cooperatively invest in education. The CEO added that the joint conference is timely, and it could give the scholars opportunities to bring their expertise, practices and experiences together to enlighten the problems pertinent to education and come up with tangible solutions.
Dr. Tena Bekele, the KUE’s Vice President for Research and Community Service, remarked that the joint international conference was held with the aims of profiling the opportunities and challenges of intervening in the problems of the education sector and proposing policy directions in Ethiopia in particular and in East Africa in general.
Besides, Amenti Dadhi, the representative of the Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation, Prof. Darge Wole, the keynote speaker and Dr.Yekoyealem Dessie, the Conference Coordinating and Programming Committee Chairperson addressed the introductory and opening remarks to the audience.
In his closing remarks, having thanked the partners, event sponsors, organisers, and all the participants of the conference, Dr. Berhanemeskel Tena, the President, pointed out that KUE’s shift of focus from a metropolitan oriented-development mission to pure education was a breakthrough in the history of the higher education of Ethiopia. Dr Berhanemeskel further stipulated that the long-awaited ambition of having a world-class university of education that elevates the nation’s quality of education which is vividly driven by impactful research and development could only be fulfilled and sustained with combined efforts to be exerted by all passionate think tanks, professors, scholars, partners, and stakeholders.
It was evident that thirty-five papers (thirty-one research works and four keynote speeches prepared by invited writers) were presented at the conference both in the face-to-face and virtual modalities.
Communications Affairs Directorate
