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| Ethiopia is the oldest
independent country in Sub Saharan Africa. The earliest evidence of Ethiopian
history was in around 1000BC. The Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia is located in the north-eastern part of Africa commonly known as the Horn of Africa.
Neighbouring countries include Djibouti
and Somalia in the east, Kenya in the south, Sudan
in the west and south-west and Eritrea in the north and
north-east. Ethiopia
covers 1,112,000 square kilometres (472,000 sq. miles) making it roughly five
times the size of the UK
and slightly less than twice the size of Texas
in the USA. |
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History: Ethiopia
is credited with being the origin of mankind. Bones discovered in eastern Ethiopia
date back 3.2 million years. Ethiopia
is the oldest independent country in Africa
and one of the oldest in the world. Herodotus, the Greek historian of the fifth
century B.C. describes ancient Ethiopia
in his writings. The Old Testament of the Bible records the Queen of Sheba's
visit to Jerusalem.
According to legend, Menelik I, the son of King
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, founded the Ethiopian Empire. Missionaries from
Egypt and Syria introduced Christianity in
the fourth century A.D. Following the rise of Islam in the seventh century, Ethiopia
was gradually cut off from European Christendom. The Portuguese established
contact with Ethiopia in
1493, primarily to strengthen their influence over the Indian Ocean and to
convert Ethiopia
to Roman Catholicism. There followed a century of conflict between pro- and
anti-Catholic factions, resulting in the expulsion of all foreign missionaries
in the 1630s. This period of bitter religious conflict contributed to hostility
toward foreign Christians and Europeans, which persisted into the 20th century
and was a factor in Ethiopia's
isolation until the mid-19th century.
People: The
population of Ethiopia
is about 70.5 million. Ethiopia's
population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a Semitic or Cushitic
language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigreans
make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are more than 77
different ethnic groups with their own distinct languages within Ethiopia.
Some of these have as few as 10,000 members. Ethiopians are roughly distributed
by religion as follows: Orthodox Christian 45%, Sunni Muslim 40-45%, Protestant
5% and remainder indigenous beliefs. English is the most widely spoken foreign
language and is taught in all secondary schools. Amharic is the official
language and was the language of primary school instruction but has been
replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromifa
and Tigrinya.
The City of Addis
Ababa: Addis Ababa can be dated back to 1887 when Menelik decided to abandon his hill top site and chose the
foothills to site his new settlement which his empress had already named Addis Ababa, the ‘New
Flower’.
A Visit of the National Museum, where the remains of the famous Lucy
(Australopithecus Afarensis, 3.5 million years – see below)
are rested and displayed and the Ethnological Museum at the former Palace of
Emperor Haile Selassie is
renowned for its exhibitions of cultural artifacts from where Ethiopia's over
eighty nations and nationalities. of which different
cultures are displayed at the former Palace
of Emperor Haile Selassie in additions to
quick looks at avenues, statues, monuments, etc. Today, Addis
Ababa it is host to the Organization of African Unionty
(AUOUA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Conference Venue: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI): The
ILRI is an international organization with the vision to make the world
better for poor people in developing countries by improving
agricultural systems in which livestock are important. Its mission is
to work at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing
high-quality science and capacity-building to bear on poverty reduction
and sustainable development for poor livestock keepers and their
communities.
The
ILRI in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is located on a beautiful, green,
compound about 5km from the airport with excellent accommodation and
conference facilities. Catering is on site, and it has a sports club
with pool, tennis and gym. Also, there is a library with internet
services. More importantly, the ILRI in Addis Ababa is use to hosting
large national and international conferences. The cost of hosting a
large conference at the ILRI is much cheaper compared to the standard
fees of large hotels in Addis Ababa.
Hotel information for the conference is available here.
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