𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐎!

Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC), Prof. Mesfin Araya, says all logistical preparations for National Dialogue Conference participants are ready.

After 4 years of hard and challenging work of agenda-gathering and conferring with hundreds of thousands of participants in over 1,234 weredas (districts) throughout Ethiopia, the ENDC will hold the National Dialogue Conference on July 15, 2026. It is expected to last at least three weeks.

The ENDC is a unique and historic experiment in modern world conflict resolution. It is designed to bypass the traditional elite monopolies and go directly to inclusive, grassroots participation. It is also unique in its aim of resolving historical grievances and structural conflicts directly with everyday citizens rather than relying solely on political leadership or power elites.

https://twitter.com/AlMariam1/status/2074137946093928567/video/1

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐂 𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠?

Grassroots Representation: Instead of exclusively negotiating with political elites or rebel factions, the commission gathers input from everyday citizens across distinct societal sectors. Participants include women, youth, religious leaders, traditional elders, civil society groups, and pastoralists, whose voices carry equal weight.

Bottom-Up Agenda Setting: The Commission’s thematic focus is structured around core issues collected from hundreds of thousands of citizens nationwide. These central topics span nation-building, the political and governance system, federalism, human rights, and socio-economic and religious affairs, among others.

Systematic Hierarchy: The process is designed to progress from local community levels (districts/woredas) to regional states, ultimately culminating in a broad national plenary.

Mandate for Sustainable Peace: Unlike temporary, localized ceasefire negotiations, the ENDC focuses on resolving deep-rooted historical questions and disrupted social fabrics to create long-term, structural consensus.

I am proud, honored and privileged to be part of this monumental and historic Conference. For over one-half century, I waited for an opportunity to participate in a process such as the ENDC conference.

I am humbled in he face of the fact that now I have to walk my talk of the past one-half century. It will probably probably prove to be the greatest challenge in my life.

For nearly all of my adult life, I have argued in the courtroom, the classroom, the dorm room, the meeting room, the board room and the pressroom. I have argued in the courthouse, the jailhouse and the statehouse. I lived my professional life playing a hardball zero-sum game. Winning is all that mattered. Now, I have to play a game of win-win for all. I now have the monumental opportunity to be part of a 4 thousand-strong Dialogue Dream Team Ethiopia. I can’t think of a greater blessing!

𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐀 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!