ECSU Holds the First International Conference
Ethiopian Civil Service University held the First International Conference under the theme of “New Agenda in Governance and Policy for Sustainable Development” on February 22, 2018 at Hidasse Hall. The conference was jointly organized by African Institute of Governance and Development at ECSU, Addis Ababa University and Institute for Poverty Alleviation at Yensei University.
In his opening speech Dr. Berhanu Belayneh, vice president for Research and Community Service welcomed the participants. He also noted that Ethiopian Civil Service University which was established in 1995 to support the transformation drive of the Ethiopian Civil Service within the context of the country’s development policies and strategies, has special mandate to build the capacity of the public sector through specialized education, training, consultancy, research and community services. Based on this, it has graduated more than 30,000 civil servants in under graduate and post gradute levels including PhDs and engaged in providing consultancy and training to Federal Ministries, Agencies, and Regional Offices and Higher learning Institutes on tools which bring transformation of the organizations. So that their service delivery will be improved, Dr. Berhanu added.
He also mentioned that Research is another academic activity which gives the university a chance to identify problems in the public service. Each year, a lot of researches are conducted by the university staff as well as scholars from partner institutes. These researches and their findings have been presented and discussed in national conferences hosted by the university. “Initiating and co-organizing this conference is the beginning of the cooperation with international partners like the two Institutes of Yonsei University, this conference draws on the collective experience of both ECSU and Yonsei University which will strengthen cooperation in various ways. We have a lot of experience in conducting conferences in coordinating with national and international partners. We benifited a lot from such kinds of partnership. Today’s conference is also a good opportunity to exchange ideas ànd we are looking forward to see it grows in to a full permanent collaborative forum,” Dr. Berhanu underscored.
On the conference three papers entitled “Global Governance and the Quest for Policy Sovereignty: Issues, Opportunities and Challenges” ,“New Tools for New Agendas: Future Thinking and Innovation”, and “Migration and Climate Change as Governance Challenges” were presents by scholars and the participants held discussion on the issues raised by the presenters. It is learnt that the conference was intended to engage experts, practitioners, policy makers, politicians, academics and all important stakeholders of the international development community in Ethiopia and Africa in helping to advance, enhance and establish new agendas in governance and sustainable development. It also aims to serve as a medium for scholarly discourse in different thematic areas. Finally ECSU and Yonsei University has signed a partnership agreement.