NIMD - EDAC

Ethiopian Democracy Academy Welcomes its First Participants

In Ethiopia, NIMD’s programme has seen us working with countless politicians from across Ethiopia’s diverse political environment. In March, the Ethiopian Democracy Academy (EDAC) opened its doors to a similarly diverse group of Ethiopian politicians and activists, who came together for EDAC’s first two-and-a-half week training programme in the Lake Langano area.

EDAC, which is run with support from the European Union, seeks to train the future leaders and emerging politicians who will shape Ethiopia’s political future. It therefore works particularly with men and women aged between 25 and 40 years old, whose work as politicians and civil activists is just beginning. More than a dozen parties, representing all of Ethiopia’s nine regions, sent participants for the training.

EDAC presents a rare opportunity for representatives from Government and opposition parties from the different areas to meet as they eat, study, cook – and even play sports together! They soon organized their own meetings and activities as a multiparty unit, including football mornings and debate evenings.