Representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Standing Committee in the House of Peoples Representatives have successfully completed that focused on building the capacity of CSOs in their all-around engagement with parliament.
The three-day-long training session aimed at increasing awareness of the general parliamentary working procedure, enhancing understanding of the legislative process and bill scrutiny techniques, clarifying the roles of CSO representatives during their functions in parliament, and ethical standards that CSO representatives should follow during their functions in parliament.
The training was organized by the Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council (ECSOC) with the financial support of Civil Society Support Programme -2 (CSSP2).
Local civil society organizations in Dire Dawa have announced their readiness to support the upcoming national dialogue.
The civil society organizations working in various sectors in the Dire Dawa Administration noted that the national dialogue is of great national importance to Ethiopia and holds great hope for the country's long-term peace and stability. The CSOs announced that they will do their part by creating awareness and ensuring the various sections of society actively participate in the National Dialogue process.
The Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council has made a call saying, "the civil society sector should step up its efforts in supporting the National Dialogue by creating awareness in all sections of society, making their members' voices heard, coming up with mediation solutions, and observing the process." Thiss discussion platform was also a ground for the establishment of a steering committee that will actively support the national dialogue process in Dire Dawa.
The Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council (ECSOC) and the Woord en Daad Foundation inked a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC). The two sides have agreed to cooperate in Lobbying and Advocacy, Capacity Building, research, and knowledge generation among other areas.
It is vital for Ethiopian civil society organizations to work in a coordinated and organized manner in supporting the national dialogue. This was said during today's consultative forum between Civil Society Organizations and the National Dialogue Commission.
In his welcoming speech, the Executive Director of the Ethiopian Civil Society Organization Council (ECSOC), Henok Melesse, said, "This is a time when our country is under more pressure than ever, both internally and externally. Therefore, in the face of any differences and conflicts that may arise, it is important for us to strengthen our efforts in peacebuilding which will be vital in the national dialogue process."
Regarding the ongoing work and preparations for the national dialogue, National Dialogue Commissioner, Melaku Woldemariam stated, "The significant role that civil society organizations are contributing to the benefit of the national dialogue in reaching the lower sections of the society in an organized manner is commendable."
In today's forum, alliances of civil society organizations engaged in youth-oriented and women-oriented work also gave a presentation on the work being done to support the national dialogue. In connection with this ECSOC's Executive Director underlined "in our efforts to support the national dialogue, civil society organizations need to properly synergize in a coordinated manner."
ECSOC and ENDC jointly organized the discussion forum through support from Oxfam Ethiopia.
Representatives from various civil society organizations are deliberating on the proactive participation of the sector for effective national dialogue. Today's discussion is part of a series of awareness-creation workshops on the issue of National Dialogue.
This comes following the signing of an agreement recently between the Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council, the Ethiopian Political Parties Joint Council, and the Ministry of Peace in a bid to support the national dialogue process.
In his opening remark, Executive Director of the Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council (ECSOC), Henok Melesse said, "In a bid to support the National Dialogue Process, with particular attention of enhancing CSOs’ understanding around the issue by organizing various awareness creation platforms. We believe that a basic understanding has been created on the importance, timeliness, opportunities and challenges, as well as other basic issues of national dialogue.”
In his remarks, Deputy Chairperson of the Ethiopian Political Parties Joint Council Dr. Abdelkedir Adem underscored “supporting the National Dialogue process is in the best interest of the nation particularly now more than ever where peacebuilding is essential. I call upon all political parties to work in synergy for the common interest.”
ECSOC, together with its members and partners, is implementing an awareness creation campaign to ensure awareness about the national dialogue process in the civil society sector and other public sectors.
Representing the Ministry of Peace, Asma Redi stated: “the collaboration between the three institutes to support the National Dialogue is commendable and should pave the way for similar collaborations in all parts of the society to support the process and to overcome challenges to achieve sustainable peace in the country.”
