British Embassy supports series of four public debates to promote dialogue
The final public dialogue was held on Friday 22 March 2013 at the Ghion Hotel under the theme ‘Public Parks and Green Area Development in Addis Ababa.’
Public debate session about Public 'Parks and Green Area Development in Addis Ababa.’
In support of debate and dialogue in Ethiopia, the British Embassy, in collaboration with the Forum for Social Studies (FSS), has organized a series of public dialogues on the delivery of urban services. The final public dialogue was held on Friday 22 March 2013 at the Ghion Hotel under the theme ‘Public Parks and Green Area Development in Addis Ababa.’ Study papers on the issue were presented followed by a discussion from participants.
Speaking about the dialogue sessions, Chargé d’Affaires Chris Allan said:
‘Public debate is important. It can help ensure that citizens’ voices are heard in decision-making processes on issues that matter to them. I hope that these public dialogues provided a forum for different stakeholders to actively discuss issues of importance to urban populations, in the interests of improved public service delivery”.
Urban Transportation in Addis Ababa’ and ‘Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal in Hawassa and Addis Ababa were the topics of the three dialogues held in Addis Ababa and Hawassa. The British Embassy sponsored this series of four debates to promote dialogue on issues of vital importance to urban Ethiopians.
Note to the Editor
• Forum for Social Studies is a non-governmental, non-profit institution engaged in conducting policy-oriented research and promoting public debate on a wide range of development issues.
• Forum for Social Studies has used the program of public dialogues as a flagship activity to bring together government decision makers and the wider public to collaborate on policy and development issues of mutual concern.
• The first debate coincided with the 5th Ethiopian cities week, 10 – 16th November.