FES Ethiopia

FES Ethiopia The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is a non-profit German foundation funded by the Government of Germany

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is the oldest political foundation in Germany with a rich tradition dating back to its foundation in 1925. Today, it remains loyal to the legacy of its namesake and campaigns for the core ideas and values of social democracy: freedom, justice and solidarity. It has a close connection to social democracy and free trade unions. FES promotes the advancement of socia

l democracy, in particular by:
- Political educational work to strengthen civil society
- Think Tanks
- International cooperation with our international network of offices in more than 100 countries
- Support for talented young people
- Maintaining the collective memory of social democracy with archives, libraries and more. Today, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation has six adult education centers and 13 regional offices throughout Germany, maintains branch offices in over 90 countries and carries out activities in more than 100 countries. The Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung Office Ethiopia was established in 1992.

๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ Empowering Women for Safe and Inclusive Political ParticipationWomen leaders in Dire Dawa and Hawassa are strengtheni...
05/06/2026

๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ Empowering Women for Safe and Inclusive Political Participation

Women leaders in Dire Dawa and Hawassa are strengthening their capacity to lead, influence, and participate meaningfully in Ethiopiaโ€™s political landscape.

Through a training organized by แ‰ตแˆแˆซแŠ• Timran in partnership with FES Ethiopia, participants enhanced their skills in political communication, campaign planning, voter engagement, public speaking, and media interaction. Practical sessions on message development, voter mapping, campaign budgeting, and interview techniques equipped participants with tools to run effective and issue-based campaigns.

The training also addressed one of the major barriers to womenโ€™s political participation: Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWiE). Participants discussed the challenges women face in political spaces and explored strategies to improve personal safety, strengthen reporting mechanisms, and build supportive institutional and community responses.

A key message emerged throughout the discussions: women's political participation cannot flourish without both empowerment and protection. Building an inclusive democracy requires not only equipping women with leadership skills but also ensuring safe political spaces free from violence, intimidation, and harassment.

Together, we can create a political environment where women can lead, participate, and thrive.

โ€œYouth are not just beneficiaries of peace โ€” they are bridge builders.โ€ An inter-regional youth dialogue on โ€œStrengtheni...
29/05/2026

โ€œYouth are not just beneficiaries of peace โ€” they are bridge builders.โ€

An inter-regional youth dialogue on โ€œStrengthening Social Cohesionโ€ brought together young leaders in Assosa to discuss the growing challenges of hate speech, misinformation, exclusion, and declining trust within communities. Organized by ybuntu , FES Ethiopia and BGDAN, the dialogue created a space for honest conversations on unity, peaceful coexistence and the role of youth in building sustainable peace.

Youth participants stressed that social cohesion means embracing unity within diversity โ€” across culture, religion, language and identity. They called for greater youth inclusion in peacebuilding, responsible use of social media, stronger dialogue culture, and the revitalization of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms such as Jaarsummaa, Shimgilina, and Mengehacha.

Participants also reflected on how social media can be both helpful and harmful โ€” it can connect people, spread knowledge, and promote peace, but it can also spread hate speech, misinformation and division when used irresponsibly.

Young people left the dialogue with a strong message: peace starts with listening, respect, truth, and collective responsibility. ๐Ÿค

๐ŸŒ Decarbonization Must Mean Social Justice: FES-Ethiopia & CETU Host High-Level Roundtable on Just Transition and NDC 3....
26/05/2026

๐ŸŒ Decarbonization Must Mean Social Justice: FES-Ethiopia & CETU Host High-Level Roundtable on Just Transition and NDC 3.0

How can Ethiopia balance its ambitious 70.3% climate mitigation target with the protection of millions of workers?

On May 21, FES Ethiopia and the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) convened senior policymakers, labor federations, and civil society leaders in Addis Ababa to critically evaluate the newly finalized Ethiopia NDC 3.0 through a worker-centric lens.

The forum featured an impactful, comprehensive master presentation by legal scholar and environmental consultant Eskedar Awgichew. Drawing from his recent research, Eskedar structurally bridged our October 2025 briefing paper with a rigorous analysis of the active NDC 3.0 framework. He mapped the acute labor vulnerabilities and transition shocks facing core economic sectors, highlighted by the "mechanization paradox" in agriculture and the massive skills displacement threat within the informal transport ecosystem due to the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle import ban.

Despite the critical absence of the Ministry of Planning and Development (MoPD), the roundtable fostered powerful tripartite dialogue. CETU leadership championed their seven strategic demands for labor safeguards, while representatives from the Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS) and key CSOs (including SouthSouthNorth, ActionAid, and NABU) debated concrete implementation pathways.

Key Outcomes Moving Forward:

Institutionalize Social Dialogue: Urgent calls to co-convene an Inter-Agency Tripartite Working Group to draft binding Just Transition Operational Guidelines for upcoming sector roadmaps.

Fund the Transition: Demand that international conditional climate finance and Article 6 carbon revenue be systematically routed through MoLS to fund a national Green TVET strategy and worker reskilling pipelines.

Track Job Decency: Expand national MRV monitoring beyond gross emissions to track employment quality, social protection floors, and transition-induced displacement.

Thank you to all partners, trade union leaders, and technical experts who turned this roundtable into a massive policy success. True climate leadership leaves no worker behind!

๐Ÿ‘‰ Read more about our research: https://ethiopia.fes.de/publications.html

15/05/2026

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐ก๐š๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐งโ€™๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐š๐ง ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ฌ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐›๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง?

Addis Powerhouse explores how womenโ€™s issues are often sidelined by ethnic and party-centered political agendas.

Melkamsew Solomon sits down with Fikir Getachew, Eyasped Tesfaye , and Sihibe Tesfaye to discuss the current state of womenโ€™s political participation in Ethiopia.

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch: https://shorturl.at/1uwP1


Did you know that according to the International Labour Organization, ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ•๐ŸŽ% ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐›๐š๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐œ๐ž is already expose...
08/05/2026

Did you know that according to the International Labour Organization, ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ•๐ŸŽ% ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐›๐š๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐œ๐ž is already exposed to climate-related hazards?

To address this urgent reality, FES Ethiopia recently organized a workshop in partnership with the ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐„๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ, ๐‚๐ก๐ž๐ฆ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ˆ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐š๐ฅ ๐…๐ž๐๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. Our discussion focused on the growing impacts of climate change and the critical necessity of a Just Transition to a greener economy.

๐ŸŒ ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‘๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐

Workers representatives emphasized Climate change isn't a distant threatโ€”it is a present danger. Workers are already facing:
โ€ข Extreme heat and declining productivity.
โ€ข Droughts, floods, and air pollution.
โ€ข Severe damage to livelihoods and workplace safety.

โš ๏ธ ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‘๐ข๐ฌ๐ค๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐š๐ง ๐”๐ง๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง

Participants from the energy and mining sectors raised vital concerns about what happens when transitions are poorly managed:
โ€ข Exposure to mercury, cyanide, and sulfuric acid, alongside toxic fumes and dust.
โ€ข Job losses and layoffs without proper reskilling or access to new green jobs.
โ€ข Weak regulatory systems that allow for false environmental claims while exploiting workers.
โ€ข A lack of worker representation in the policies that affect their lives most.

๐Ÿค ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐š "๐‰๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง" ๐“๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Œ๐ž๐š๐ง๐ฌ

The workers call that moving toward a green economy must be more than just changing industries. A truly Just Transition must:
1. Protect workersโ€™ rights and ensure workplace safety.
2. Strengthen labor laws and involve unions in every decision.
3. Create decent green jobs that leave no one behind, especially informal and vulnerable workers.

๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐›๐จ๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ž๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž.

Celebration of is underway in ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น, with panel discussion on โ€œDecent Work for Sustainable Development.โ€Cetu Ethiopia 's ...
01/05/2026

Celebration of is underway in ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น, with panel discussion on โ€œDecent Work for Sustainable Development.โ€

Cetu Ethiopia 's President Kassahun Follow stressing the establishment of a and the urgency for Ethiopia to prepare for the enforcement of the ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บโ€™s .


Across the globe, digital labour platforms are reshaping how work is organised, governed, and valued. But behind the lan...
01/05/2026

Across the globe, digital labour platforms are reshaping how work is organised, governed, and valued. But behind the language of innovation lies a more difficult reality: algorithm-driven systems are exposing major gaps in labour regulation and worker protection.

๐Ÿ“ฑFrom ride-hailing to delivery services, platform workers keep our economies moving. Yet apps often control access to jobs, pay, and ratings, with limited transparency or human oversight.
Women are disproportionately affected, earning less on average and facing higher risks of harassment, unsafe conditions, and discrimination.

There is a clear need for action:

โžก๏ธ Recognise platform workers as workers
โžก๏ธ Guarantee labour rights, social protection, and fair conditions
โžก๏ธ Protect the right to organise and bargain collectively

โœŠ As we mark Labour Day 2026, we must reaffirm a simple principle: the future of work must be grounded in dignity, rights, and justice for all workers.

๐Ÿ“ข๐—˜๐—ง๐—›๐—œ๐—ข๐—ฃ๐—œ๐—” ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—จ๐—ก๐—–๐—›๐—˜๐—ฆ ๐—œ๐—ง๐—ฆ ๐—•๐—›๐—ฅ-๐—ก๐—”๐—ฃ ๐——๐—ฅ๐—”๐—™๐—ง๐—œ๐—ก๐—š ๐—ฃ๐—ฅ๐—ข๐—–๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ฆ! Ethiopia has kicked off drafting its National Action Plan on Business...
24/04/2026

๐Ÿ“ข๐—˜๐—ง๐—›๐—œ๐—ข๐—ฃ๐—œ๐—” ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—จ๐—ก๐—–๐—›๐—˜๐—ฆ ๐—œ๐—ง๐—ฆ ๐—•๐—›๐—ฅ-๐—ก๐—”๐—ฃ ๐——๐—ฅ๐—”๐—™๐—ง๐—œ๐—ก๐—š ๐—ฃ๐—ฅ๐—ข๐—–๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ฆ!

Ethiopia has kicked off drafting its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights , bringing together FES Ethiopia, FDRE Ministry of Justice/ แ‹จแŠข.แŒ.แ‹ฒ.แˆช. แแ‰ตแˆ• แˆšแŠ’แˆตแ‰ดแˆญ, DIHR & OHCHR with the NAP Technical Committee.

Building on the National Baseline Assessment (NBA) findings and lessons from Ghana & Tanzania, discussions focused on shaping an implementation-oriented NAP with clear responsibilities, timelines, and measurable actions. Priorities include strengthening complaint mechanisms, expanding legal aid, and enhancing the capacity of the judiciary and labor inspectors.

The process also highlights the stateโ€™s role in shaping responsible business conduct through policy, investment, and state-owned enterprises.

A key step toward a more accountable and rights-based business environment in Ethiopia.

FES Ethiopia goes to the polls!๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธVoter turnout was 94%๐Ÿ˜ŠVery high commitment to the vote by the team.Weโ€™re electing n...
17/04/2026

FES Ethiopia goes to the polls!๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ

Voter turnout was 94%๐Ÿ˜ŠVery high commitment to the vote by the team.

Weโ€™re electing new Gender Coordinators to lead, strengthen gender expertise, and support inclusive programming through 2026.

in action starts at home.

๐Ÿ’ช Learning, sharing, and growing together!FES Ethiopia was in Kombolcha with industrial park workers from the textile se...
03/04/2026

๐Ÿ’ช Learning, sharing, and growing together!

FES Ethiopia was in Kombolcha with industrial park workers from the textile sector, coming together for several days of learning, exchange, and collaboration.

โš–๏ธ Learning that sticks!
From workersโ€™ rights and responsibilities to unions and CBAs, participants explored key topics and applied them through real-life scenarios and interactive discussions.

๐Ÿค Real talk, real solutions
Participants shared experiences and practical ways to address workplace challenges and labor disputes.

๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ Safer, stronger workplaces
Discussions also focused on preventing and strengthening , with a tripartite exercise bringing workers, employers, and government together.

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Kebele 13, House No. 579
Addis Ababa

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Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 16:00

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