Brian MacHarg is director of civic engagement at the Appalachian State University, where he focuses on how civic participation can promote democratic values and facilitate learning.

Sergio Pimenta is vice president of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in charge of operations in the Middle East and Africa. IFC, a private sector arm of the World Bank Group, stands as a primary development financial institution.

Keith Rockwell is Director of the Information and External Relation Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO) based in Genève. Two weeks ago Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES ) in collaboration with WTO has organized a seminar on “Challenges for the Multilateral Trading System ‐ Perspectives from East Africa” which took place in Nairobi.

Mustafa Mohammed Omar is the President of the Somali Regional State. He was born in Degahabur, some 765 kilometers away from the capital of the region Jigjiga in 1973. He joined Addis Ababa University in 1991 and graduated in economics in 1995.

The tireless Ethiopian human rights activist, Obang Metho, is back in Ethiopia after almost two decades. The head of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) has been touring the nation advocating for a slew of ideals in pursuit of a new Ethiopia.

Saad Ali Shire (PhD) was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somaliland in October 2015. Prior to his appointment he was the Minister of National Planning and Development for five years from 2012 to 2015.

Nate Araya is an Ethiopian American filmmaker. In his latest project, he travelled throughout the US looking to converse with immigrant communities on the taboo subject of mental illness.

Ambassador Fumio Shimizu is the newly appointed head of the Japanese Mission to the African Union (AU). A lawyer by profession, Shimizu is a seasoned Japanese diplomate and official at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Arie Hendrik Havelaar (PhD) is a professor of Microbial Risk Assessment and Epidemiology of Foodborne Diseases at the University of Florida’s Institute of Sustainable Food Systems.

South Korea and Ethiopia have enjoyed a long and rich bilateral relationship based on aid, trade and security. South Korea is seen as a worthy nation to emulate as Ethiopia attempts to change its narrative from an aid-dependent nation to one that is capable of funding its own economical ambition.