Why young Ethiopians in Oromia and Sidama fought for change

This article explains the findings of a GRNPP-funded project that put youths and MPs in conversation about the efficacy of the country’s representative institutions, and how they might be reformed to become more inclusive and representative of young people’s concerns. They trained young Ethiopian researchers to undertake an ethnographic video project in two of the country’s regions (Amhara and Oromia) that were most affected by recent protests. The project worked with MPs at both state and federal levels to train them on learning from and working with youth groups, conducting parliamentary outreach, and the role of legislative bodies. The importance of this project is found in the fact that it provides concrete tools to stakeholders to tackle some of the most serious challenges that accompany the current process of democratisation. The team published this article in the Conversation on 7 June 2021 in which you can find links to the videos made by youths.