An ideation workshop organized by TIMRAN under the Coalition for Women’s Voice in the National Dialogue is conducted with the theme ‘The Role of Women in the National Dialogue Opinion-making and Message crafting’ on February 22, 2023, at Harmony Hotel.
At the event, Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) Commissioner, Bilen G/Medhin, gave a presentation about the role of the commission and the tenet of what national dialogue means and covers.
Accordingly, she described national dialogue as an inclusive way of minimizing differences and having multi-stakeholders within the process. It is a means to transit political stalemate either having conflict or not so as to build peace.
She showed the difference between dialogue and non-dialogue. Mostly dialogue comes after a long process of armed conflict, mediation, arbitration, negotiation, court deliberation, and a win-win result so as to make peace. It follows the principle of truth based on listening to each other, discussing, and ideas exchange. Whereas nondialogue is characterized by questioning without listening and focusing on winning others’ opinions.
The commissioner noted national dialogue is showing empathy for others’ pain. She also briefed about the roles given and activities done within a one-year period by the ENDC.
The ENDC aspires to be participatory and inclusive, create a system and structure, and make partnerships with different stakeholders including CSOs who work on the advancement of women’s rights and the like.
CSOs that are working on women’s rights could support the ENDC in different ways including being hired professionals amongst their members, conveners, information feeders, and research-based consultants, and actively participating in the national dialogue process.
TIMRAN Executive Directress, Eyerusalem Solomon, welcomed the ideation workshop participants and briefed them about the history and activities of TIMRAN and the Coalition for Women’s Voice in the National Dialogue.
She stated that TIMRAN emerged as a local nonpartisan civil society organization dedicated to advancing women’s participation in politics and public decision-making in Ethiopia regardless of their political opinion or party affiliation. It is founded by nine Ethiopian citizens who steadfastly united to narrow the gender parity in the country’s politics in January 2020. It is dedicated to contributing its share in the nation’s efforts to end the current political environment that is characterized by political gridlock, marginalization, injustice, violence, and rapidly growing ethnic conflict.
The Coalition for Women’s Voice in the National Dialogue was established on 16 March 2022 to ensure women’s meaningful representation in the Ethiopian National Dialogue process and the process to respond and address Ethiopian women’s needs, perspectives, priorities, and aspirations with 22 CSOs membership. Presently, the coalition has more than 50 members and TIMRAN is serving as a secretariat.
The Executive Directress deliberated that the aim of the ideation workshop is to collect ideas on how the national dialogue could become an inclusive process for meaningful representation and participation of women.
Following the presentation, the participants made a group discussion and deliver their points to the participants. Then they craft messages that address the voice of women found in different walks of life expected to be used in different media platforms.