๐’๐ฒ๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐š๐ง ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐ƒ๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐Ÿ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž: ๐…๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐šโ€™๐ฌ ๐…๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž

๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ—- ๐…๐ซ๐ข๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ’, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”

Today, the groups of ten consolidated their positions on the agenda issues assigned to them for further discussion with their larger groups of fifty delegates. The dialogue has been organized in a layered structure: an initial phase of 10 x 5, followed by 50 x 5, then 250 x 2, 250 x 16, and finally 8 x 500, bringing the total number of delegates to approximately 4,000.

๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐ซ๐ž๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐›๐จ๐ญ๐ก ๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐ˆ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐š ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐ž๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ž๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐›๐ž ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ซ๐, ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ซ๐ง ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐›๐ž ๐ž๐ฑ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐๐ž๐š ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐›๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐š ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐ž๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐š๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ.

Over the course of three days, the groups of ten engaged in detailed discussions on each topic and subtopic within their respective agendas. There was no restriction on the presentation of ideas. Every delegate was given full opportunity to speak, reflect, and respond. The process was deliberately open, allowing participants to express themselves without pressure or artificial limitation.

All views expressed by individual delegates were recorded carefully, reformulated as declarative statements, and read back to them to ensure accuracy. These statements were then entered into the formal notebook provided by the Commission, and the groups elected rapporteurs to preserve the integrity of the record. Individual views were subsequently synthesized into statements of consensus, while dissenting opinions were preserved separately. This careful documentation reflects a deep respect for both agreement and disagreement, and for the democratic value of precision in public deliberation.

The Ethiopian National Dialogue is emerging as an extraordinary experiment in collective reasoning. The very word โ€œdialogueโ€ comes from the Greek dialogos, meaning conversation, with roots in dia meaning โ€œthroughโ€ and logos meaning โ€œspeechโ€ or โ€œreason.โ€

๐ˆ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ฌ๐ž, ๐๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ž๐ฑ๐œ๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ; ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐ž๐œ๐ก, ๐š ๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐ฌ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐œ๐ก ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ . ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ ๐š๐ฌ ๐š ๐๐ซ๐š๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐œ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐œ๐ก ๐’๐จ๐œ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก. ๐ˆ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ž ๐›๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐œ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ข๐ง๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐š๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐š๐ฌ ๐š ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ญ ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐š๐ฌ ๐š ๐ฉ๐š๐ญ๐ก๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐œ๐ฅ๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ. ๐ˆ ๐š๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐š๐ฒ ๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐šโ€™๐ฌ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐ƒ๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐Ÿ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฌ๐š๐ฆ๐ž ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐š๐ ๐ž.

I have had the privilege of participating in the Conference both as a delegate in group discussions and as an expert in subject-matter sessions. In both roles, I witnessed Conference delegates applying reason to the countryโ€™s most difficult problems and possible solutions. They drew on personal experience, local wisdom, proverbs, scientific evidence, and statistical analysis. Some spoke from the authority of lived hardship; others contributed technical insight or historical perspective.

Together, these forms of knowledge enriched the discussion and made it more grounded, humane, and realistic. The result was not merely a conversation, but a genuine collective effort to understand Ethiopiaโ€™s challenges in their full complexity.

The atmosphere during the discussions was notably calm, respectful, and attentive. Delegates listened carefully to one another. Very few arrived with rigid positions, and even fewer appeared unwilling to revise their views. Most showed a remarkable openness to persuasion, despite holding strong preexisting beliefs. They asked questions generously and with sincerity.

Through close listening, many developed empathy for the views of others, even where they did not fully agree. This quality of mutual attention gave the dialogue a rare and encouraging tone. It suggested that consensus was not being forced but being patiently built organically from within.

Many delegates changed or refined their positions after hearing expert presentations. This was one of the strongest signs that the dialogue is functioning as it should. Expert input is not intended to override delegate judgment, but to sharpen it, expand it, and help delegates distinguish between slogans and solutions. In a country facing deep institutional and historical questions, such informed adjustment is a strength, not a weakness. It shows a willingness to learn and a commitment to truth over posture.

Equally striking was the sense of personal responsibility delegates brought to their work. During meetings and even in coffee breaks, they reminded one another of the weight of their generational duty. They spoke often of the rarity of the opportunity before them and the need to do their very best in carrying out their responsibilities. Their conversations reflected goodwill, good faith, and trust in one anotherโ€™s integrity.

Notably, they often used the language of collective belongingโ€”โ€œweโ€ and โ€œourโ€โ€”rather than the language of division. That subtle but powerful choice of words revealed to me a growing sense of shared ownership over Ethiopiaโ€™s future.

Over these three days of dialogue, one could observe a quiet transformation. Delegates who arrived with broad and sometimes diffuse agendas gradually refined their thinking into more focused and workable proposals. This narrowing was not a loss, but a gain. It reflected the discipline of dialogue: the movement from every possible concern to the most urgent and actionable ones. It showed that when people reason together honestly, they can move from abstraction to clarity, from fragmentation to coherence.

As I listened to delegates, answered their questions as a subject-matter expert, and observed their interactions during sessions and coffee breaks, I was reminded of a profound line from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: โ€œWe must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.โ€

That message resonates deeply in Ethiopiaโ€™s present moment. It speaks not only to coexistence, but to moral responsibility, humility, and the necessity of shared destiny. The dialogue conference is giving that principle a living form.

After three intense days of small-group deliberations, I am left with a strong conviction: Ethiopians can and will live together in peace as brothers and sisters. The wisdom, patience, and seriousness displayed by the delegates suggest that national renewal and reconciliation is not just possible but foreordained by the Almighty.

As a Conference participant, observer and subject matter expert over the past three days of intense dialogue and deliberations of the small groups of ten, I am convinced that we Ethiopians shall live together as brothers and sisters because we live in the โ€œland of the wiseโ€ and are determined to ensure โ€œEthiopia Shall Riseโ€ just as Ghanaโ€™s first president Kwame Nkruma predicted in his poem by the same title in 1963, at the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, and become “Africa’s Destiny.”

โ€œ๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐š ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐‘๐ข๐ฌ๐žโ€ (๐Š๐ฐ๐š๐ฆ๐ž ๐๐ค๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐š๐ก)

๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐š, ๐€๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐šโ€™๐ฌ ๐›๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ ๐ž๐ฆ

Set high among the verdant hills
That gave birth to the unfailing
Waters of the Nile
๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐š ๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ž
๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐š, ๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ž;
Ethiopia, bold cradle of Africaโ€™s ancient rule
And fertile school
Of our African culture;
๐„๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐š, ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐žย ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ž
And remould with us the full figure
Of Africaโ€™s hopes
And destiny.

๐‹๐„๐“โ€™๐’ ๐€๐‹๐‹ ๐‰๐Ž๐ˆ๐ ๐‡๐€๐๐ƒ๐’ ๐€๐๐ƒ ๐„๐๐’๐”๐‘๐„ ๐„๐“๐‡๐ˆ๐Ž๐๐ˆ๐€ ๐’๐‡๐€๐‹๐‹ ๐‘๐ˆ๐’๐„ ๐€๐๐ƒ ๐๐„๐‚๐Ž๐Œ๐„ ๐†๐‘๐„๐€๐“ ๐€๐†๐€๐ˆ๐ ๐๐˜ ๐’๐”๐๐๐Ž๐‘๐“๐ˆ๐๐† ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐„๐“๐‡๐ˆ๐Ž๐๐ˆ๐€๐ ๐๐€๐“๐ˆ๐Ž๐๐€๐‹ ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐€๐‹๐Ž๐†๐”๐„ ๐‚๐Ž๐๐…๐„๐‘๐„๐๐‚๐„.

Originally posted on X:
https://x.com/AlMariam1/status/2080839769030885424

About

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino. His teaching areas include American constitutional law, civil rights law, judicial process, American and California state governments, and African politics. He has published two volumes on American constitutional law, including American Constitutional Law: Structures and Process (1994) and American Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (1998). He is the Senior Editor of the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies, a leading scholarly journal on Ethiopia. For the last several years, Prof. Mariam has written weekly web commentaries on Ethiopian human rights and African issues that are widely read online. He played a central advocacy role in the passage of H.R. 2003 (Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007) in the House of Representatives in 2007. Prof. Mariam practices in the areas of criminal defense and civil litigation. In 1998, he argued a major case in the California Supreme Court involving the right against self-incrimination in People v. Peevy, 17 Cal. 4th 1184, which helped clarify longstanding Miranda rights issues in criminal procedure in California. For several years, Prof. Mariam had a weekly public channel public affairs television show in Southern California called โ€œIn the Public Interestโ€. Prof. Mariam received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1984, and his J.D. from the University of Maryland in 1988.