Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) launched the Medmer philosophy people become united and stood for common goals with provide forgiveness and create a peaceful country, the 13th month, Pagumen has given special attention for celebrating through different themes on the six days in this fiscal year.
Haileab Merssa a founder of PUAGMAE AB FESTIVAL PLC, is working strenuously to make Pagumen a month of road festival in Ethiopia. Last year, people from the nations of Amhara, Afar, and Oromia enabled to participate in the event through sharing their experience, knowledge, culture to encourage their relationship.
Briefing Journalists last week, Haileab said, due to many events undergone during the road festival like music shows, emperors leading system, paying tribute, cultural leaders mediation, and picturing different heritages among others have playing an indispensable role for cultural ties, knowing Ethiopian history, and educating the role of peace.
Haileab says he conceived the idea ten years ago. However, it was able to get acceptance three years ago and recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. People from different parts of the country present cultural ceremonies in the space provided.
This is crucial for people to people interaction, protecting cultural values, respecting each other’s while it is a symbol of peace for the next generation.
He added that such type of festivals are common in China, Spain, and India at different times while close to 20 million visitors enable to attended the event and countries they enable to generate income. However, the event is brainstorming an individual and the government can accept the idea as it is persuasive.
In addition to this, the festival is playing a pivotal role for filmmakers, musicians, and authors because of the event’s power to motivate people. This is playing its role for creating sustainable peace through using art.
As to Haileab, the main cause of conflict is lack of knowledge about cultures and history. ‘’With the absences of protecting culture, like a man who walks out of its direction’’ While his company is working strong linkage with Ministry of Peace in the first time during the yearly Peace day Pagume 9, 13th month in this fiscal year. On the day, planting peace (i.e. planting trees), drawing pictures for peace and related events were displayed on the road festival event.
This year, the festival has to carry on here in Addis Ababa on the specific place of Gulele Botanical Garden that rests on an area of more than 600 hectares. In addition to its width, the place is selected due to attractive green scenery.
One of the festival’s Coordinators, Dr Mulatu Astatikie, the famous music composer, on his part said that the event is beyond cultural dancing and enjoyments. Due to this reason, it is a matter of peace sustainability and protecting cultural values.
He believes that inadequate promotion of culture is the sources of conflict in Ethiopia due to given small attention. In contrast, protecting peace is the secret of overall development in the given nation.
For example, Wollo is the origin of four musical scales namely Ambasel, Anchihoye, Tizeta, and Batti. But the whole scales are distributed throughout the nation and nobody knows who created them. This shows that we have small attention towards our culture and history.
Therefore, they should be accepted warm regards that people from different parts of Ethiopia to participate in the festivals. In this regard, Participants are like scientists and architects as they provide their origins of culture during the festival period, Mulatu noted.
Ministry of Culture and Tourism is currently managing, coordinating, and supporting such events related to stakeholders’ whether religious or not, says Matebie Tilahun, Expert of Culture values with the Ministry.
According to Matebie, providing different documents which show the role of culture in the way of tolerance, peace sustainability, economic significance, social interaction, the significance of psychology and the like. In addition to this, like Pagume AB Festival PLC is an example which playing a crucial role for given culture attention and peace sustainability in Ethiopia due to generated significance idea. So, they need to support such type of convincing idyllic group.
Particularly, such type of road festivals has played an indispensable role when rethinking the ancient tolerance, creativity, history, the ability to solve problems, and cultural leading style among others while it is crucial to encourage peace sustainability and people to people relation throughout Ethiopia, Matebie describe.
The Ethiopian Herald September 7, 2019
BY MESERET BEHAILU
