H.E. Mr. Daisuke Matsunaga, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia signe dthegrant contract with Dr. Ahmed Hassen, Director of Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) at AAU, for Restoration of IES’s Ras Makonnen Hall located within the historic GueneteLuel Palace, the former residence of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Dr. JailuUmer, Vice Presidnt of the Addis Ababa University witnessed as a recipient in the signing ceremony.
The grant amounting to USD 85,679 (equivalent to ETB 2,403,500) will be used to renovate Ras Makonnen Hall as both a functional and historical multi-purpose lecture hall, while retaining its cultural and historical values by repairing damaged parts, restoring the interior, and installing new equipment.
It is to be recalled that on the 20th of September 2017, Addis Ababa University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kyoto Universityin Japan for academic exchange and research cooperation.
Based on this MoU, the IES will make the Ras Makonnen Hall available to the Center for African and Oriental Studies of the AAU, and the Center for African Area Studies of Kyoto University, for organizing public lectures and exhibitions related to Japanese studies and the Japanese language.
In addition to supporting educational facilities, the restoration by this project is expected to attract visitors to the Ethnological Museum of the IES which conserves Ethiopia’s material and spiritual cultures with its over 10,000 artifacts that makes it one of the most important and famous museums in the whole of Africa.
Herald December 16/2018
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
