Profile
Abel Assefa (b. 1990) was born in Addis Ababa. He Studied Heritage Conservation with a BSc from Mekelle University and Master’s Degree as Bachelor of Art in Archeology and Heritage Management from Addis Ababa University. He also earned various certificates and diploma in trainings related to his field and has able to specialize on Disaster Risk Management for Cultural Heritages from Ritsumeikan University and Wood Conservation Technology from NTNU. Since 2012, he is working at Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH), as expert of Heritage Conservation & Management; and Archeologist. He participated and presented research papers in various conferences like on 20th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES20) in 2018 and Creative Ethiopia- 10th International Conference on the History of Art and Architecture in 2015 held in Mekellee University. Abel is also a freelance researcher and consultant on Ethiopian Art, Culture and Heritage. Abel also practices photography and is trained in painting as well. He has been also involved in curating and organizing several exhibitions in Addis Ababa.
Biniyam Kassahun was born and raised in Addis Ababa on 1993. Ever since his childhood he was devoted and interested on visual arts, in particular drawing and painting. His first basic drawing and painting based training was when he was elementary student from Abyssinia fine art school in 2006. After completion of high school he joined Arba Minch University. He studied Architecture in BSc degree and graduated in 2018. He also earned various certificates in short term fine art courses, art competition, architectural design competitions and other related to his fields. After graduation in 2018 he started working at Fasil Giorghis Consult as an architect for two years. Currently he is working as a freelance architect, graphics designer and artist.
The Goethe-Institut Äthiopien is a cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. Since 1962, the Goethe-Institut Äthiopien in Addis Ababa together with its African, European, Ethiopian and German partners has organized and supported a range of cultural programmes in Ethiopia to foster intercultural dialogue and cooperation between the two continents, and between Ethiopia and Germany.
The Frobenius Institute
The Frobenius-Institute focuses anthropological and historical research, since its foundation mainly in Africa, but also including South and Southeast Asia, Australia, South and North America and Oceania. More recently, its activity has been concentrated on research of cultural appropriation processes within the context of globalization.
As Germany’s oldest anthropological research institution, the Frobenius Institute holds four scientific collections and a number of scientific legacies. The holdings are the product of a collecting and documentation activity which started in 1898 and continued well after the death of the Institute’s founder, Leo Frobenius, in 1938. One of the most remarkable features were the Institute’s numerous research expeditions during which great importance was given to visual documentation. This lead to the creation of a large pictorial archive quite unique in Europe (online image database). Affiliated to the Frobenius-Institut is the Anthropological Library which has been founded in 1898 as a research library and which today counts among the most important libraries with focus on anthropology (catalogue).
As an autonomous institution, the Frobenius-Institut is associated to the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University and works in close collaboration with the Institut für Ethnologie (Institute for Ethnology), as well as with the Weltkulturen Museum (Museum of World Cultures) in the city of Frankfurt am Main.
Jinka University
Jinka University (JKU) is one of eleven fourth generation Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) established in Ethiopia in 2017 with the mission of producing undergraduate graduates in various disciplines. JKU’s young age notwithstanding, its first batch of undergraduate students graduated in June 2021 and it has been actively involved in research and in the local community, building up the capacity of its staff and reaching the surrounding community through multiple engagements.
Over the past four years JKU has also been connecting with similar HEIs in and out of the country and stakeholders in all walks of life to develop its strategic focus, determine the direction of growth of its academic programmes, and strengthen its collaboration with leading institutes all over the world.