Ethiopian Studies

This paper presents an innovative digital tool designed to support the analysis of medieval Cyrillic handwriting within a codicological and palaeographical framework. The Cyrillic Palaeography Toolkit (CyPaT), developed from a standardised descriptive model and integrated with the Repertorium of South Slavonic Manuscripts and Copyists (X-XIV cc.), offers a comprehensive environment for the description, processing, and comparative study of manuscript data. By enabling direct interaction with digitised images, CyPaT allows for detailed examination of script features such as letter proportions, stroke composition, and layout. As a free and open-source resource, it promotes collaborative research and the systematic identification of script features linked to specific periods, scriptoria, or individual scribes, particularly within the South Slavic Cyrillic tradition, marking a significant step forward in the development of Digital Slavic Palaeography as an emerging field of scholarly inquiry.

This essay examines humble Ethiopian weavings featuring lions, associated with the biblical Tribe of Judah and Emperor Haile Selassie. Likely produced in the Gondar and Tigray regions, these twined works may have served both Jewish (Beta Israel) and Christian communities, reflecting overlapping cultural expressions. Their iconography—lions, doves, and olive branches—evokes Solomonic lineage, biblical symbolism, and post-WWII Ethiopian identity. Though modest in form and little valued in the market, these textiles embody significant intersections of faith, heritage, and political memory.

Dans le cadre de la 9e édition des Rencontres des Études Africaines en France, qui se tiendront à Aubervilliers (Campus Condorcet) du 29 juin au 2 juillet 2026, nous organisons un atelier dédié à la discipline histoire de l'art appliquée à l'Afrique.

Les propositions (500 mots maximum) doivent être accompagnées d'une brève présentation (nom, affiliation, intérêts de recherche) et adressées au plus tard le mercredi 05 novembre 2025 à lola.mirti@ehess.fr (EHESS-IMAF) et pauline.monginot@univ-rennes2.fr (Université Rennes 2-HCA).

We possess substantial knowledge about how the patriarch of Alexandria wielded power over his subordinate bishops. This picture can now be enriched with a thorough study of the lists of episcopal delegations to councils that took place both in Egypt and outside it, which the present article oWers. The study's result allows us to state that, as time went by, the participation of bishops in the dioceses of the Delta increased at the expense of bishops from Thebais. To explain this shift in participation, the author has examined the information about the Church of the Delta conS tained in an enormous corpus of 2,000 letters of Isidore of Pelusium Qfirst half of the fifth centuryR. Keywords: late antique Egypt, patriarch of Alexandria, network of dioceses in Egypt, bishops of Egypt, bishops of Libya Inferior, bishops of Pentapolis, bishops of Ethiopia, onomastics of bishops, Greek political culture in the cities of the Lower Egyptian nomes.

The Mao Group: New Evidence of Omotic Lineage

The Mao languages of Ethiopia (Mawes Aas’e [myf], Seezo [sze], Hoozo [hoz], and Ganza [gza]) have posed a challenge for comparativists. Even among those who accept the Omotic hypothesis (itself a matter of some debate, see Azeb Amha 2012:425-434), the status of the Mao group is controversial. Bender argued for an Omotic lineage for the Mao group at times and for a mixed lineage with Koman (Nilo-Saharan) (Bender 1975, 1985, & 1990) at other times. In his later work, however, Bender concluded that the Mao group was in fact an early, primary, branch of Omotic (2000 and 2003). Zaborski continued to disagree and argued for a Nilo-Saharan lineage, largely on the basis of pronouns (Zaborski 2004). Zaborski’s claims about the Mao pronouns also shaped general Omotic work, where the Mao languages were not considered in discussions of the Omotic family (Azeb Amha 2012). Today, however, the body of work on the Mao languages has grown considerably: reference grammars for three Mao languages are now available (Mawes Aas’e (Ahland 2012), Seezo (Girma Mengistu 2015), and Hoozo (Getachew Kassa 2015)); and for Ganza, a phonological description and glossary are now available (Smolders 2016 and 2015). While these works assume an Omotic lineage for the Mao group, they have not directly defended the group as Omotic. 
This paper explores the degree to which the group fits within the Omotic family. First, the examination considers phonological and morphosyntactic features which have been identified as both widespread in Omotic and not widely attested in non-Omotic languages of the area. These features were identified in  Azeb Amha’s 2017 overview of the Omotic language family and include the following: 1) the presence of a complex tonal system with relevance to both grammar and lexicon; 2) nominal terminal vowels without morphological function that interact with nominal and NP suffixes/enclitics; 3) sibilant harmony; 4) so-called demonstrative and interrogative verbs; 5) clause-chaining devices with switch-reference markers; and 6) unique interrogative and negative verbal paradigms. Second, the examination concludes with a discussion of sound changes and deeper morphosyntactic connections linking the Mao languages with the wider Omotic family, arguing for genetic inheritance over contact as a source. The features include structures attested in diverse parts of the Omotic family (and thus, likely indicative of the early Proto-Omotic state): pronouns, subject markers, demonstratives, copulas, number markers, and more which have come to be further grammaticalized in the Mao languages and in some instances have entered paradigmatic grammatical systems (Ahland 2019; to appear). Finally, the possibility of contact between Mao and non-Afroasiatic groups is also revisited. The degree to which divergence of the Mao languages may be linked to contact (as previous work suggested), particularly with neighboring Nilo-Saharan languages, is explored.
The paper relies on the latest scholarship, revisiting the problematic historical question of the Mao languages. Now that scholars have access to the details of most of the Mao grammar systems, a more accurate picture of deeper links between the Mao languages, the rest of Omotic, and wider Afroasiatic is emerging.

References
Ahland, Michael B. 2012. A grammar of Northern Mao (Màwés Aas’è). Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Ph.D. dissertation.

Ahland, Michael. 2019. The development of subject case marking in Omotic-Mao. Studies in African Linguistics 48.2.

Ahland, Michael. to appear. The evolution of the Mawes Aas'e (Omotic-Mao) pronouns: Evidence for Omotic lineage. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics.

Azeb Amha 2012. Omotic. The Afroasiatic Languages. Cambridge Language Surveys, ed. by Zygmunt Frajzyngier and Erin Shay, 423-504. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Azeb Amha. 2017. The Omotic language family. The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Typology, ed. by Alexandra Y Aikhenvald and R.M.W. Dixon, 815-853. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bender, M. Lionel. 1975. The beginnings of ethnohistory in western Wellegga: the Mao problem. Patterns in language, culture and society: Sub-saharan Africa. OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 19.125-141.

Bender, M. Lionel. 1985. Gumuz, Koman, Mao and Omotic. Studies in African Linguistics (supplement) 9.19-21.

Bender, M. Lionel. 1990. The limits of Omotic. Omotic language studies, ed. by Richard J. Hayward. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Bender, M. Lionel. 2000. Comparative morphology of the Omotic languages. Muenchen: Lincom Europa.

Bender, M. Lionel. 2003. Omotic lexicon and phonology. (Published by author.)

Getachew Kassa. 2015. A grammar of Hoozo. Addis Ababa University, PhD dissertation.

Girma Mengistu. 2015. A grammar of Seezo. Addis Abba University, PhD dissertation.

Smolders, Joshua. 2015. A wordlist of Ganza. Addis Ababa: SIL Ethiopia.

Smolders, Joshua. 2016. A phonology of Ganza (Gwàmi Nánà). Linguistic Discovery 14.1:86-144.

Zaborski, Andrzej. 2004. West Cushitic--a genetic reality. Lingua Posnaniensis: Revue de philologie comparée et de linguistique générale, 46:173-186.

This paper examines identified features of the Omotic language family as attested within the Mao group, exploring the extent to which the Mao group (Mawes Aas'e, Seezo, Hoozo and Ganza/Gwami Nana) cohere as a group and whether they fit within the larger Omotic family.

Status: In Press
To be published in the Oxford Guide to Afroasiatic Languages

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Abstract
This book offers a comprehensive exploration of Ethiopia’s transport systems, tracing their evolution from pre-20th century footpaths, animal-based mobility, and caravan trade to modern roads, railways, aviation, and emerging green transport solutions. It examines how Ethiopia’s diverse geography shaped movement, commerce, and state formation, highlighting traditional transport modes and the logistics of kings, armies, and diplomacy.
The work then covers the early modern era, including the Ethiopia–Djibouti railway, the introduction of automobiles, and initial road-building challenges, before examining the post-1950s expansion, Ethiopian Airlines’ growth, public transport innovations, and foreign infrastructure involvement.
In the modern period, Ethiopia has seen rapid road and railway expansion, urban light rail development, aviation leadership, and the beginnings of electric vehicle adoption. Comparative analyses with African peers provide lessons for mass transit, high-speed rail, green mobility, and regional integration.
Appendices offer transport statistics, network maps, and policy frameworks, supporting evidence-based planning for sustainable and inclusive mobility.
Keywords: Ethiopia, transport history, roads, railways, aviation, green mobility, electric vehicles, regional integration, urban planning

A palavra liturgia vem do idioma grego e significa ofício ou trabalho do povo. Em sentido técnico, é o trabalho que o povo oferece a Deus e, de forma mais específica, está associado às celebrações religiosas. No cristianismo, a liturgia tem papel importantíssimo e é plural. Normalmente as pessoas conhecem a missa católica ou o culto protestante, mas existem muitas outras manifestações litúrgicas. Dentre elas, a que será abordada neste artigo, o Rito Bizantino. O Rito Bizantino é um conjunto de liturgias que se desenvolveram no Império Romano do Oriente, também dito Império Bizantino. Tendo como origem principal sua capital, Constantinopla, esse conjunto de liturgias espalhou-se pelo Oriente Cristão, e passou a ser utilizado pelas Igrejas Ortodoxas e algumas das Católicas Orientais. É importante salientar que a Igreja Católica Apostólica Romana está organizada em um conjunto de vinte e quatro Igrejas Particulares sui iuris, sendo uma de Rito Latinomais numeroso e bem conhecido entre as pessoas do Ocidente -, uma de Rito Armênio, duas de Rito Siro-Oriental, três de Rito Siro-Ocidental, três de Rito Alexandrino e quatorze de Rito Bizantino. No Rito Bizantino, a missa é conhecida pelo nome de Divina Liturgia. Existem atualmente três Divinas Liturgias utilizadas: a Divina Liturgia de São João Crisóstomo, que é celebrada em quase todos os dias do ano; a Divina Liturgia de São Basílio, usada dez vezes no ano, nos cinco primeiros domingos da Quaresma, na Quinta-feira e Sábado Santo, na festa de São Basílio Magno (1º de janeiro) e nas vigílias do Natal e da Epifania; e a Divina Liturgia de São Gregório Dialogista, também dita Liturgia dos Dons Pré-santificados, usada nos dias de semana da Quaresma, exceto nos do Tríduo Pascal. Sua designação se deve ao fato de que nela não há consagração eucarística, utilizando-se dons que já foram consagrados anteriormente. De forma geral, as Divinas Liturgias seguem um mesmo formato, alterando-se apenas algumas orações entre elas. No Rito Bizantino há uma estreita relação entre o ritual celebrativo, a arquitetura, a iconografia e a interpretação litúrgica, sendo impossível, para reconstituir sua história, tratar apenas do ritual em si mesmo. Todos esses aspectos devem ser considerados , a fim de entender como as mudanças em um destes componentes influenciaram os demais.

This article presents the personal narrative of the author, who discusses her experiences with adoption across her life course. The narrative relates the author’s personal experiences with adoption to her decision to enter the social work profession, and her use of life course perspective to inform her teaching. The article also discusses the way in which adoption experiences relate to the author’s commitment to studying, teaching and changing structures of oppression through increasing students’ awareness and commitment to righting social injustices. The importance of human relationships is also discussed both within the context of personal experiences with adoption and professional experiences in social work. The author concludes that familial experiences with adoption profoundly affect both choice of profession and theoretical perspective. Key words: life course perspective, oppression, privilege, human relationships, social justice

Slavery and labour relations have transformed the society of western Wälläga, Ethiopia, ove the last decades. The social hierarchies these transformations have given rise to, and the concurrent degrees of freedom and unfreedom which over time have taken shape in this society, are today incorporated by ethnic categories. This creates a highly stratified society where traditional hierarchies and social labels exist side by side with more recent ethno-political labels, further complicating the landscape of diverse languages and cultural expressions. This paper deals with a category of people often referred to as ‘black Oromo’, a term suggesting slave descent. On which grounds are these people categorized as such and what does this imply for their status and prestige in the current society? The research looks at the connection between these putative slave descendants and people identified as Mao. Which historical processes caused this connection and how does this translate into understandings of rank and hierarchy? The research shows that there are several individuals and families who are categorized as Oromo but stigmatized as descendants of slaves, and who until this day have not been able to blend into either the Oromo or the Mao community. Thus, they seem to remain ‘in between’ and are at times rejected by both sides.

This thesis explores a social category called “Mao”, which conveys identity, ethnicity, and social positioning in an area at the border between the Benishangul Gumuz and the Oromia Regional States in Western Ethiopia. It investigates how “Mao” does not carry one unified meaning and how its consequences vary for different individuals who may all claim that their respective living conditions, languages, and cultural expressions represent “true Maoness”. I question why Mao is so nebulous, contested, and heterogenous and why this one identity is stigmatising for some groups yet honourable for others. To answer this, I combined ethnographic fieldwork and archival research. My analysis goes beyond an exclusive focus on ethnicity to examine the overlaps between various ethnic, linguistic, and hierarchical identifications and thereby provide a dynamic understanding of local power relations, social stratification, and positionality.

This study argues that being classified as “Mao” does not determine the lifestyle and social status of an individual. Instead, the position of an individual within the local hierarchies of their community affects what Mao means. Social hierarchies are shaped by logics from the past, particularly concerning the lingering memories of slavery, as well as newer disparities created by the division of the area into two regional states. The way in which Maoness interacts with other characteristics (socio-economic, racial or in terms of “ancestral purity”) may strengthen the persisting prestige of some individuals while it may deepen others’ experiences of marginality and exclusion. This research examines how Mao pervades people’s experience of everyday life in relation to political alliances and strategies, education, religion, marriage, and labour, and how different ways of being Mao in practice (“doing Mao”) influence its meanings. These perspectives illustrate how the concept of Mao at the local level interacts with changes at the regional and national level, and how the resulting historical transformation of hierarchies affects people’s realities.

The designation Mao in western Ethiopia, particularly in Mao Komo special wäräda, is a contested and ambiguous identity. Historically associated with highland groups near Begi and Kondala, its extension into Benishangul Gumuz has created confusion regarding whom the term refers to and what it signifies. This study examines the multiple and competing meanings of Mao: as an ethnic, linguistic, political, and status-related category as well as their implications for broader debates on ethnicity in Ethiopia. The analysis draws on ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews and archival materials and complementary socio-linguistic survey data. Findings reveal that Mao encompasses distinct identities each ascribing different values to the label, ranging from political prestige to distancing from Oromo identity. Since there is no one “Mao language” each linguistic group has a tendency to regard their own language as the only “real” Mao language, leaving it fraught with competing designations. Politically, Mao serves as an official ethnic category, yet boundaries of belonging remain disputed. As a status term, it carries both derogatory and prestigious connotations tied to slavery, purity, and genealogy. The study concludes that Mao functions as a flexible but contested identity that unites and fragments at once, illustrating the risks of essentialising ethnicity as a fixed category. Instead, understanding identity in the region requires attention to historical processes, language dynamics, and the shifting social hierarchies that shape the meanings of belonging.

This case study is about the first Information Systems PhD program in Ethiopia and the region, a collaborative effort of thirteen universities around the globe. Fifteen faculty members traveled to Ethiopia to launch the program for classes, which will start in 2009. This paper depicts the program design and program development and an outline of the overall program. The authors share their personal experience in the development of this unique IS PhD program.

Objective: This study explores the lived experiences of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Metekel, northwestern Ethiopia, as a result of ethnicbased violence. Methods: Using a qualitative case study design, data were gathered through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with IDPs in Chagni camp. Results: Findings reveal severe forms of trauma, including night attacks, sexual violence, property destruction, family separation, and psychosocial distress caused by state-linked ethnic violence using both traditional and modern weapons. The study highlights the urgent need for political, humanitarian, and development interventions to address the root causes and impacts of internal displacement in Metekel.

How Cambodia is coping with the COVID-19 crisis remains a grey area in the nascent research on the pandemic in Asia. While South Korea and Taiwan have been held up as models, dictating the strategies to be taken in response to the epidemic, in Cambodia there has been until very recently a certain disregard of the health risk to the benefit of economic and political concerns. The country suffered from an early infection, with a first confirmed case on January 27, 2020. However, official data published over three months later on May 7 reported no deaths linked to COVID-19 and only 122 confirmed infections for a population of approximately 16 million. At the time of writing, 26 days passed since the last positive case was reported on April 11. In other circumstances, this low prevalence would qualify COVID-19 as an epiphenomenon. A series of measures aiming to contain the epidemic have nevertheless been put in place, such as restricting gatherings and travel, and closing schools and some businesses, but these remain unequally implemented, monitored and controlled. The crisis affecting Cambodia lies mainly in the impact on the country's economy. The textile industry was greatly affected by the floundering global economy. A break in the production capacity for raw textile materials in China induced supply problems, and resulted in many businesses closing in Cambodia. At the other end of the chain, the vertiginous drop in orders for finished products from Western Europe and the USA, where the economies have ground to a halt, has aggravated the situation for the some 800,000 workers concerned (Pierson 2020). With no supplies coming in and no orders going out, the whole industry is threatened with collapse and thousands of people are facing unemployment.[i] Another crucial sector in Cambodian economic life, tourism, came to a sudden stop in January 2020, further shaking the national economy.[ii] Finally, the mass withdrawal of Chinese investors, diverted by the crisis in their own country, has also plunged Cambodia into an uncertain future. In response to the situation, the government recently announced the release of USD 800 million for the first six months in order to limit the impact of the economic crisis (Vicheika 2020). The damage to the economy and the persistent threat of the epidemic itself partly explain the central role assigned to COVID-19 in the discourses and practices of the country's authorities. But to fully understand the extent of this crisis, we must take an Science, Medicine, and Anthropology

If you’ve browsed a book or two recently, you’ve likely noticed a curious detail whenever there’s a historical date. Instead of the usual BC and AD after the year, it’s been changed to BCE and CE. But what are these ‘new’ terminologies? And why are they replacing a ‘dated’ lexicon? Lately, there has been a tendency for institutions to ‘modernize’ fields such as history by replacing BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) with a socially ‘inclusive’ BCE (Before The Common Era) and CE (The Common Era). Historians continue to challenge long-held perceptions, with their discoveries constantly shifting the academic field’s understanding of the ancient world. They’re responsible for reconstructing historical narratives that faithfully preserve the past, despite personal biases. However, texts and articles have currently opted to separate historical periods into the ‘enlightened’ BCE and CE, over the ‘traditional’ BC and AD.

Why has academia substituted Christ with the Common Era? Have scholars found a revolutionary method to measure the Earth’s Orbit? Or could this sudden revision be a modernist attempt to erase Christianity from History? Ironically, the Birth of Christ divides both periods, even though they use different terminologies. What is the point of changing the lexicon if the same historical event separates them? These questions can be answered by investigating the remarkable innovations of the Ancient Romans and Medieval Priests who designed the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, along with exploring the origins of BC and AD to determine whether BCE and CE are justified in removing this religious language.

Briatico G., Mutri G., Mussi M., Melis R.T., Geraads D., Hailu H., Altamura F., Hartman G., 2025.  From Garba III to Beefa Cave (Melka Kunture): isotopic data of the Middle and Later Stona Age high-elevation contexts, in Abstracts online, SAfA 2025 Crossroads Through Time, 27th Biennal Meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, Algarve, Portugal, July 21-25, 2025. https://safa2025.icarehb.com/safa_session_20/

The purpose of this study was to assess government expenditure management practice at Oromia Police College Procurement Finance and Property Management. Descriptive research method was employed to assess and describe assessment of government expenditure management practice in broad's importance. Primary data were collected by means of survey questionnaires from Oromia Police College (employees) police officers. Interviews were also conducted with police top management and Oromia Police employers Procurement Finance and Property Management. Focus group was discussion conducted with Oromia Police College Procurement Finance and Property Management employee and who were presently police costumes. In some developing countries a weak expenditure management process that have room for a magnified request, the spending is likely to be for less priority. In these circumstances, the best reaction would be to improve expenditure budget preparation. Since expenditure management is easy at budget preparation than later during the execution of the budget or this nonfiction discussed government expenditure management and practices in Oromia Police College. The problems and controversial issue related to government expenditure management and practices are reflected in the budget preparation, approval, execution, and audit phase of expenditure management practices. Therefore, the result of this study showed that there is a problem of linking the work plan with expenditure budget preparation. It is also revealed that purchasing of goods and services is not based on the annual action plan by organization. In other word, this indicated that there is a problem of budget preparation and execution. On the other hand, In relation to budget approval, the result of this study showed that Oromia Police College has effective systems of check and balance on government expenditure. The assessment was also undertaken to check auditor's satisfaction in relation to the support they get to conduct their task. The assessment result indicated that auditors have a problem of motivation with the financial and material support to carry out audit work to achieve their objectives. Thus, the study suggested that the program budgeting system introduced by the Oromia Regional Bureau of Finance and Economic Cooperation and Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation needs to be strongly considered to link the expenditure with the plan and implementation strategies.

ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ & ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: As the world’s youngest region, Africa has the potential to reap a significant demographic dividend, which could boost economic growth, drive innovation, and reshape global labour markets. As the continent progresses through its demographic transition, changes in age distribution, workforce composition and dependency ratios will have wide-reaching consequences for economic growth, social services and development planning. While demographic trends offer an unprecedented opportunity, policy and governance will ultimately determine whether this potential is realised. Supporting Africa’s demographic journey is not only a matter of global equity, but also in the interest of achieving long-term stability and prosperity. In Africa, the proportion of the working-age population to the total population is still growing and will peak shortly after 2070. However, Africa’s peak worker-to-dependent ratio will be low, which translates into relatively modest potential for rapid economic growth. With few exceptions, average economic growth rates in Africa are too slow and population growth rates too high to enable the continent to rapidly reduce poverty or raise average incomes. Although fertility rates and dependency ratios in Africa remain high, they have begun to decline. According to UN projections, these rates will continue to fall in the coming decades, meaning that by the mid-21st century, the ratio of the working-age population to the dependent population will be higher than in Asia, Europe and North America. Africa has considerable potential to benefit from a demographic dividend. Whether, when and to what extent this occurs hinges on policies and institutions in key areas such as macroeconomic management, human capital, trade, governance, and labour and capital markets. If African countries can continue to build on their hard-won development gains, the demographic dividend could account for 11–15% of gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 2030, reducing the number of people living in poverty by 40–60 million. The continent is set to become a population superpower. Its proportion of the world's population is increasing in an unprecedented manner, especially relative to Europe, and its inhabitants are younger than ever. The youth bulge heading Africa's way is real and, in the next 30 years, it will present African states with economic, social, and political problems the likes of which the world has never witnessed before. This demographic surge is neither a catastrophe nor a boon; it is a wicked problem. ------------------- RÉSUMÉ: démographique important, susceptible de stimuler la croissance économique, de stimuler l'innovation et de remodeler les marchés du travail mondiaux. À mesure que le continent progresse dans sa transition démographique, l'évolution de la répartition par âge, de la composition de la main-d'oeuvre et des ratios de dépendance aura des conséquences considérables sur la croissance économique, les services sociaux et la planification du développement. Si les tendances démographiques offrent une opportunité sans précédent, les politiques et la gouvernance détermineront en fin de compte si ce potentiel se concrétisera. Soutenir l'évolution démographique de l'Afrique est non seulement une question d'équité mondiale, mais aussi une question de stabilité et de prospérité à long terme. En Afrique, la proportion de la population en âge de travailler par rapport à la population totale continue de croître et atteindra son pic peu après 2070. Cependant, le ratio maximal de travailleurs par personne à charge sera faible, ce qui se traduit par un potentiel relativement modeste de croissance économique rapide. À quelques exceptions près, les taux de croissance économique moyens en Afrique sont trop lents et les taux de croissance démographique trop élevés pour permettre au continent de réduire rapidement la pauvreté ou d'augmenter les revenus moyens. Bien que les taux de fécondité et les ratios de dépendance en Afrique restent élevés, ils ont commencé à baisser. Selon les projections de l'ONU, ces taux continueront de baisser au cours des prochaines décennies, ce qui signifie qu'au milieu du XXIe siècle, le ratio population en âge de travailler/population dépendante sera plus élevé qu'en Asie, en Europe et en Amérique du Nord. L'Afrique dispose d'un potentiel considérable pour bénéficier d'un dividende démographique. La question de savoir si, quand et dans quelle mesure cela se produira dépend des politiques et des institutions dans des domaines clés tels que la gestion macroéconomique, le capital humain, le commerce, la gouvernance et les marchés du travail et des capitaux. Si les pays africains peuvent continuer à consolider leurs acquis de développement durement acquis, le dividende démographique pourrait représenter 11 à 15 % de croissance du produit intérieur brut (PIB) d'ici 2030, réduisant ainsi le nombre de personnes vivant dans la pauvreté de 40 à 60 millions. Le continent est en passe de devenir une superpuissance démographique. Sa part dans la population mondiale augmente à un rythme sans précédent, en particulier par rapport à l'Europe, et ses habitants sont plus jeunes que jamais. L'explosion démographique qui frappe l'Afrique est bien réelle et, au cours des trente prochaines années, elle posera aux États africains des problèmes économiques, sociaux et politiques d'une ampleur sans précédent. Cette poussée démographique n'est ni une catastrophe ni une aubaine ; c'est un problème complexe. ---------------- ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Als jüngste Region der Welt hat Afrika das Potenzial, eine bedeutende demografische Dividende zu erzielen, die das Wirtschaftswachstum ankurbeln, Innovationen vorantreiben und die globalen Arbeitsmärkte neu gestalten könnte. Im Zuge des demografischen Wandels werden Veränderungen in der Altersverteilung, der Zusammensetzung der Erwerbsbevölkerung und der Abhängigkeitsquotienten weitreichende Folgen für Wirtschaftswachstum, soziale Dienste und Entwicklungsplanung haben. Zwar bieten demografische Trends beispiellose Chancen, doch ob dieses Potenzial ausgeschöpft wird, hängt letztlich von Politik und Governance ab. Die Unterstützung Afrikas auf demografischem Weg ist nicht nur eine Frage globaler Gerechtigkeit, sondern auch im Interesse langfristiger Stabilität und Wohlstands. In Afrika wächst der Anteil der Bevölkerung im erwerbsfähigen Alter an der Gesamtbevölkerung weiter und wird kurz nach 2070 seinen Höhepunkt erreichen. Allerdings wird das Spitzenverhältnis zwischen Erwerbstätigen und Abhängigen in Afrika niedrig sein, was ein relativ geringes Potenzial für schnelles Wirtschaftswachstum bedeutet. Mit wenigen Ausnahmen sind die durchschnittlichen Wirtschaftswachstumsraten in Afrika zu niedrig und die Bevölkerungswachstumsraten zu hoch, um dem Kontinent eine rasche Armutsreduzierung oder eine Steigerung der Durchschnittseinkommen zu ermöglichen. Obwohl die Geburtenraten und Abhängigkeitsquotienten in Afrika nach wie vor hoch sind, haben sie begonnen zu sinken. Laut UN-Prognosen werden diese Raten in den kommenden Jahrzehnten weiter sinken. Das bedeutet, dass Mitte des 21. Jahrhunderts das Verhältnis der Bevölkerung im erwerbsfähigen Alter zur abhängigen Bevölkerung höher sein wird als in Asien, Europa und Nordamerika. Afrika hat ein erhebliches Potenzial, von einer demografischen Dividende zu profitieren. Ob, wann und in welchem Ausmaß dies eintritt, hängt von politischen Maßnahmen und Institutionen in Schlüsselbereichen ab, wie etwa makroökonomisches Management, Humankapital, Handel, Regierungsführung sowie Arbeits- und Kapitalmärkte. Wenn die afrikanischen Länder weiterhin auf ihren hart erkämpften Entwicklungserfolgen aufbauen können, könnte die demografische Dividende bis 2030 11–15 % des Wachstums des Bruttoinlandsprodukts (BIP) ausmachen und die Zahl der in Armut lebenden Menschen um 40–60 Millionen senken. Der Kontinent ist auf dem besten Weg, eine Bevölkerungssupermacht zu werden. Sein Anteil an der Weltbevölkerung steigt in beispiellosem Maße, insbesondere im Vergleich zu Europa, und seine Einwohner sind jünger als je zuvor. Der bevorstehende Anstieg der Jugendbevölkerung in Afrika ist real und wird die afrikanischen Staaten in den nächsten 30 Jahren vor wirtschaftliche, soziale und politische Probleme stellen, wie sie die Welt noch nie zuvor erlebt hat. Dieser demografische Anstieg ist weder eine Katastrophe noch ein Segen; er ist ein ernstes Problem.

Despite being the center of origin and genetic diversity, there has been limited application of molecular markers in arabica coffee breeding in Ethiopia. In this study, the extent of genetic diversity and relationships of 48 elite breeding lines of arabica coffee from different geographical origins were evaluated using 14 SSR markers. The SSR markers amplified 105 alleles of which 104 are polymorphic with an average of 7.4 polymorphic alleles per locus. The average percent of polymorphism and Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) of the SSR markers were 98.81 and 0.79, respectively. The average genetic similarity coefficient among all possible pairs was 0.37 and ranged from 0.39 to 0.46 within the same geographical origin. The Unweighted Pair Group Method Using Arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis placed the studied breeding lines into seven clusters with Jaccard's similarity coefficient of <0.44. The results of this study demonstrated the powerfulness of the SSR markers and the presence of a high level of genetic diversity and wide genetic dissimilarity within and among elite breeding lines from the same and different geographical origins. The observed diversity could be utilized in the breeding program to improve productivity and maintain the typical quality profile of origin-based landrace coffees. The SSR markers could be used in future genetic analysis of arabica coffee germplasm to increase the efficiency of the breeding program in Ethiopia. The studied breeding lines could also be conserved and managed as an important source of genetic variability to be used in the future coffee improvement program.

This article presents three Syriac-script graffiti-two in the Syriac language and one in Arabic-found at the Monastery of St. Macarius in the Wādī al-Naṭrūn (Egypt). These graffiti attest to periodic visits of Syriac Christians to this Coptic monastery at various times in the sixteenth century-when the graffiti were written-as well as probably in the fifteenth-with the report of a (future) Syriac patriarch's visit at that time. It is proposed that this patriarch is likely to have been Yuḥanon bar Shayullah, who was elected in 1484 and who is reported in other sources to have visited the Wādī al-Naṭrūn, including specifically the Monastery of St. Macarius, before he became patriarch.

Ethiopia has experienced more internet shutdowns than any other country in Africa (Access Now, 2024). Internet shutdowns in Ethiopia have been used to stifle dissent, to quell protests, to administer school exams and to wage ethnic war. This chapter focuses on three very different internet shutdown case studies that took place in Ethiopia between 2019 and 2023. Primary and secondary data is analysed through the lens of power, and rights to understand how shutdowns violate human rights to protect vested power interest, and how citizens possibly use their agency to resist, circumvent and challenge this abuse of power. From the insurgency and counter-insurgency movements in Wollega province, Oromia region, which have flared up since 2019, to the war in Tigray (2020–2) and the armed conflict in the Amhara region that erupted in August 2023, Ethiopia once again finds itself in a violent internal conflict unprecedented in its modern history. In such cases, a common reaction of the government is to shut down the internet and restrict private digital communications.

The paper focus on the relationship between the concept of theater as an expression of national identity officially built since the end of World War II by the communist power, and its unofficial form in the field of alternative professional theater during the Normalization of the 1980s. The area of alternative professional theater was, during the Normalization period, a kind of semi-official cultural space suffered by the superior authorities of the communist theater culture, which became an “island of freedom” for the ordinary viewer, a place for confirming personal identity
The creation of some alternative theaters was essential in this movement. With its specific philosophy of theatrical creation and poetics, the Brno Theater on a String was one of these. The medium of theater was understood by the ensemble as a system or tool in which individual performances are directed not towards aesthetic but ethical goals.
Using the example of a specific theater project from the fall of 1985 called Project 1985 - staged reading from the contemporary literature of the nations of the Soviet Union, and especially its last part called The Destruction of the Capital (premiere 17/12/1985), this paper will show the search, definition, and confirmation of the identities of artists and ordinary spectators in a time of oppression.

Dans un mémoire publié en 1795, le Français Jérôme de Lalande affirmait au sujet de l’intérieur de l’Afrique qu’il n’est « pas de sujet plus digne de la curiosité des savants ». Cette préoccupation, qui s’inscrit dans le sillage de l’Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa créée en 1787 en Angleterre, révèle que la connaissance de l’Afrique dans l’Europe moderne ne peut être réduite aux questions de la traite et de l’esclavage. Bien en amont de la célèbre venue de René Caillié à Tombouctou en 1828, de nombreux voyageurs européens aux statuts divers se sont attachés à documenter et faire connaître des portions significatives du territoire africain, des Portugais Francisco Álvares et Duarte Lopez aux Ecossais James Bruce et Mungo Park, en passant par le Français Michel Adanson. Réciproquement, certaines sociétés africaines se sont intéressées de près à l’Europe au tournant du Moyen Age et de l’époque moderne, au premier rang desquelles l’Ethiopie, antique chrétienté de la Corne de l’Afrique, et le Kongo, puissance d’Afrique centrale, christianisée dans le sillage des premières explorations portugaises de la fin du XVe siècle. Ces deux royaumes chrétiens nouent de nombreuses relations diplomatiques et culturelles avec l’Europe et y envoient des pèlerins, des étudiants ou des ambassadeurs participant ainsi à la transformation de l’image et des connaissances relatives à leurs pays. Ainsi la venue de trois Ethiopiens en quête de reliques pour le souverain Dāwit, accueillis en 1404 à Rome par le cardinal Antonio Caetani, peut-elle être envisagée comme point de départ de ces voyages vers l’Europe accomplis depuis l’Afrique.

Ces journées d’étude grenobloises proposent d’établir un premier état des lieux de cette connaissance sélective de l’Afrique par l’Europe et de l’Europe par l’Afrique au prisme du voyage, en dépassant le paradigme colonial. Elle s’inscrit d’une part dans le cadre de l’ANR ETHIOKONGROME lancé en 2023, qui constitue la première enquête globale consacrée aux relations entre les royaumes d’Éthiopie et de Kongo et la ville Rome au cours des XVe et XVIe siècles. Elle poursuit d’autre part un cycle de journées d’étude commencées en 2023 autour de la pratique du voyage entre l’Europe et les diverses parties du monde, associant le laboratoire Pléiade (Sorbonne Paris Nord) et deux laboratoires du pôle grenoblois (LUHCIE et ILCEA4).

The study investigates the determinants of total factor productivity in selected sectors of the Angolan economy for the period of 1995 and 2017. The empirical results indicate that foreign direct investment is positively and significantly associated with an increase in total factor productivity in all sectors. Moreover, openness of the economy and the exchange rate have a positive impact on total factor productivity in the manufacturing sector. However, the impact of these two variables is negative on total factor productivity in the primary and service sectors. Furthermore, the study results reveals that an increase in inflation causes a decrease in total factor productivity in the manufacturing and service sectors, whilst positively associated with an increase in total factor productivity in the primary sector. Finally, official development assistance has a negative effect on total factor productivity in the primary and service sectors, whilst having a positive effect on total factor productivity in the manufacturing sector. The results imply that to ensure sustainable total factor productivity growth, Angola should pursue policies that attract foreign direct investment. The effect of other variables such as openness of the economy, inflation, official development assistance and exchange rate depends on sectors. This suggest that it is important to come up with policies, which are sector-specific in order to improve total factor productivity growth.

Academic underperformance among students in North Texas has become a pressing concern for educators, policymakers, and communities. Despite the region's economic growth and educational investments, disparities persist, particularly among students from low-income households, single-parent families, and those affected by substance abuse. Understanding the multifaceted factors contributing to these challenges is essential for developing effective interventions and support systems.

Revenue collection from internationally traded goods is one of the core roles of Customs Administrations in many developing countries. Currently, the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA), the only government department authorized in the country to collect taxes from foreign trade, is also collecting customs duties, excise tax, value added tax (VAT), surtax, and withholding tax from imported goods to the country. These taxes provide considerable revenue to the government. The central theme of this Article is to evaluate the performance of customs duty towards its contribution to total government revenues. To achieve this objective, two important measurements of a tax revenue performance, the ratio of the tariff revenue to the total government revenues and the revenue productivity of the tax base in the study period (1959/60-2012/13), are analyzed first. Then, both the share and the trend of customs duty in the trade taxes, total taxes and total government revenues are analyzed, respectively. The trend of customs duty/GDP ratio is also included in the analyses. The findings of the analyses indicated that although its share in the government budget is significant, the effective tariff rate is much lower than the average tariff rate; its contributions to both the total tax revenues and total government revenues have also declined over time. Therefore, the identification of the responsible factors for this low performance of the tariff revenue in the country needs further investigations.

Revenue collection from internationally traded goods is one of the core roles of Customs Administrations in many developing countries. Currently, the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA), the only government department authorized in the country to collect taxes from foreign trade, is also collecting customs duties, excise tax, value added tax (VAT), surtax, and withholding tax from imported goods to the country. These taxes provide considerable revenue to the government. The central theme of this Article is to evaluate the performance of customs duty towards its contribution to total government revenues. To achieve this objective, two important measurements of a tax revenue performance, the ratio of the tariff revenue to the total government revenues and the revenue productivity of the tax base in the study period (1959/60-2012/13), are analyzed first. Then, both the share and the trend of customs duty in the trade taxes, total taxes and total government revenues are analyzed, respectively. The trend of customs duty/GDP ratio is also included in the analyses. The findings of the analyses indicated that although its share in the government budget is significant, the effective tariff rate is much lower than the average tariff rate; its contributions to both the total tax revenues and total government revenues have also declined over time. Therefore, the identification of the responsible factors for this low performance of the tariff revenue in the country needs further investigations.

Ethiopian traditional lexicons and grammar treatises of Gǝʿǝz, summarily referred to as sawāsǝw, represent a substantial body of textual material that still remains largely understudied. Sawāsǝw-glossaries are of varying length and structure; they are frequently accompanied by grammar treatises and sometimes also by materials meant to help in composing qǝne-poetry. These texts are still circulated in Ethiopia in handwritten and printed forms. 1 Scholarly publications dedicated to the sawāsǝw-literature are rare. 2 The possible relation between Ethiopian sawāsǝw-texts and Copto-Arabic lexicographical and grammatical traditions has been noticed ever since but not investigated in detail. 3 A number of manuscripts containing sawāsǝw-writings are present in western collections of Ethiopic manuscripts; the recent digitizing enterprises brought to light quite a number of previously unknown sawāsǝw-manuscripts, most of them not older than 18 th or 19 th century, but frequently valuable and rich in information. 4 Thanks to digitization some known sawāsǝw-manuscripts have become more  The article is a draft prepared for the proceedings of the conference "IIè Colloque sur les études éthiopiennes", held in Cairo, 26-27 February 2024 (the style of the article follows the editorial guidelines of the proceedings).

Plato's Allegory of the Cave remains one of the most enduring metaphors for the human struggle between illusion and truth. In contemporary Ethiopia, the system of ethnic federalism introduced in 1995 through the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front's (EPRDF) constitutional design has institutionalized ethnic identity as the primary mode of political recognition. This article juxtaposes the allegory of the cave with Ethiopia's federal experiment, arguing that ethnic federalism, like the shadows on the cave wall, projects distorted realities of belonging, identity, and power. For millions, especially those of mixed heritage or diasporic backgrounds, the shadows become lived constraints that limit mobility, citizenship, and solidarity. Drawing on political theory, diaspora ethnographies, and philosophical reflection, the paper demonstrates that Ethiopia's governance is trapped in a cave of ethno-political categories. True emancipation requires reimagining federalism beyond identity essentialism, fostering a political community that values dialogical recognition, hybridity, and civic equality.

The mention of an astrolabe in the Leipzig manuscript of the Toldoth Jesu is a subtle and unique allusion to a passage in the Romance of Alexander.  The redactor who inserted the allusion displayed his familiarity with a secular text outside the rabbinical canon.  The insertion demonstrated that the Toldoth Jesu was an evolving text with considerable intertextuality.

This study re-evaluates the manuscript corpus attributed to the Serbian copyist Damijan-Iosif through the application of the Cyrillic Palaeography Toolkit, a digital instrument enabling detailed script analysis. By reassessing six manuscripts bearing his name or monogram and examining two additional codices previously linked to an anonymous collaborator, the study attributes them all to Damijan-Iosif. A further manuscript reveals the presence of a collaborator, distinguished through palaeographic and layout features. These findings shed new light on collaborative practices within the Hilandar scriptorium and demonstrate the potential of digital methodologies to enhance traditional palaeographic attribution frameworks in South Slavonic manuscript studies.

Bungonia Caves are renowned for their high levels of foul air. As early as 1900 a report by Oliver Trickett (Trickett, O., 1901) mentions the presence of foul air which prevented the full exploration of “Bungonia Cave” (now known as Grill Cave B-44). During 1923, foul air caused Ayre and Jones along with others, to mount a concentrated effort to excavate the
Efflux (B67). The work being initially financed by the Goulburn Chamber of Commerce. This was the first of many attempts to drain the sumps of water and thus flush foul air from the lower passages of some caves.

Certainly one could spend much time researching reports by these early speleologists who ventured deep into the unknown cavities of this subterranean world. Many were driven back by the effects of foul air, others undertook scientific studies to try and determine the source of the gasses. Possibly the first to study foul air was Burke during the early 1950’s. He collected air samples from Drum Cave and Putrid Pit and analysed them with a Haldane gas analysis unit. Over the years thousands of gas samples have been taken by numerous researchers and their analysis recorded. Study and speculation on the origin of the cave atmospheres has been a contentious issue for many years and no doubt will continue to be a hot subject for many
years to come given the complexity of possible scenarios which differ from cave to cave. One should also bear in mind that not every cave at Bungonia contains foul air and levels in those which do, may change from day to day or even in a shorter time frame. However potentially lethal concentrations of foul air have been recorded in isolated pockets of a few caves.

One may well ask; what exactly is foul air, how is it life threatening to humans, where do the gasses come from, how can I detect it without sophisticated equipment and what are some basic safety tips? This chapter will cover these questions in layman terms so that the average caver can have an appreciation of the hazards they may face below ground at Bungonia.