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< Back The Election Conundrum: Ethiopia’s Determination to hold the 6th National Election and its Ramifications 20 June 2021 Naol Befkadu The official NEBE logo of the 6th National Election with the hashtag “Via Election Only” It was Abraham Lincoln, the US president during the civil war, who famously said, “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision.” However, Abraham Lincoln did not consider at least two things. One is that the case for Africa is different, and the other is that when a pandemic hits the world, it changes a lot of things. Ethiopia was not the only nation to postpone its election in 2020. In fact it is among 78 countries around the world that should have undertaken elections in 2020 but were forced to postpone due to the pandemic. The 6th Ethiopian national election was expected to be held on August 29, 2020, but due to the pandemic it was indefinitely postponed until further notice from the Ministry of Health regarding the course of the pandemic. In December 2020, the Ministry of Health announced that the election could take place with necessary COVID-19 related precautions. Hence, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) planned for the polls to open on June 5th 2021. In early May the NEBE claimed that facilities were not ready for the election to take place on time, and rescheduled for June 21, 2021. There are many sides to the story of the election. Some believe that the election is a sham and should not take place while others adamantly support it. By now the situation in Ethiopia has been internationalized with so many spectators now accustomed to inserting their feet into it. The true picture of the country is yet to be unveiled to the international community who seem to be concerned with the recent situation in Ethiopia. Before I go deep into the opinions surrounding the 6th national election and the situation in the country in the general, it is necessary to have a sense of the background; hence, I will try to briefly paint the main events in the life of the country in the 20th and 21st centuries. Brief Background to the Story: From the Student Movement to the Qerroo Revolution Most scholars agree that the 20th century was the bloodiest and the most revolutionary century in Ethiopia’s history, politically speaking. The country endured an invasion by Italy (1930-35); a student movement that in 1974, brought down the monarchical government of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie Ⅰ, the longest reigning emperor of Ethiopia; the ‘Red Terror’ massacre that took the lives of hundreds of thousands; the civil war that resulted in the downfall of the Derg regime (1974-1991); and the devastating Ethiopian-Eritrean war of 1998-2000. While all those events are thought to have left a significant blueprint on the course of the country, there are three events that take the lion’s share in shaping political ideology, government structure and the economic model of the country. They are the 1970s student movement that took the voice of the peasants to the streets and to academia; the establishment of a communist government by a leading military junta (post-1974); and the downfall of the Derg regime by the joint force of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary and Democratic Front (EPRDF). Photo taken during a rally of Addis Ababa University students in the 1970s holding a banner that reads “Popular Government Must Be Established.” The 1970s student movement brought down the centuries-old Abyssinian monarchical system. The goal of the movement was twofold. Firstly, to bring an end to the feudalistic system that abused peasants all over the country. This feudalistic system had been in operation in the country for many centuries. With the dominant ruling Amhars tribe operating all over the country collecting unfair taxes from the peasants, the country was led by monarchs and autocrats who claim to have descended from the line of Judah. The student movement stood against such irrational notions. Secondly, beside the class struggle, the student movement also had another goal which was a national struggle. Although the country was made up of 87 nations, only the Abyssinians—comprising the Amharas and Tigres, who are historically the northern highland settlers—were dominant politically, culturally and economically. Hence, the student movement also brought to the fore the question of nations and nationalities and different ethnic and religious groups. A great example of these questions was the paper titled, “On the Questions of Nations and Nationalities of Ethiopia” by Wallelign Mekonnen, at the time a student at Haile Selassie I University. This paper is thought to be groundbreaking with its pioneering introduction of equality and recognition of nations and nationalities for different groups in the country. In light of this student-led movement in the 1970s, we assumed what the course of the country in the following decades would look like. Contrary to our expectation, the road to the fulfillment of the voices and cries of the 1970s generation (it is usually regarded as ‘The Then Generation’) was not smooth and easy. Many lives were taken and many are still sacrificing for their rights at the time of writing this article. Following the 1970s revolution, the military acted out and the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, was overthrown in 1974. A transient military junta was created with Mengistu Hailemariam as president of the transitional government also known as “Derg”. Though the Derg was a military junta, it had a political manifesto and acted as a political entity. Most of the early 1970s elites also directly supported the regime. With a growing communist trend in the world, the military government of Ethiopia had been associated with communism and became one of the foremost advocates of communist ideology. Church and state were separated and the government officially declared itself atheist. This was in direct contradiction to the history of the country, mostly that of the Abyssinians who, for centuries had anointed Kings and Queens with an ordination of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Derg, although initially supported by the 1970s elites, gradually lost credibility from the enlightened groups in the country when the military government became totalitarian and started attacking those who opposed its ideology. Mengistu Hailemariam, the president of the communist regime, became another dictator that Africa had to witness. However, Mengistu also faced many challenges. From the East, the Western Somalia Liberation Front (WSLF) under Siad Barre tried to invade Ethiopia’s Ogaden region. In the North, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had been waging war to declare their freedom. And in the West, the Oromo Liberation Front had already started conquering land. While the Ogaden war of 1978-79 ended with Ethiopia claiming victory, the Northern war continued for more than a decade. The war in the North between the communist regime and the liberation forces took on the nature of a civil war. Many ethnic forces also joined the liberationist camps and jointly fought the communist regime. Eventually, the communist military junta also known as Derg, gave up and the EPRDF took power in 1991. The Derg military junta that ruled the country from 1974 to 1991 was overthrown by the joint forces of EPRDF, EPLF and OLF. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) dominated the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary and Democratic Front (EPRDF), which took power on the famous day of May 28, 1991. EPRDF expelled OLF of Oromia and eventually separated with the EPLF of Eritrea. EPRDF was then a party comprised of four big chapters, namely: the aforementioned Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), and the Southern People’s Democratic Movement (SPDM). The coming to power of EPRDF was another dramatic change that took place in 20th century Ethiopia, because EPRDF made several changes to the nature of the country. Regarding the economy, the country started following a free-market system in principle and a mixed system in practice. Following the revolution the country also changed its structure from unitary to a federal state that was divided into nine (now ten) self-administering regional states. This was in line with the demands of the student movement in the 1970s. Hence, many ethinc groups were recognized and their languages and cultures were appreciated under the EPRDF system. This was mainly made possible through the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s 1995 constitution. The revolution handed the people a constitution that guaranteed human rights and religious freedom and promised free and fair elections. It was ratified in December 1995. It was the first of its kind in Ethiopia, which has had three constitutions. Of the three, the 1995 constitution was different with its liberal, democratic and inclusive nature. However, some still critiqued it saying the constitution gives undue attention to collective rights such as the rights of nations, nationalities and people, while focusing less on the individual rights of citizens. For an outsider it seems EPRDF had already answered the two big questions of the 1970s generation. Not so fast. In practice, there were many shortcomings of EPRDF’s system. The TPLF, the dominant party in the EPRDF, although representing the Tigray region that comprised only 6% of the total population, ruled the country with an iron fist for two decades, through its longtime leader and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia the late Meles Zenawi. The Oromia and Amhara regions, which comprise the two largest ethnic communities in the country, who go by the same name respectively, were sidelined by the TPLF. Their organizations OPDO and ANDM were also nothing more than puppets that followed their master TPLF even though they represented a huge constituency compared to TPLF. It is worth remembering here that the TPLF dominated the EPRDF and had expelled the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) who moved military operations outside Ethiopia, mainly from Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya’s jungles into central Ethiopia. The TPLF-led regime faced many challenges after taking power in 1991. Among them was the 2005 election where post-election riots resulted in many deaths in the capital Addis Ababa. Moreover, with its longstanding leader and longtime Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Melese Zenawi dying in 2012, the EPRDF faced huge challenges especially with regards to replacing the longtime leader. Eventually, Hailemariam Dessalegn of SPDM succeeded the late prime minister. It has been said that Hailemariam Desselegn did not really act as a prime minster, but rather was a marionette, a puppet, to say the least. It was the TPLFites who, behind the curtain, held the leading role. Hailemariam Dessalegn faced a huge popular protest especially after the announcement of the Addis Ababa Integrated Master Plan (AAIMP) in 2014. The AAIMP was a project intended to expand Addis Ababa’s border into the surrounding Oromia cities. This created a huge backlash from the young Oromos also called Qerroo (‘young man’ in Oromo language). Oromo youths also known as Qerroos crossing their hands in public to display their discontent The Qerroos became the anthem of another popular revolution in the country. They became the motor of the 21st century revolution, perhaps the largest by constituency and scale,that the country has ever seen. The protests engulfed the universities of the country and the Hailemariam government tried to silence the protests using force, which resulted in the death of more than 5,000 Qerroos in four years. Here it is also worth mentioning the role of diaspora media and influential people like Jawar Mohammed, the notable activist and director of the frontline media of the protest, the Oromia Media Network (OMN). The protests that erupted in Oromia later spread to the whole country, with other protests and long silenced voices being heard across many regions and towns. The protests cost too much, however, after four years they bore fruit with the resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn as Prime Minister of Ethiopia. The protests were also supported by the OPDO and ANDM authorities because of the visible problems that were occurring in the country. The OPDO and ANDM officials secretly formed a resistance team named after Lemma Megersa, the then president of the Oromia region. ‘Team Lemma’ as it was later called, operated in communication with the protestors to bring an end to TPLF’s hegemony. It should also be noted that cooperation between Amhara and Oromo was not expected by the TPLF because of the nature of the dominant political ideologies of the two camps. The Amharas favored a Unitarian set-up in the country, while the Oromos were adamant with regards to an ethno-linguistic federal structure. While the Amharas were regarded as assimilationists, the Oromos were often called “separationists”. It is through this historical discourse that the TPLF managed to lead the country as a diluting and a neutralizing agent in relation to the tensions between the Amhara and Oromo factions. However, Team Lemma proved the TPLFites wrong. The experiment to unite the Amhara and the Oromo forces was successful under Team Lemma, or at least it seemed to be. After the resignation of Hailemariam Dessalegn, there was a huge contest between TPLF and Team Lemma over who would take over the premiership. Team Lemma, being from the Oromo chapter had the dominant hand and was favored to take the position of the prime minister. However, Lemma Megersa, the leader of Team Lemma was not a member of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) and so couldn’t become prime minister. His deputy, Abiy Ahmed (PhD) was elected in place of Lemma to represent the Oromo faction of EPRDF (the OPDO) in the urgent meeting to replace the departing prime minister. Abiy Ahmed won the majority of votes in the EPRDF executive meeting to become the president of the party and two days later, in April 2018 Abiy Ahmed (PhD) became the first Oromo Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Abiy Ahmed: the Voice of Synergy (Medemer) Abiy Ahmed sounded a voice of freedom, unity and love from the first day he became prime minister. From his first day in office, he made many big moves. He released more than 40,000 prisoners and prisoners of conscience. He traveled across every region in the country and preached love and unity and promised peace, stability and freedom. His philosophy is “medemer” roughly translated as synergy. According to Abiy Ahmed himself, medemer is nothing but a collective effort to fulfill a shared vision. He shook the country with this idea. But by far, the most extraordinary measure the prime minister took, was his reconciliation with Eritrea. Hailemariam Dessalegn handing the Constitution to Abiy Ahmed, the incoming Prime Minister of FDRE, on the day Abiy was inaugurated. As stated earlier, Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war over border disputes from 1998-2000, a conflict which was resolved by an intervention from the UN. In this conflict, which is regarded as one of Africa’s deadliest wars, no less than 100,000 people were killed from both sides. Since June 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea had been in a no-war no-peace state. Abiy Ahmed was able to break this silence and extended a welcoming hand to the Eritrea’s longtime president Isaias Afewerki, after 18 years! Long story short, Ethiopia and Eritrea resolved their issues under the leadership of Abiy Ahmed which was the reason he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. Abiy also invited many of the exiled political figures and forces back into the country. Many of them returned to huge celebrations. Some of the most well-known returned political personalities included, Berhanu Nega (who had been expelled after the 2005 riot), Dawud Ibsa (exiled OLF leader), Jawar Mohammed and many others. While their admission to the country was a sign of democracy that was cheered and celebrated, it wasn’t without its consequences. They represented not only different popular segments of society, but also polarized political ideologies. Abiy Ahmed inherited a severely divided country with unresolved issues. His job was to heal the division and bring the various polarized ideologies in the country to the table. However, this wasn’t without its own challenges. Primarily, the polarized politics could not help his vision of a unified country. The term ‘unity’ has been associated with a specific political side in the country, just as ‘secessionist’ has also been tied to a specific political ideology. Every speech and action of the prime minister was critically observed and interpreted by different bodies in the country. Secondary to this was the issue with the TPLFites, which was not resolved. Since the ascension of the new prime minister, the TPLFites felt betrayed by the OPDO and ANDM who were already seen as siding with the people during the protest years. Hence, most of the TPLF members left their positions at federal level to focus on, and were limited to, their region, Tigray. Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region became the center of opposition to Abiy Ahmed’s government. Furthermore, Abiy Ahmed’s government had also received challenges related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that was being built in the Bennishangul region of Ethiopia on the Abbay River (Blue Nile). When finished, GERD is going to be Africa’s largest hydroelectric power station. However, Ethiopia had to convince the lower Nile basin countries, particularly Egypt and Sudan, regarding the impact of the dam with regards to the content of the Nile water. Ethiopia had faced a huge challenge from the two countries prior to Abiy’s ascension to power, but was able to manage the challenges, as far as convincing Sudan to stand beside Ethiopia. However, following Abiy’s coming to power, the dynamics of the geo-politics of the horn of Africa, and East Africa in general, were yet to be unveiled. It is with those fierce challenges in play, that Abiy Ahmed’s government decided to undergo the 6th national election in 2020. The 6th National Election: the Postponement and its Consequences If the reader were to travel to the countryside in Ethiopia and ask how the 6th national election is being perceived, they might get very different perspectives. Some think that the election would have significant impact in the country, while others say that the election is nothing but the usual drama of the EPRDF (now the Prosperity Party). However, no matter how many different perspectives there are surrounding the election, there is a universal desire in the Ethiopian people that this election takes place peacefully. This is because the country has been on the verge of failure ever since the postponement of the election in 2020 was announced. While the postponement was due to the pandemic, what were the results of the election’s postponement? There are, I believe, five consequences of the postponement of the election that was supposed to take place in 2020. These consequences are the reason why the country is currently in an internationalized mess and why Abiy Ahmed went from a Nobel Laureate in 2019 to a suspected war monger and genocidal leader by the end of 2020. The first consequence of the postponement of the election, is the sentiment it created among different political parties in the country. The Oromo opposition parties saw the decision as the government’s way of illegitimately prolonging its term. Added to this was the already growing tension between TPLF and the government. They saw the decision by the government as a pretext to lead the country for a longer period. Secondly, the postponement also resulted in the TPLF defying the federal order and organizing its own regional election in Tigray. The TPLF badly wanted the election because they knew if the election were to take place in August 2020, Abiy Ahmed’s party would not win because of the huge contest it would face in the Oromia region. Hence, they saw the election as the easiest way of getting rid of Abiy Ahmed’s federal government. Seeing this from afar, the federal government seemed to use the pandemic to postpone the election. In June 2020, the TPLF executive committee decided to hold the election in Tigray region, defying the federal order. The constitution was silent about the issue of organizing a regional election and the TPLFites used this loophole to establish their own election committee. The tensions between the federal government and the Tigray region grew by the day. The Late Oromo singer and activist Hachalu Hundessa Thirdly, the postponed election already created discontent among Oromo parties, popular figures and supporters. This eventually grew into another round of protests by the Qerroos, the Oromo youths, who had been silent for a while since the ascension of the prime minister. The Qerroos demanded change in the Oromia and the opposition parties promised huge measures if they won the election. To the contrary, the Oromia chapter of the ruling party, PP, was dormant regarding popular questions. Gradually, pressure grew on the government, resulting in popular Oromo figures finally coming out in public denouncing the government’s actions. One of the popular Oromos was Hachalu Hundessa, a musician and an activist for Oromo rights who fought with music during the Oromo Protest of 2014-2016. Hachalu Hundessa was interviewed on OMN, a media outlet dominated by opposition narratives, and he made firm claims against the prime minister and his ideologies. Two weeks after his interview was aired on OMN, Hachalu Hundessa was assassinated. The government immediately blamed TPLF and Shene (the governments’ term for the Oromo Liberation Army that is the military wing of the now returned Oromo Liberation Front). Opposition parties and political figures accused the government of assassinating Hachalu and on the same day as his death, the government initiated a crackdown on major political figures in the country. Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Borana and Dejene Tafa of the Oromo Federalist Congress party were arrested. Eskinder Nega from the Balderas party was also arrested. OLF’s party offices were also raided and major members of the party’s executive committee were thrown in jail. But it is also wise to ask how the Oromo youths grew discontented with Abiy Ahmed, an Oromo. There are several reasons, minor and major. However, the main reason relates to Abiy’s vision of a more unitary state, which would mean dismantling the current federal system. For many, this was demonstrated by Abiy’s dissolution of the EPRDF into a new merged party named Prosperity Party (PP) in October 2019. This was a huge decision for many because Abiy dissolved the EPRDF, which had ruled the country for nearly three decades. Prosperity Party, the newly merged party, had a Unitarian outlook rather than a federalist one. This was not welcomed by the Oromo youths and the Oromo parties. In fact even Lemma Megersa, the former Oromia president, did not welcome the merger. However, Abiy pressed on with his idea of a merged party. It is onto this dissatisfaction of the Oromo youths that the government added the indefinite postponement of the election. The fourth consequence of the postponement of the election was the growing armed resistance in Western Ethiopia. One of the Abiy Ahmed administration’s initial decisions was to welcome exiled political figures and fronts. OLF resisted returning home even after Abiy Ahmed went to invite them back. For this reason, the then Oromia president Lemma Megersa and the then Foreign Minister of Ethiopia Workneh Gebeyehu, went to Eritrea to discuss with Dawud Ibsa, OLF’s president. They reached a verbal agreement for OLF to return to the country. Dawud Ibsa was welcomed by millions of his supporters at Addis Ababa on that historic day in September 2018, six months after PM Abiy took office. However, OLF had an army—the Oromia Liberation Army (OLA), the majority of which was stationed in Eritrea, with some in Kenya and others in Western Oromia. While those OLA soldiers returning from Eritrea were disarmed and were assimilated into the government’s training program, the Western and Southern OLA commanders did not give up their armies and the trials to disarm those fronts failed a number of times following OLF’s admission into the country. This created an increased rivalry between Abiy Ahmed’s government and OLF’s Dawud Ibsa which finally forced OLF to separate itself from OLA in April 2019. The government undertook heavy military operations to eradicate OLA from Western and Southern Oromia in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and yet they did not manage to defeat them. OLA soldiers controlled a good part of the Western and Southern Oromia in 2019 alone. However, they returned to their guerrilla warfare against the government, which continues to this day. Following the postponement of the election, OLA released a press statement saying that the government would be illegitimate after September 2020. In the meantime, the other dangerous zone beside Western Oromia had been the Bennishangul region where Bennishangual Liberation Armies had been fighting with the federal government and the Amhara militias, resulting in the death of several civilians in the region. The Bennishangul fighters’ demands were very difficult to diagnose. However, the government linked them with the TPLF. The killings in Western Oromia and Bennishangul resulted in the last, but not the least consequence of the election’s postponement. The last but not least consequence of the postponement of the election has been the now internationalized war in Northern Ethiopia. It was expected by many that the TPLF and federal government would go to war. TPLF became a great threat to Abiy’s administration after they held their own election in September 2020. TPLF won the election by far, after competing with some parties based in the Tigray. The federal government did not recognize the election. The TPLF then started their propaganda saying that the federal government is illegitimate. As the tension between the federal government and the Tigray region grew, both parties began holding military parades in public, week after week. Abiy made several visits to Eritrea as a warning to the TPLF, since the TPLF-led EPRDF had gone to war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and Isaias Afewerki, president of Eritrea, wanted revenge for the losses his government suffered during the war. On November 4, 2020, Abiy Ahmed appeared on national television to declare a state of emergency in the Tigray region, saying that the TPLF militias had attacked the Northern Command base of the Ethiopian Defense Force (EDF). Abiy labeled this war ‘law enforcement’ and invited Amhara militia, Eritrea and Somalian forces to side with him. Even though many local and international organizations warned both parties before the onset of this war, nothing seemed to have been able to stop the war from happening. Day after day, both sides declared victories in their media. Three weeks into the war, Abiy Ahmed declared the ‘final’ victory on national television, after conquering Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, saying that no civilian had been injured and Eritrean forces were not involved. However, the TPLF had chosen to scatter to the remote regions of Tigray to take up guerilla warfare. In the meantime President Isaias got his longtime desire of winning over the TPLF. Today, the simple ‘law enforcement’ that was started in November has reached its seven month, resulting in an incalculable number of deaths and a humanitarian crisis. The atrocities committed by the EDF, Amhara and Eritrean forces have been documented by major world news outlets. The issue has become a topic for the G7 and UN. Now, it is wise to pause and remember how the postponement of the election played a huge role in this devastating, and to this day, ongoing war. Despite what is happening in the country however, by the time of the writing of this article, the government is weeks away from undergoing the 6th national election. The 6th National Election: The Expectations By now the first question that would come to the reader’s mind might be, ‘What are Ethiopians expecting from this election?’ Well, to answer this question in short, there is not much expectation among the majority of Ethiopians in this election. Contests are expected in the Amhara region and Addis Ababa particularly. The election is not even going to take place in Somali. NEBE’s data shows that the election is not going to take place in many places including Western Oromia, parts of Bennishangul Gumuz region, the entire Somali and Tigray regions and so on. The European Union decided not to send a committee to watch the election process after the standard EU requirements were not met by the Ethiopian government. The Biden government of the United States of America urged for a national dialogue. This came after the US decision to restrict visas for Ethiopian and Eritrean officials following the atrocities committed in the Tigray war. The case for the Oromia region is a very different one. The Oromo people are not going to be represented in this election by any of the dominant parties since the leaders of the parties are imprisoned. Hence, only the ruling party is running for the election in Oromia, the largest region of the country. In the Amhara region, the second largest region, there are several parties besides the Prosperity Party (PP), such as the National Movement of the Amhara (NAMA), the Enat party, EZEMA and others. The results are yet to be predicted, let alone known in the Amhara region. A huge contest is expected. However, what would this bring to Ethiopians in general? It is yet to be known. Amhara politics is at its most complex, climactic stage. There are ethno-nationalists such as NAMA and partly the Amhara chapter of PP (APP) who advocate for a stronger Amhara region and the respect of Amhara rights, and there are Ethio-nationalists such as EZEMA and Enat. The Ethio-nationalists seem to be losing to the ethno-nationalists based on the campaigns we see. However, the result is yet to be known. One thing both the Ethio-nationalists and the Amhara ethno-nationalists have in common is that they both plan to change the 1995 FDRE constitution. The same is true in Addis Ababa. There are several parties running for office. EZEMA, Balderas and Prosperity Party are the three parties to have a huge contest in the city. EZEMA led by Birhanu Nega, PhD, is favored, if we can predict based on the 2005 election results where the majority of seats in Addis Ababa were won by CUD, Birhanu Nega’s party at the time. However, things have changed. Abiy Ahmed also has a huge constituency in Addis Ababa. Adanech Abebe, Addis Ababa’s mayor and a PP candidate, had a very successful campaign where many turned out en masse to support her. The Balderas Party, although younger than the above two, also has good support from the younger generation. Balderas’ campaign motto is to save Addis Ababa and to make Addis Ababa a self-governing region. Even if the election goes well, total results cannot be known and a new government cannot be formed since there are places and regions that will not go to the polls for security and other reasons. NEBE issued a press release saying that the second part of this election will be carried out on September 6, 2021. Until then, no one can know the exact result of the election. Hence, a new government will not be formed in June. The 6th national election of Ethiopia is then, an experiment that is going to take place with mixed feelings among Ethiopians. It will take place when Tigray is in the midst of a huge humanitarian crisis; Western Oromia is under command post; the world is watching the developments in Ethiopia closely; and a possible disintegration of the state is in the air. Naol Befkadu , MD, is a physician based in Addis Ababa. Previous Next

< Back THE CULTURAL INTERWEAVING OF CHINA AND THE BALKANS 15 Feb 2021 Marija Glavaš This text is the first in a series of close studies examining the cultural exchanges between China and the Balkan region under the BRI, taking art [events and exchanges] as its main focal point. In this introductory text I will explain my research process for mapping these activities . I will then present both the ambitions and challenges of intercultural exchanges, using Slovenia as an example. In future texts I will analyse some of these exhibitions I have investigated, with the hope of creating a dialogue around whether these exchanges are living up to their full potential of shifting away from classical national narratives and providing a common ground for different identities. Before I began this project with As you go… the roads under your feet, towards a new future, I only had a basic understanding of what the BRI was. Like many others here in the Balkan region, I have also heard of the ongoing Chinese investments – investments which initially appeared to only occur within the infrastructural sphere. What I have found, however, is that the BRI promised more than that. It promised cultural bonding above mere economic cooperation. Yet, whenever the BRI is mentioned, other spheres, such as culture and art, seem to remain of very little note. As I began my investigation, I realized there was an absence of any systematic research on these topics – gathering data and developing a concise method of collating it, presented itself as the greater concern before even beginning to open up [a] discourse on cultural exchange and interconnection. To begin this dialogue of cultural interweaving, I have decided to focus on cross-institutional artistic exchanges to identify both the frequency and motives of these relationships. For this purpose, I used two methods: the primary method was directly addressing art institutions by sending them a questionnaire, while the other was manually collecting data from the internet for any additional exhibitions. The questionnaire included identifying whether any exhibitions and exchanges were currently underway, what kind of art was being exhibited or exchanged, the motivations behind these collaborations, and if there were any abnormalities across audience engagement and reception. For institutions that did not have any such exchanges, I asked why that was – did they decline them for any reason or were there simply no opportunities (perhaps due to a lack of funding, governmental or structural support, amongst other institutional roadblocks)? This questionnaire was sent to thirty-six [36] institutions from Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Kosovo. Some of the institutions were nationally owned museums and galleries (of both artistic and historical content), while others were privately owned galleries. Of the thirty-six museums and galleries I reached out to, twenty have replied. Following this, I started documenting all available data that was brought to my attention. I encountered several problems during this stage. Firstly, I did not receive responses from all institutions – most notably I received none from privately owned galleries. This could, however, also be due to many things: the ongoing pandemic that has shut down galleries and museums in many places and – as I later came to notice – the fact that most of these exchanges were primarily happening through state owned institutions. The second problem I encountered was that for many of these events and cultural exchanges, I was only provided with sparse data. Thirdly, I was unable to gather any data on audience reception. This last problem proved the most difficult as I was most interested in examining how local audiences perceive not only the Chinese art being exhibited, but also in a broader sense, the cultural interweaving of China within these regions. In the future it would be interesting to focus further on this aspect since there are a lot of discrepancies in opinions on other aspects (such as on the infrastructural and economic investments) of the BRI. While the West seems to be very suspicious of China becoming a global superpower, the Balkan region – which is heavily influenced both by the West and the East – doesn’t have such a narrow perception. Together with other partner cells and the editorial team, we decided it would be interesting to present this collected data on a map . This map provides details on both local cultural events and its connections to China. All exhibitions are also described, accompanied by some images from the exhibitions. The map is intended to be alive and continuously growing – the biggest ambition is currently to expand the scope of this map to encompass Central Asia and other localities participating in the BRI. I approached my research this way to systematically examine the ways in which art under the BRI ought to, on the one hand, deepen the bonds amongst participating countries and on the other, shape their perceptions of one another. Art, besides being a tool of expression, greatly impacts cultures and societies; it is continuously shaping our realities, while also allowing us to more deeply understand the past and the present. This understanding is not only constructed through artistic content at any given time in any specific space, but also through cultural policies and curating. Cultural policies and curatorship prescribes the limits and protocols [within] which art can shape the future, and how the past and present can be understood. Intercultural collaborations within this sphere have a great potential to move away from classical national narratives, which too often look for an enemy – within or outside – as a common denominator, consequently weaponizing audiences against this predetermined opposition. Whether these intercultural collaborations are even possible however, remains in the hands of individual governments and private bureaucracies who choose if, how, and when they will collaborate. For instance, let us look at the current state of art in Slovenia. Ever since Slovenia became a capitalist state, it left art partially in the domain of the government and partially in the domain of the free market. Art in the domain of the predatory free market has its own problems: subjected to competitiveness, artistic objects and practices are placed at the mercy of the logic of profit-driven, capitalist motivations – left to die as soon as its monetary value drops too low. However, since BRI projects are mostly funded and held by state institutions, for now, this stage of the research will focus on this particular domain. Let me preface this by saying that all curating is some form of narrating and mediating meaning(s), though this example will focus on cultural policies which determine in whose hands the curating will be. In Slovenia, state-owned art institutions enjoyed relative autonomy albeit with insufficient financial support – particularly in specific fields – being their main problem. Aside from the prevalent nepotism in funding (and the subsequent responsibility that would attach itself to the beneficiaries), there was not much state intervention into the curating itself. However, this drastically began to change since the undemocratic rise of the 14th government of independent Slovenia, right before the pandemic of 2020. The undemocratically established government is using tactics that have proven detrimental to Poland, Hungary, and Russia. In addition to drastic funding and budget cuts (alongside overall rhetoric and the replacement of leadership roles), [the government] has taken to directly attacking media outlets, research institutions, and museums. Academics who specialize in the fields of Central and South East Europe pointed out in an Open Letter to Janez Janša, Prime Minister of Slovenia in 2020: “The frequency of such interventions and the many clear signals that [are only] more are to come further prove that these are not normal personnel decisions, but rather the first steps in an attempt to curtail the independence of scholars and to place narratives about the past under government control.” [1] This becomes even more evident when we look at which institutions are being attacked: the National Museum of Contemporary History, which holds a permanent exhibition of Slovenia in the 20th century, directly addressing our past as a member state of former Yugoslavia and our gain of independence; [2] the National Gallery, and the Modern Gallery – both some of the most prominent and well-known art institutions in Slovenia. [3] In addition, the government is planning to open the Research Institute of the Venetic theory, [4] which suggests that the origins of Slovenians do not begin with Slav settlements but rather, reach back to ancient times. This theory is widely considered a pseudoscience and has been rejected by scholars. Our prime minister, however, holds yearly meetings for supporters of this theory, and when considering how they like to rewrite our history, it should also raise alarms that they are planning to open the Museum of Independence of Slovenia. [5] The current enemy threat being constructed is our history as a member state of Yugoslavia, the Yugonostalgia many people still feel, non-catholic nations, and anyone who lies left to the [government] on the political compass. Clearly, these are attempts to not only shift the cultural sphere towards a more patriotic and nationalistic narrative, but a narrative that is directly in support of our current prime minister – his role in the battle for independence and his personal beliefs. I would like to argue that these current changes within the cultural and art spheres in Slovenia are what could be considered some of the worst approaches possible. Art in this scenario is not being mobilized, in a romantic sense, to enable a peaceful coexistence of identities, but rather, is being used to annihilate some to push others forward. In the context of intercultural interweaving this could mean a step backwards, since focusing on enemies and weaponizing audiences does not leave much space for a friendly co-existence. In terms of the BRI, we are yet to see where this will place Slovenia. Our prime minister has, in American fashion, began engaging in conspiracy theories about China, where he points to the supposed political interference of China with his opposition. [6] At a fundamental political level, this paranoia doesn’t bring much optimism in relation to the potential of future cultural interweaving and exchanges. Even the connection between Slovenia and Hungary, which our current government considers of utmost importance, is only happening directly through the military, and a mutual support of hate-driven, local news-media. On the other hand, the BRI greatly emphasizes a peaceful coexistence of identities. From what I have gathered in this first phase of my research, it appears that these exchanges are an effort to bring cultures closer together through mutual and empathetic understanding, which has been overtly stated on most of the observed exhibitions. This understanding is being created through a bilateral exchange of artefacts, meanings, technical knowledge, and human resources. In conclusion, intercultural interweaving has a great potential of shifting away from classical national narratives that forge bonds as a response to the presence of a threat. National identity itself is constructed through these mechanisms (ie. the search for a common enemy), so a greater understanding and knowledge of different cultures is needed to look beyond this. Participating countries have already agreed to these processes of interweaving, and as politics and culture remain ever changing, the consideration of current cultural policies and their changes is always necessary. And when considering that to curate is to narrate, another analysis will be needed to betterfully understand exactly what narratives are being told and how much positive potential they actually hold. In the future, I will attempt to do such an analysis of the exhibitions presented on the map. This will, I hope, allow for a deeper discourse and engagement on whether these projects are living up to their full potential of being used as a force for cultural harmony than separation. Marija Glavaš , student of Culturology at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana [1] A Letter to Janez Janša, Prime Minister of Slovenia. (2020). Available at: https://publiclettertoslovenia.wordpress.com/ [2] Exhibition can be seen here: http://www.muzej-nz.si/si/razstave/stalne-razstave/849-Slovenci-v-XX-stoletju [3] Marshall, A. (2021). A Populist Leader Kicks Off a Culture War, Starting in Museums. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/arts/design/slovenia-Janez-Jansa-culture.html [4] Jager, V. (2020). Janša ustanavlja inštitut, ki bo na novo napisal zgodovino izvora Slovencev. Mladina. Available at: https://www.mladina.si/200605/jansa-ustanavlja-institut-ki-bo-na-novo-napisal-zgodovino-izvora-slovencev/ [5] Marshall, A. (2021). A Populist Leader Kicks Off a Culture War, Starting in Museums. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/arts/design/slovenia-Janez-Jansa-culture.html [6] Janša, J. (2021). [@JJansaSDS]. #KUL neposredno financiran kar od Kitajske komunistične partije? [Tweet]. Twitter. Available at: https://twitter.com/JJansaSDS/status/1354022974685409281 ; Janša, J. (2021). [@JJansaSDS]. Agentura #CCPChina ? [Tweet]. Twitter. Available at: https://twitter.com/JJansaSDS/status/1355831337819762689 Previous Next

Events Lecture Series Participant Activities Regenerative living-creating spaces for the multi species co-existence Learning through doing -educational program Open call from August 4th to September 5th Duration of program from September 26th to October 1st 2024 Mentors: Luigi Coppola, Sergio Monterro Bravo, Petra Pavleka, Jelica Jovanovic, Marko Bajic, Biljana Ciric This educational module will be hosted in pedagogical center in rural of WCSCD in village of Gornja Gorevnica with aim to develop and test a set of spatial practices within WCSCD that respond to the urgencies of this contemporary moment, including decolonization, decarbonization, scarcity, climate change, as well as mitigation of public sphere. Through program we aim to revive creative responses to the condition of scarcity drawing from the ancestral ways of knowing and making, learning about possibilities of surviving with joy. The point of departure of the module is climate change and understanding that science and technology cant solve our problems, but we need to start changing the way we live, the food we eat, the way we understand world around us and its potentiality. The educational program is based on concept of situated response and through learning by doing. No prior knowledge is required, we welcome participants with different knowledge backgrounds. Focus of the program are following: How to preserve margins – understanding margins in natural and social context, margins as a central space for re- starting the relationships with more than human world, margins as a space where two worlds touch each other, margins as a space for preserving fertility, understanding margins through biodiversity. Natural building – recycling and upcycling, making social spaces in natural environment with natural and locally found material, how to coordinate and plan the space that is always growing, understanding co living spaces through seasons. Sustainable kitchen: understanding of eco system, seasonal food, no waste concept, eating locally, traditional dishes in contemporary living, foraging among others. Program fees: Fees: for participants from Balkan countries 200 euros For all other participants 400 euros For WCSCD alumni 20% off discount This price includes three meals and accommodation. Accommodation is distributed to first come first serve bases and for the rest of participants camping spots are available. How to apply Send us Motivation letter why u want to be part of the program Short bio no more then 200 words Application send to what.could.curating.do@gmail.com with title Regenerative living program application About Mentors: Petra Pavleka is a landscape architect, permaculturist, and educator focused on agroecology and sustainable living. She worked as an external professional associate on landscaping projects. She is also involved in green volunteerism, advises local councilors as an expert associate, and participates in several working groups and civic initiatives such as the "Initiative for a Public Orchard on Jarun". For the last decade, she has been experimenting with gardening, preparing food for winter storage, making natural creams for friends and family, making bread, and learning to sew clothes and weave baskets. 6 years ago, she moved from the city to the countryside. She is focused on creating more stable food systems and seed conservation programs for the associations ZMAG (where she was once the head of the Community Seed Bank and food program) and Biovrt - in harmony with nature. Her greatest passion is sharing knowledge, so she holds trainings all over Croatia and beyond. Sergio Monterro Bravo As an architect his work evolves around communal projects, pedagogy, art and design. The main focus are the many ways in which social and ecological perspectives transforms how we feel, think and make. This runs through all of his works today, exemplified in his current research Territorial, Art, Design and Architecture at Konstfack. The research operates on the basis of unfolding a place-sensible practice concerned with peri-urban and rural living environments. With collaborators, students and stakeholders he explores territorialization of space and place where there is less human intervention, as means to feel different and change mindset. The research unfolds through communal projects in peri-urban and rural locations, relational to species and systems made invisible through urban ecologies. Jelica Jovanović is an architect, architectural historian, heritage preservation professional and researcher. She is a PhD student at University of Technology in Vienna, working on thesis on preservation of mass housing of Yugoslavia, graduated from Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade with a revitalisation project of the Museum of Yugoslavia History. She is a founding member and president of the NGO Grupa arhitekata, within which she organizes summer schools and workshops revitalizing vernacular architecture in Serbia and works on architectural heritage and sustainability related research projects. She is a founding member and former secretary of Docomomo Serbia, within which she works as the digitization coordinator and on documentation projects. She was coordinator of the project “Unfinished Modernisations: Between Utopia and Pragmatism” for Association of Belgrade Architects, coordinator of the regional platform “(In)appropiate Monuments”, curatorial assistant of the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) for the exhibition “Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia 1948–1980”, coauthor of the platform “Arhiva modernizma”, coauthor of the research project and the book "Bogdan Bogdanović Biblioteka Beograd". Luigi Coppola (born in Lecce, Italy) is an artist, agroecologist, upholder of participatory projects driven by an innovative approach to the politics of the Commons and author of actions designed to activate collective potentials. His work is rooted in site-specific research of social, political and cultural subjects, collectivization of goods, activation of relational dynamics and processes of emancipation and imagination. Since 2013 he is engaged with Casa delle Agriculture in Castiglione d'Otranto (Lecce, Italy) as co-activator of a complex and multilayered process of participative agriculture, recuperation of polluted lands, creation of a participative economy, which revolves around the annual festival Notte Verde: Agriculture, utopias and community, the Parco Comune dei Frutti Minori (Common Park of the Minor Fruits) and Scuola di Agriculture (School of Agricultures), a pedagogical platform that combines agroecological knowledge with artistic strategies and builds relationships with migrant communities, students, farmers and activists. Luigi led a research and workshop revolving around soil, agriculture and pollution in Lubumbashi and Katanga and developed a long term path with a small group of cultural practitioners involved in Ateliers Picha. Marko Bajić , a young chef, with experience working in restaurants and hotels in Zagreb, as well as summer positions in Makarska Riviera, Pag, Korčula, Hvar, and Istria. There, he honed his passion for gastronomy and broadened his perspective on local and seasonal products. Although he enjoys traveling and finding inspiration in the flavors and traditions of many cultures, the plates he makes are generally made with regional products with a strong focus on simplicity. In the last restaurant, he created his own menu in which the ingredients were from a narrow region, with known methods of growing them. The thought behind everything is simplicity. Eat fresh, organic food that grows in your region. < Mentors Educational Program How to Apply >

< Back Infrastructuring the Region: Fieldnotes of an Ongoing Research 26 Nov 2020 Jelica Jovanović Infrastructure is often described in terms of the (non)presence and physicality of pipes and routes – those grand linear structures of spatial and resource connectivity: highways, railways, sewage, heating, aqueducts. These structures often go either below or along the very surface of the ground. But to look beyond the narrow, technical definition of infrastructural thought in engineering classes, infrastructure can also be a network of buildings such as health centers, schools, green markets, and similar amenities which make everyday life possible, and are often the embodiment of (what should be) the social policy and/or safety net. However, the relational and temporal aspects of the infrastructure are much more interesting, especially in case of Serbia, whose economy is going through its third decade of restructuring and shrinking, rooted in a transition from a socialist to capitalist economy. It goes hand in hand with privatization of most of the industry, public property, and services. Infrastructure(s) are the latest large-size serving on the privatization plate of Serbia, with many concessions given and many foreign loans taken, for the reconstruction of existing [infrastructure], and the construction of the new ones. Furthermore, most of the viable state-owned companies have been sold, leaving the [country’s] resources as the next major stop for privatization – there are many foreign companies currently taking over the mines and quarries, or undertaking explorations of potential mines all over the country. The next step of the research will further expand why these resources and companies are important for the economy of Serbia, and their historical role in the 20th and 21st century. But for now, let’s focus on the recent concessions and privatizations in Serbia that involve the partners from PR China. Within the last three years, as the Belt and Road initiative was announced (and is already beginning to materialise), Chinese companies have appeared to be quite interested in the country’s greatest pieces of industry and traffic infrastructure, which – due to their size – have also accumulated significant debt, and lags behind contemporary practices [1] . However, it is interesting to compare the present-day strategy of Chinese companies with the historical strategies and goals of the post-war renewal and reorganization of the Yugoslav economy, since the same companies are at the centre of both of those processes. In December 2019, the exhibition Serbia 2019 – the year of infrastructure: Nothing is far away anymore was opened in the Palace of Serbia by the highest state and government officials. The exhibition is praising many of the ongoing and planned traffic infrastructural investments in Serbia, the most substantial and expensive ones being financed with loans from the government of the People’s Republic of China. Half an hour for a journey between Novi Sad and Belgrade is allegedly expected to already happen by September 2021 – this would be a step up from the usual hour and a half (or more) the journey currently takes, as malfunctions stand as the usual occurrence. The same goes for the railways towards Niš and the southern border of Serbia. The announced driving speed should be around 200km/h (which would be faster than the highway) meaning that the travel time would be around 2 hours instead of over 4. Both routes of the railway will be reconstructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and is scheduled to start in 2021. The appearance of Chinese companies in Serbia – and other Balkan countries for that matter – raised some brows. Serbia is a small country, classified as upper middle income by the World bank, but with quite a high public debt, reaching up to more than 50% of the nation’s GDP [2] . Serbia is therefore maintaining good relations with foreign diplomatic representatives, and seeking economic collaboration from all over the world, diversifying its sources of investments and loans. Serbia is even reviving some old alliances/friendships from the period of Non-Aligned Yugoslavia – which is often problematic from the perspective of the European Union (EU), due to the country’s proclaimed accession to the Union. Meanwhile, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is loaning money to Srbija voz to purchase new locomotives “as a part of [the] transition to [a] green economy”, while the World Bank gave a loan to finish the E75 highway. An agreement has also been signed with the Russian company, RZD International , for the reconstruction of the railway to Bar in Montenegro, with an estimated deadline for the documentation preparation of the remaining 200km somewhere vaguely in 2021. In December 2019, Serbia Cargo started transporting cargo from the Port of Bar in Montenegro to ZiJin in Bor, Serbia. ZiJin Mining is a multinational mining group situated in China, which purchased 63% of the stocks of the Mining and Smelting Basin Bor (RTB Bor) in 2019, establishing a joint-stock company, Serbia Zijin Copper Doo Bor, for a period of 30 years. Apparently, this shipment from Montenegro was the first shipment (of many to come) of copper ore imported from Spain. At the moment, it is unclear whether the Montenegrin authorities will proceed with the planned privatization of the Port Bar [3] . Maybe China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) will step into the game, as many analysts have estimated, to secure the access to another Mediterranean port, as it is already the major stockholder of the Piraeus Port in Greece. The construction of the railroad through Serbia begun in the mid-19th century. It was the first major piece of infrastructure built in this small Balkan state. According to the Treaty signed during the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Serbia, among other countries, had agreed to build the railroad from Belgrade to the town of Vranje on the southern border as a part of the route connecting Central Europe with the Middle East. The first ceremonial train of the Belgrade-Niš line departed on September 4, 1884. Regular traffic on this route began on September 15, 1884, and Serbian Railways celebrate that day every year as Railway Day [4] . Even today, this is Serbia’s main traffic corridor, which remains the most vital transportation route of the country, enforced by the much later addition and integration into the highway E-75/Corridor 10 system, which connects the north and south of Europe. This corridor goes from Vardø in Finland’s north to the Sitia port in the south of Greece, connecting many other towns and cities along the way: Helsinki, Gdansk, Katowice, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade, Skopje, Thessaloniki, and Athens [5] . However, not everyone is as enthusiastic: “Soon, that railroad will be the only thing left in Serbia,” was one of many comments below an article reporting on the fast tracks from Belgrade to Novi Sad, testifying to a sense of disenfranchisement felt by the citizens of Serbia because – the way they see it – the “family silverware” is being sold off as the country continues to become more and more indebted. This railroad (together with the highway E75) is a part of Pan-European Corridor 10, which connects European north and south, from Finland to Greece, and is being restored by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) – some of it for the first time in 70 years. Some of the train stations are also being refreshed with new wall paint, railings, furniture, and pavement. Furthermore, there are other reasons for the concern, but mainly regarding the way local authorities are handling the situation. Impeding the implementation of the reconstruction project, all the unresolved problems that have accumulated over decades are being too hastily dealt with, causing other problems in the long run. For example, independent organizations dealing with the right to housing and challenging evictions, have recently raised the issue of the displacement of the railways’ workers who were given the accommodation in the railway guards, along the railway line from Zemun Polje to Batajnica [6] . The actors of this entire process is former Serbian Railways public company, which now has split jurisdiction with the newly founded companies, who paradoxically, are all in the same building: Serbian Railways, Infrastructure of Railways Serbia, Serbia Cargo, Museum of Railways, Traffic Institute CIP – but it seems that there is no communication between them. Furthermore, all these entities are public property, answering to the Government of Serbia. The havoc caused on the sites of railway reconstruction in Serbia testifies to the disorganization and lack of communication between these (public) entities. 11 families in 35m2, a report by the activists of ZA Krov nad glavom (FOR the Roof Above Our Heads) organization. The families living near the railway that is being reconstructed are forced to move, without the state providing a replacement housing. Source: https://youtu.be/2Yz-gZ9aU_A Main railway station in Bor 2020. Credit: Jelica Jovanović Main railway station in Bor circa 1980s. Courtesy National library Bor Road to Zaječar via Metovnica village, circa 1960. Courtesy National library Bor A look towards the east of the country further complicates the picture. In stark contrast to the images of the Corridor 10 reconstruction are the haunting images of the empty train station in Bor. The last scheduled train departed from Bor train station on December 14th 2019, according to the schedule still hanging on the station’s walls. The railroad is working just fine and is still being used, but only for cargo trains, not passengers. The industrial railroad in Bor had already been dismantled a few years ago, with only one branch still in use within the Mining and Smelting Basin Bor, today known as Serbia Zijin Copper Doo Bor. The question of railroad construction in Eastern Serbia has always been a pressing matter for all the governments of Serbia/Yugoslavia, but most especially came to the fore in the second half of 19th century, to address the issue of connecting with the rest of the country via central route between Belgrade and Niš, when the road network to this area was too ineffective to meet the needs of the country. The ore extraction was the primary motif for the railroad construction in this region. Eastern Serbia, especially the Timok region, is very rich in mineral resources, as well as in agricultural products, which were necessary to boost the country’s economy that was always struggling with various crises. These respective industries have been considered a main branch of the economy since independence from the Ottoman empire. In 1899, the government decided to sign a contract with some local entrepreneurs to build the railroad Paraćin-Zaječar. Due to the subsequent crisis regarding the parliament dismissal and a coup d’état, the beginning of the process was delayed until 1904. Although with many difficulties, especially since the terrain is very hilly and therefore difficult to build, the railroad was eventually finished and opened on January 1, 1911. Given the experience with Customs War/Pig War 1906-1908, Serbia was pushing for the construction of the railroads to ease itself from its dependence on the Austro-Hungarian empire. One of the results of this trade war was the development of the mining industry in Serbia – which then needed more ore, which came mostly from Eastern Serbia – and an effort to connect with the Thessaloniki port. However, this port was not entirely at the country’s disposal due to the influence of the court in Vienna, and Serbia consequently pushed for the construction of the more important Trans-Balkan railroad route along the Kladovo-Niš-Adriatic coast. As a part of this route, the railroad from Zaječar to Negotin was built, and by February 1914, it expanded further to Prahovo and the Port on Danube, as well as from Zaječar to Knjaževac by February 1915. These railroads further networked the region of Eastern Serbia, from which coal, iron, copper, and gold ore were being extracted [7] . There have been several attempts to build more railroads in the more mountainous areas of Kučaj, which is also the area richest in gold, iron, and timber. A group of local merchants applied and got an approval of concession to build the railroad between Veliko Gradište on the Danube and Majdanpek, probably expecting that as concessionaries, it would also be easier for them to trade goods and raw materials if they had direct access to the port on the Danube. However, as it often happens, they overestimated their abilities and underestimated the challenges of the terrain and local microclimate. This railroad was never built [8] . Another very ambitious route that eventually was not finished as planned was the route Bor-Crni Vrh. The route was built under very peculiar circumstances: during the occupation by Nazi Germany, when the forced labour camp was established in Bor. Besides working in the mine, the prisoners were also building the route of the railroad from Bor to Crni Vrh, with the goal of easier extraction and transport of the timber and charcoal, and eventual continuation of the route to the town of Žagubica. The railroad was used as an industrial railroad with no travellers, but the problem with it was that it was built so poorly that accidents were constantly occurring. It was damaged before the retreat of the Nazi army – hence once the occupation was over in 1944, the first task that youth brigades had was to reconstruct this railroad. Within that year, the route was already partially in use, and by the summer of 1945, was finally completed and given to the Basin in Bor as an industrial railroad. It operated until 1968, when the need for it (and many other routes) ceased to exist, as motorways were in the process of being built [9] . Today, only this route remains, with its rails removed, now used as a hiking trail. The route of the former railroad to Crni Vrh. Credit: Jelica Jovanović, October 2020. Bor was one of the most important cities of the post-WW2 period in former Yugoslavia, precisely because of its material base: the copper mine. The town achieved the status of being a city in 1947 in order to establish the city’s status within the region, the republic, and the federation, as well as to give it the proper administrative basis for its future development. The copper served as one of the bases for the industrialization and electrification of the country, as well as lifting the population out of poverty. Copper mining and the expansion of copper production (as well as the other by-products, which are then further connected with other industries as the basis/resources for their production) were connected with the development of the city of Bor, as well as the development of the entire region and many other cities all over Serbia and into Yugoslavia. Within the broader region: Majdanpek, Zaječar, Boljevac, Kladovo, Negotin, Donji Milanovac, Prokuplje, Žagubica; within the Republic of Serbia: Novi Sad, Pančevo, Sevojno (near Užice), Jagodina; within Yugoslavia: Zagreb. The city’s mono-industry had essentially been under the auspices and control of the federal government from the very beginning of the socialist economy of Yugoslavia – even excluded to a certain degree from the framework of workers’ self-management, which was the official state polity [10] . Today, it feels that Bor, together with Serbia, has yet again found itself in a position similar to where it was a century (or at least 70 years) ago: deindustrialized, and reliant on direct foreign investments and foreign concessions to reconstruct its infrastructures and major industries. At the moment, nobody knows for certain what the terms of contract are in case of the railway reconstruction – or many other contracts as a matter of fact – and the general assumption is that they are unfavourable for Serbia, or else there would be no reason for confidentiality [11] . To help facilitate the process of direct bargaining with foreign creditors/investors, the government even pushed through parliament the Law on Special Procedures for the Implementation of the Project of Construction and Reconstruction of Line Infrastructure Structures of Particular Importance to the Republic of Serbia (Official Gazette of RS, number 9 from 04 February 2020). This law is targeting the so-called projects of construction and reconstruction of line infrastructure structures of particular importance to the Republic of Serbia – railways, highways, possibly the Belgrade metro – which are all currently being built with money given by foreign creditors, who in turn also bypass the local rules and laws on bidding, and directly negotiate for the companies from their countries of origin to come and build in Serbia. Meanwhile, the local construction companies have been ravaged by years of mismanagement and scandalously organized privatization. Hence the concern on how the debt will be repaid if the local industry is disappearing. However, very recent news show that China had started to suspend the debt for African countries, which in comparison to the usual money lenders, makes them a more desirable [business] partner, especially to the impoverished countries of the global South. [12] Although the contexts are different, maybe there is some room for renegotiating the terms of contracts in Serbia. In one of his lectures, Yanis Varoufakis reflects on his experience with the concession of the Pireaus Port, and states that there is a difference in the agendas of Western capital compared to Chinese capital entering foreign markets (being non-imperialistic/or less imperialistic), especially within the countries on the periphery of capitalism and the Global South like Ethiopia and Greece. [13] Serbia is in position very similar to these countries and it will be interesting to see how the situation will develop in the years to come. Jelica Jovanović is an architect and PhD student at the University of Technology in Vienna, working as an independent researcher. [1] Slobodna Evropa: „Kinesko čudo na Balkanu“ [A Chinese miracle in the Balkans] https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/30325861.html?utm_source=Balkan-HP-2col&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=China-vs-Balkans , accessed November 16th 2020 [2] World Bank: Economy Profile of Serbia Doing Business 2020 Indicators, p.3, https://www.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/country/s/serbia/SRB.pdf , accessed November 16th 2020; Ministarstvo finansija RS: Javni dug Srbije, p.5, http://www.javnidug.gov.rs/upload/Stanje%20i%20struktura%20za%20mesecni%20izvestaj%20o%20stanju/31.12.2018%20final/Web%20site%20debt%20report%20%20-%20SRB%20LATINICA%20decenbar%20gotov.pdf , accessed November 17th 2020 [3] “Mihajlovićeva i Belozjorov potpisali sporazum o obnovi barske pruge do granice sa Crnom Gorom” [Mihajlovic and Belozjorov signed an agreement on recostruction of the Bar railway to the border with Montenegro],” Bilten, December 2019 – January 2020, p.3, http://www.zeleznicesrbije.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/bilten-decembar-januar-2020.pdf , accessed November 15, 2020Aila Stojkobivić, “ARTICLE TITLE (SERBIAN)/(ENGLISH),” Bilten, September 2020, PAGE NUMBER http://www.zeleznicesrbije.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bilten-septembar-2020.pdf [4] Serbian Railways. History of Serbian Railways. http://www.zeleznicesrbije.com/istorijat/?lang=lat [5] Economic Commission for Europe. International E Road Network. http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/conventn/MapAGR2007.pdf , accessed November 15, 2020 [6] The brief report says: „…for a couple of months now, they have been exposed to pressure, attempts to cut off electricity, which they regularly pay for, as well as various forms of intimidation. Other families also received eviction orders, or were informally approached with such requests. In addition, all families have been living here for decades on the basis of a legally acquired right to use the accommodation, because their family members have spent their entire working life working for the railway and investing in its housing stock, as well as in the houses in which they lived. They do not want to move out until they are provided with adequate housing replacement, as required by the law. Everyone was offered the same thing: a smaller space in Topcider.“ ZA krov nad glavom: 11 porodica u 35 kvadrata, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yz-gZ9aU_A&feature=youtu.be , accessed November 17, 2020 [7] Nikolić, Jezdimir S.: Istorija železnica Srbije, Vojvodine, Crne Gore i Kosova, p. 157-162 [8] Ibid, p.163-164 [9] Radomir Cokić, B.Sc. eng. Forty years since the construction of the first youth railway Bor-Crni Vrh. http://timockapruga.org.rs/istorija_timockih_pruga/bor_crni_vrh.php , accessed Novemner 15, 2020 [10] Jovanović, Jelica: EMERGING FROM THE ORE: BOR, A NEW CITY OF YUGOSLAVIA (manuscript for the catalog of the Pavilion of Serbia on 17th International Architecture Exhibition – Biennale in Venice) [11] Zorić, Ognjen: “Oznaka ‘Poverljivo’ – zašto tajnost prati ugovore koje sklapa Srbija?” [Label ‘Confidential’ – why does secrecy follow contracts concluded by Serbia?], https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/poverljivi-ugovori/30739667.html , accessed November 16th 2020 [12] Jevans Nyabiage: Chinese bank signs debt suspension deals with 11 African countries, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3105290/chinese-bank-signs-debt-suspension-deals-11-african-countries , accessed November 17, 2020 [13] China vs EU on debt conditions. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tJatdtv4jQ&feature=emb_logo , accessed November 15, 2020 Previous Next

< Back The Landscape of Unknown Idil Bozkurt I closed my eyes and saw the vision field. I listened to my breath. again and again, nothing but this very moment. I was here. Now, I open my eyes and see my vision field. Light and Shadow, almost seeing the particles in the air. here I go again. İdil Bozkurt, The Landscape of an Unknown, 2020 “Disturbance realigns possibilities for transformative encounters.” Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World I woke up this morning and remembered the dream I had, which, unlike others that slip away moments after waking, came back to me suddenly: I was walking around the city. There was no one outside but me. I ambled through the streets secretly enjoying the quietness. Empty streets, bare gardens and barren shops. While I was wandering in the streets of this ghost town, I suddenly spotted a huge billboard on the side of the building. There, I realized that the words on the sign gave a proclamation of good news:‘From the 20th of April, we will be elevating the recent restrictions about your social life. You will be able to go out and socialise as normal. We are working very hard on it. Everything will get back to normal.’ When I awoke, I had a strong sense of the emotion that was left with me after having read the sign within my dream. The initial feeling I had was disappointment, which was followed by a state of panic and anxiety. ‘Is that it? We haven’t changed anything yet!’, I thought to myself. And, here I am writing this piece with all those feelings in my mind vividly, distinctively. Is there something wrong with me that deep down I secretly wish this crisis to continue until it reaches its meaningful end? Meaningful end? What does ‘meaningful end’ even mean? What do I expect this crisis to turn into? I wonder if I’m thinking like Winston Churchill who believes the rule- ‘never let a good crisis go to waste’? True or not, this expression is now commonly applied to economic or diplomatic crises that can be exploited to advance political agendas. To support this argument, frighteningly, there seems to be many recent examples of it- an opportunity for authoritarian power grabs in Hungary, Israel, China, the Philippines and the US, with more to follow undoubtedly. This advice, of course, can be read as each crisis brings its own opportunity for a creative response. The matter of letting crises be wasted or not fills me with a sense of urgency. This urgency is followed by the fog of the unknown lingering in the air and it is hard to see what’s on the horizon, or even what’s in front of us. Although, staying put is hard especially while viewing digital totalitarian regimes rapidly take place, while healthcare professionals work in precarious conditions and society at large coping with social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak. Millions of people have lost their jobs during this turbulence. In addition to this, I am also worried about the state of arts and culture, and especially art professionals who work independently with freelance or zero-hours contracts. For instance, in the city of Brighton, where I live, 40% of its revenue comes from festivals and cultural events across the year. The month of May is one of the best times to be in Brighton. There are four different festivals that are run throughout May. Of course, with the recent events, many of them are cancelled or postponed. Some festivals fund themselves through their ticket sales, and the cancellation of these festivals are not only affecting their ability for future participation, but also hitting the staff who intended to work with them. I count myself as one of those affected. I had two exhibitions cancelled along with many months of freelance jobs. I have not only realised the precariousness of my working conditions but I have found that I have started to reconsider the value of these works—what is the value of an exhibition? What does it mean to ‘go-online’ and continue producing content on digital platforms? What does it feel like to be in a virtual gallery? How does it affect our relationship with space, art and spectatorship? What is the role of the curator, here and now? How should we value public spaces now that we can no longer access them? How is this uncertain time going to affect artists? Galleries and museums may well be the last places to be reopened to the public—then, will things go back to normal ? It’s important to see the reaction of many galleries and museums during the COVID-19 crisis. As many of us whose independent projects and works were cancelled, we joined with the rest of our friends and families at home, who are not only locked down in their households, but also locked to their screens. Right after the lockdowns a number of museums, art organisations and galleries responded to this moment of crisis by ‘going-online’ where they have continued to produce and disseminate their content through platforms such as Zoom, Instagram, Jitsi and many others with which they can broadcast talks, live chats, workshops, virtual gallery tours and even virtual studio visits. They are still striving to keep us connected. We are quite grateful for this wide range of content being put in front of us while others are struggling to stay connected 24/7 and have started to suffer from digital ‘burn out’. Relevantly, for the last couple of years, there has been a rising debate on ‘ burn out culture ’, especially amongst freelance gig workers. I regularly hear from many colleagues and friends who are in a constant battle with this experience and struggle with burnout. As the majority of people all experience this endless exhaustion where work becomes an identity, capitalism becomes a religion and productivity manifests the way we measure human value. Here we are again, while everything has paused, we are still experiencing the digital side of burnout. I wonder what would happen if the whole art world stopped and went silent for a bit. If there were no arts content, what would it look like? If this is not a great time to slow down and reflect on the values of spaces that are dedicated to exhibiting art and the importance of our relationship with it, then when is it going to be? The Landscape of an Unknown, 2020 Let me explain myself here. My intention is neither to throw a stone at the art institutions, museums or galleries nor do I desire to see the arts and creative sector crumbling down. They are not the essence of the problem but they are the part of the globalised production systems. For instance, contemporary biennials are a way of signalling a city’s headway to enter the globalizing world of trade and culture through the use of art to encourage tourism, cultural ‘growth’ and international media. Hito Steyerl puts this very clearly in her essay Duty Free Art where she says, “…contemporary art is made possible by neoliberal capital plus the internet, biennials, art fairs, parallel pop-up histories, growing income inequality. Let’s add asymmetric warfare -… real estate speculation, tax evasion, money laundering and deregulated financial markets to this list.” I’m not talking about the creation of arts but rather the roles of museums and art institutions in the context of the globalised system of production. The consequences of the globalised production systems in contemporary arts can be seen today in the growth of a certain form of art that is now supposed to be seen everywhere at biennials, also in a marked decrease in the ‘specificity’ of regional cultural output. We are facing the increasingly blurred and confused role of art in contemporary culture. In the last few years, the ideas of transformative change, placemaking, the role of artists and audience, funding and diversity have been the subjects that are widely discussed in art institutions, in public art spaces and galleries. It seems to me that we all go around these subject matters, making mind maps, discussing and sharing stories but not feeling brave enough to delve into the essential questions about what the problem is with the state of art institutions in the contemporary art scene. How can we think of art institutions in an age of globalised production, growing inequality, climate emergency and digital technology? It’s important to rethink and reimagine many subjects like sustainability, diversity, equality and legacy here. Perhaps the answer lies not only in the act of looking to the past, but also in the construction of new conversations about public spaces, the formation of collective culture, and the future of art. Referring to Bruno Latour’s questions here, what are some suspended activities that you would like not to see coming back as an arts professional and/or an artist? It might be useful to visit the concept of curare here. To take care of. Curators are assigned to the job of caring in the art world. Over the years, various forms of caretaking have evolved from this root word, but contemporary curator’s work remains similar to the curare of growing, developing and seeking to help the art of people, their meaning, interpretation and commonalities flourish. Now, the desk of many curators is empty – at least for the time being. Creating art is not always a question of the moment, and neither is its exhibition; curating follows art. So where do we start the conversation now? What sort of time and space is required for the manifestation of contemporary art? The Landscape of an Unknown, 2020 “This machine is a master at collecting goods and people from around the world. It has the characteristics of an assemblage, yet it also has characteristics of a machine, a mechanism that is limited to the sum of its parts. This machine is not a total institution” as Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing puts it, we live and spend our lives inside of it. In my mind, I’m imagining the red button and the nice steel handle mentioned by Bruno Latour, and how the states, one after the other, can pull it to stop the engine. Here we are. Now.The engine has stopped, along with the noise it produced; the machine is not working -for now. We can start to hear things, other things that we could not hear or did not pay attention to before. As we all feel the somnolence that comes through adapting to our new routines, we should not lose the impetus for action. I have been thinking about my answers to questions posed by Bruno Latour*, below. Perhaps, now, we can all think and share some thoughts. So let’s not waste this crisis, instead think and ask ourselves some questions. — *Here are the questions posed by Bruno Latour in his article called What protective measures can you think of so we don’t go back to the pre-crisis production model? (translated from French by Stephen Muecke) (This article appeared in AOC on 29th March 2020: https://aoc.media/opinion/2020/03/29/imaginerles-gestes-barrieres-contre-le-retour-a-la-production-davant-crise/ ) Question 1: What are some suspended activities that you would like to see not coming back ? Question 2: Describe why this activity seems to you to be noxious/superfluous/dangerous/incoherent and how its disappearance/putting on hold/substitution might render other activities that you prefer easier/more coherent. (Write a separate paragraph for each of the activities listed under 1). Question 3: What kinds of measures do you advocate so that workers/employees/agents/entrepreneurs, who can no longer continue in the activities that you have eliminated, are able to facilitate the transition to other activities ? Question 4: What are the activities, now suspended, that you hope might develop/begin again, or even be created from scratch? Question 5: Describe how this activity appears to be positive to you, and how it makes other activities easier/more harmonious/coherent that you prefer and can fight against those that you judge to be inappropriate. (Write a separate paragraph for each of the activities listed under 4). Question 6: What kinds of measures do you advocate to help workers/employees/agents/entrepreneurs to acquire capacities/means/finances/instruments allowing for restarting/development/creation of this activity ? (Now find a way to compare your description with that of other participants. By tabling and then superimposing the answers, you should start to build up a picture composed of conflicting lines, alliances, controversies and oppositions.) Idil Bozkurt (1990) is a lens-based media producer and an independent curator. Previous Next

Events Lecture Series Participant Activities Lecture by Hou Hanru / Reengaging a contemporary art institution with civic society Saša Tkačenko, Flags from the WCSCD series, 2018. Photo by Ivan Zupanc THE CURATORIAL COURSE WHAT COULD/SHOULD CURATING DO? IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A PUBLIC TALK BY: Hou Hanru REENGAGING A CONTEMPORARY ART INSTITUTION WITH CIVIC SOCIETY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART BELGRADE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018 AT 6 PM In collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, the fifth lecture within the series of public programs organized by WCSCD will be presented by Hou Hanru (Artistic Director of MAXXI – National Museum for 21st Century Art and National Museum of Architecture, Rome, Italy). Following the recent lectures describing new and different perspectives on the theories and practices of exhibition-making, Hou Hanru’s presentation will outline certain aspects of the program developed by Hou at MAXXI, detailing his vision-strategies for the reengagement of a contemporary art institution with civic society in this time of “global crisis.” As part of this, he will also discuss some of the challenges of running a XXI century institution, its complexity, reality, and actions. As Hou explains: “I think that society needs institutions or organizations that can preserve those elements that are supposed to be experimental, complicated, and controversial, while playing a very important part of the knowledge production of today. It’s also very important for museums to be able to provide the conditions that allow intellectually complicated projects to exist. Otherwise we follow the path of the entertainment industry.” ABOUT THE LECTURER: Hou Hanru is a prolific writer and curator based in Rome, Paris, and San Francisco. He is currently the Artistic Director of MAXXI (National Museum for 21st Century Art and National Museum of Architecture), Rome, Italy. Hou Hanru has curated and co- curated over 100 exhibitions in the last two decades across the world. Some notable examples include: China/Avant-Garde (National Museum of Art of China, Beijing, 1989); Cities On The Move (1997–2000); the 2nd Johannesburg Biennial (Hong Kong, etc.) (1997); the Shanghai Biennale (2000); the Gwangju Biennale (2002); the Venice Biennale (French Pavilion, 1999; Z.O.U.—Zone Of Urgency, 2003; and Chinese Pavilion, 2007); the 2nd Guangzhou Triennial (2005); the exhibition and public program of the San Francisco Art Institute (2006–2012); the 10th Istanbul Biennial (2007); Trans(cient)City (Luxembourg 2007); the 10th Biennale de Lyon (2009); the 5th Auckland Triennial (Auckland, New Zealand, 2013); Open Museum Open City (MAXXI, Rome, 2014); Transformers: Choi Jeong-hwa, Didier Fuiza Faustino, Martino Gamper, Pedro Reyes (MAXXI, Rome, 2015–2016); Istanbul, Passion, Joy, Fury (MAXXI, Rome, 2015–2016); Please Come Back, the world as prison? (MAXXI, Rome, 2017); Piere Giraldi (MAXXI, Rome, 2017); Home Beirut (MAXXI, 2017–18); Growing in Difference, the 7th Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennial of Urbanism and Architecture (UABB 2017–2018), among others. He is also a consulting curator of Chinese art for the Guggenheim Museum, New York, and co-curator of Tales of Our Time (2016), Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World (2017–18), and One Hand Clapping (2018). He is an advisor for numerous cultural institutions, and frequently contributes to various journals on contemporary art and culture, lectures, and teaches in numerous international institutions. His books include Hou Hanru, Utopia@Asialink, and School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne (2014); Paradigm Shifts, Walter and McBean Galleries Exhibitions and Public Programs, San Francisco Art Institute (2011); On the Mid-Ground (English version published in 2002 by Timezone 8, Hong Kong, and Chinese version published in 2013, by Gold Wall Press, Beijing); Curatorial Challenges (conversations between Hou Hanru and Hans Ulrich Obrist, in Art-It magazine as “curators on the move,” Japan, 2006–2012, Chinese version, Gold Wall Press, Beijing, 2013); among others. The WCSCD curatorial course and series of public lectures are initiated and organized by Biljana Ciric together with Supervizuelna. The lecture by Niels Van Tomme is made possible with the help of MoCAB and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the additional support of Zepter Museum and Zepter Hotel. Project partners: The Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade; GRAD—European Center for Culture and Debate; EVA International – Ireland’s Biennial, ’Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ Foundation and Zepter Museum. The project is supported by: the Goethe Institute in Belgrade; Istituto Italiano di Cultura Belgrado; the Embassy of Sweden; the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the Embassy of Ireland in Greece; the Embassy of Indonesia; the EU Info Centre; Pro Helvetia – Swiss Art Council; and galleries Eugster || Belgrade, HESTIA Art Residency & Exhibitions Bureau, and Zepter Hotel, Royal Inn Hotel and CAR:GO. Media partners: EUNIC Serbia, RTS3. < Mentors Educational Program How to Apply >

Events Lecture Series Participant Activities Lecture by Ivet Ćurlin / WHW / My Sweet Little Lamb, (everything we see can also be otherwise) Saša Tkačenko, Flags from WCSCD series, 2018 THE CURATORIAL COURSE WHAT COULD/SHOULD CURATING DO? IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A PUBLIC TALK BY: IVET ĆURLIN (WHW) My Sweet Little Lamb, (everything we see can also be otherwise) MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART BELGRADE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8 2018 AT 6 PM In collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, the lecture within the series of public programs organized by WCSCD will be presented by Ivet Ćurlin — member of curatorial collective, What, How & for Whom/WHW. The series is designed to offer new and different perspectives on the theories and practices of exhibition-making. Lecture by Ivet Ćurlin entitled “My Sweet Little Lamb, (everything we see can also be otherwise)” will present the work of curatorial collective WHW through several curatorial projects concerned with continuous reconfiguration of the relationships between artistic and cultural production, authorship, collecting, history, display and politics, as well as the discuss the need for starting the new long-term educational program for young artists, called WHW Akademija. The focus will be the project My Sweet Little Lamb, (everything we see can also be otherwise) WHW co-curated in collaboration with Kathrin Rhomberg. After six exhibition episodes, taking place from November 2016 to May 2017 in independent art spaces, artists’ studios and private apartments in Zagreb, the project’s epilogue has been staged at The Showroom, London, in collaboration with Emily Pethick. Based on the Kontakt Art Collection, which includes seminal works by artists from Central, Eastern and South-East Europe from 1960s to the present, the project juxtaposed the collection’s canonical works with a number of historical and contemporary works in order to address and reframe some of the recurring themes that stem from the collection, such as radical utopianism, figure of dissident artist, questions of gendered bodies, political subjectivities and engagement, and the status of public space. Titled after a work by Croatian artist Mladen Stilinović (1947-2016), the project is inspired by his life-long anti-systematic artistic approach that searched for more autonomous ways of artistic production. His artistic practice that humorously engages with complex themes of ideology, work, money, pain and poverty, inspired many of WHW’s projects. ABOUT THE LECTURER: Ivet Ćurlin is member of curatorial collective, What, How & for Whom/WHW, formed in 1999 and based in Zagreb and Berlin. Besides Ivet, WHW’s members are curators Ana Dević, Nataša Ilić and Sabina Sabolović, and designer and publicist Dejan Kršić. WHW organizes a range of production, exhibitions and publishing projects and directs Gallery Nova in Zagreb. Since its first exhibition titled What, How & for Whom, on the occasion of 152nd anniversary of the Communist Manifesto, that took place in Zagreb in 2000, WHW curated numerous international projects, among which are Collective Creativity, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, 2005; 11th Istanbul Biennial What Keeps Mankind Alive?, Istanbul, 2009; One Needs to Live Self-Confidently…Watching, Croatian pavilion at 54th Venice Biennial, 2011. Recent projects by WHW include exhibition Really Useful Knowledge, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, 2014, My Sweet Little Lamb, (everything we see can also be otherwise), (co-curated with Kathrin Rhomberg), various locations in Zagreb, 2016/2017; Shadow Citizens, retrospective of Želimir Žilnik at Edith-Russ-Hausfür Medienkunst, Oldenburg, 2018, and On the Shoulders of Fallen Giants, The 2nd Industrial Art Biennial that took place this summer in Labin, Raša, Rijeka, Pula, Vodnjan. In fall 2018, WHW has started non-formal international educational program for young artists in Zagreb, called WHW Akademija. The WCSCD curatorial course and series of public lectures are initiated and organized by Biljana Ciric together with Supervizuelna. The lecture by Niels Van Tomme is made possible with the help of MoCAB and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the additional support of Zepter Museum and Zepter Hotel. Project partners: The Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade; GRAD—European Center for Culture and Debate; EVA International – Ireland’s Biennial, ’Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ Foundation and Zepter Museum. The project is supported by: the Goethe Institute in Belgrade; Istituto Italiano di Cultura Belgrado; the Embassy of Sweden; the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the Embassy of Ireland in Greece; the Embassy of Indonesia; the EU Info Centre; Pro Helvetia – Swiss Art Council; and galleries Eugster || Belgrade, HESTIA Art Residency & Exhibitions Bureau, and Zepter Hotel, Royal Inn Hotel and CAR:GO. Media partners: EUNIC Serbia, RTS3. < Mentors Educational Program How to Apply >

< Back THE DANGER OF AMBITION AND NEGLECT The Case of Beautifying Sheger 30 Dec 2020 Sinkneh Eshetu, Aziza Abdulfetah Busser & Berhanu I. Introduction Comparing the current prime minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmad, to his predecessors, Briuk Terrefe writes: “Abiy Ahmed’s two megaprojects [the 36-hectare luxury real estate complex (LaGare) backed by the Abu-Dhabi-based Eagle Hills, as well the 56 km river-bank restoration project, Beautifying Sheger ] represents a clear ideological rupture from EPRDF [1] and its political priorities, while at the same [time] continuing the long Ethiopian lineage of overly ambitious plans, as well as highly centralized and top-down mechanisms of delivery.” [2] This places the subject of this research within the wider context of “political rupture” and societal change. Regardless of whether one agrees with his analysis or not, we can be sure that the urban fabric of Addis Ababa is about to undergo a dramatic change. It has been consistently observed around the world that such rapid and large-scale transformations are disruptive to people’s lives (particularly to the economically disadvantaged) and the natural environment. Beautifying Sheger , which aspires to create a city-scale public space by transforming the neglected and polluted rivers of Addis Ababa [3] will inevitably disrupt the ecosystem, as well as the livelihood of thousands and over a century of collective cultural memory. This is the case our team is working on as part of the research-based art project, As You Go … The Road Under Our Feet Towards a New Future . For an apt treatment of a project of such a scope, we began with the cultural landscape as the conceptual framework of our research. Using this framework allows us to see the integration of natural and cultural heritage conservation at a landscape level, rather than at a site-level. This encourages us to give due consideration to the landscape; its historical scale; and the connectivity between people, places, and cultural objects. It also enables us to recognise that the current landscape is the product of long-standing and complex interrelationships between people and the environment. [4] When we began this project, we had three major objectives. The first was to investigate the impact of the project on the ecosystem, and on the memory and livelihood of the people, focusing on gardeners along the rivers who use the river water, though polluted, for irrigation. Another objective was to explore alternative designs for [a] sustainable culture-nature fit by reviewing literature on international trends, experiences, and better practices in urban river rehabilitation or re-naturalization. The final (but not the least) objective was sensitising authorities and the public to the probable impact of the current design and construction process on the people and ecosystem through public engagement. Abstracted images of the rivers targeted in the Beautifying Sheger River Development Project [5] . However, as our research progressed, mediated by the tele-conferences among the partners (cells) of the As You Go … project, another important issue came to the fore. Landscape architectures is often regarded as an external manifestation of the inner landscape of a society. The realisation of the designer’s vision and ideals is a process that encompasses conceptualisation, design, implementation, and management – therefore, the cultural background, experience, and philosophy of the designer(s) must be a significant consideration. Alongside this, the participation of the public, professionals and non-professions alike, becomes paramount in a project of this scale. As we began our research, we learned that the initial landscape design of the Beautifying Sheger riverside development, used in the promotional video released by the PM’s office and Addis Ababa City Administration, is not being implemented. Instead, a new design developed by a Chinese landscape architect for the pilot project is now underway. Moreover, the construction of the pilot phase of the project, which was originally awarded to an Addis-based construction company, Varnero, in February 2019, was subsequently withdrawn. It was given to the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) after the Chinese government agreed to fund the project following PM Abiy’s debt rescheduling negotiations at the Belt and Road Forum in April 2019. [6] Local professionals are now only involved as private consultants in the construction process. As a result, analysing the conceptualisation of the design, labour relationships, and use of technology in the construction process, as well as the role of China in the future management of the designed landscape, has now become an additional objective. II. Background of the Study Area 1. Historical Overview The history of Addis Ababa is important to understand in order to begin to comprehend the layers of collective and cultural memory; the spirits of places; the spatial patterns; the ecological links; the contested interests; the impacts of change, and the direct and indirect recipients of the impact. Unlike other cultures, such as Egypt, who built their cities and civilization along rivers, Ethiopia does not have any cities near its major rivers. Even the establishment of the youthful Bahir Dar, which lies in close proximity to Lake Tana and River Abai (the Nile), is arguably not dependent on these waters. Addis Ababa is no exception. Its establishment and growth are not principally driven by its rivers – though interestingly, it was one of its hot-springs that offered the initial impetus for the city’s foundation and ended the shifting of Ethiopian capitals. In 1886, the wife of King Menelik, Queen Tayitu, camped at the Filwuha hot spring. Preferring the warmth of [the] Finfine plains to the windy and cold hill of Entoto, she decided to build a house to the north of the spring. With this humble beginning, Ethiopia’s capital would soon shift downhill, and in 1906, it changed its name from Entoto to Addis Ababa (translating to: New Flower). Menelik’s generals were given encampments (sefers), interspaced by long distances, to settle in the new capital with their army and relatives. As a military strategy, both the emperor and his generals preferred hills to river valleys and floodplains. Most of the spaces along these unplanned settlements would gradually be filled with similarly unplanned neighbourhoods – particularly near the rivers of the newly forming city, which was left for the slum-like settlements of Addis Ababa’s poor. Emperor Haile Selassie (1892-1975) eventually introduced a diligent planning and provision of infrastructures. The Italian occupants, who interrupted the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie for five years (1936-1941), brought about further planning and construction, and contributed to the development of riverside gardening by building micro-dams for irrigation. When the socialist Derg (1974-1987) made land ownership public, many of the riverside settlements and farms consequently became public property. To this day, they remain mostly owned by woredas/District. Addis Ababa was not built on Terra Nullius (No One’s Land). [7] It is surrounded and preceded by farming communities, and historically and religiously important heritages. This is particularly the case with Entoto, where centuries-old ruins of buildings and rock-hewn churches abound. Though professionally studied literature on these ruins are lacking, some believe that they are related to the fabled city, Barara, referred to in the chronicle of Ahmad Gragn (1506 – 1543). Working within our framework of cultural landscape, the city’s long history will also be considered to explore whether its heritage, which enhances the spirit of places (genius loci) within the project area and offers alternative narratives, is capitalized on and integrated into the new landscape design of Beautifying Sheger. Some of the remains of ancient buildings on Entoto Hill, showing a long history of settlement(Credit: Sinkneh Eshetu, 2014) 2. Characteristics of the Addis Ababa Rivers Addis Ababa’s rivers have hydrological and morphological properties that make their development challenging. The rapid expansion of the city added another layer of complexity to this challenge. The nature of the rivers’ network, elevation differences, soil characteristics, hydrological systems, and their geology gives the rivers of Addis Ababa unique characteristics and irregular behaviour as they pass through the different parts of the city. The river network is estimated to cover about 54 kms and passes through almost all neighbourhoods. As a result, the human-river interaction – the social, cultural and economic attachment between the rivers and the city dwellers – is significant. The rivers’ characteristics, which differs from site to site, highly affects the day to day life of the majority of its inhabitants. The elevation difference between the highest point (Hill Entoto) and the lowest (Akaki catchment) is more than 900m within a distance of about 27 kms. The resulting slope, combined with the riverbank width, results in a rapid flow rate. Favoured by the topography, this rapid flow makes many places adjacent to the rivers prone to flooding. In addition to the overall altitude difference, the riverbanks have different sectional views adapted to the local topography. There are also areas with unstable edges, characterized by an accumulated layer of thick top soil. Due to the fact that the volume of water in the river significantly increases during the rainy seasons, such soft edges are the most susceptible areas for landslide accidents. The diverse bank characteristic of Addis Ababa Rivers (Source: Google Earth Pro. Picture taken 12, 2016. Retrieved on 12/03/2020 from 23:21 to 12:08 AM) 3. The Role of China in the Design, Construction and Management As stated earlier, the construction of the pilot project of Beautifying Sheger is contracted to China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). CCCC commenced the first phase in October 2019 and completed it by the end of August 2020. It outsourced the second phase to the Nantong 3rd Construction Company for another 14-month long construction. Echoing the significance of the project to PM Abiy’s administration, both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce of China rate [it] as their “No. 1” international project and one of their key foreign aid projects. [8] Since its commencement, PM Abiy, high-rank officials, and many generals are among the frequent visitors to the construction site. One of the state leaders even volunteered to explain the project details to other site visitors – allegedly, he even has a watchtower built near the PM residence to check on the progress of the construction. [9] PM Abiy visits the construction site. Source: http://www.zgzjwx.org/detail/2d0kjg.html The diplomatic and political significance of the Sheger project requires an enormous coordination and mobilisation of resources from China’s side. Accordingly, the Ministry of Commerce has prioritised an allocation of funds to this project. China’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Tan Jian, and CCCC higher management have managed to coordinate the logistics of materials to the site, as well as human resources and equipment from 20 other construction projects in Ethiopia. The staff members from China’s Urban Construction Academy and the primary designer stationed themselves at the site of the podium and worked overnight to solve emerging issues. The CCCC engineers are said to have shortened the production of executable blueprints from several months to only 15 days. With scant information from the CCCC, we nevertheless try to offer a portrait of the project based on literature, open resources, and past research experiences. The negotiation, mobilisation, and construction process of the Sheger project – which like many other megaprojects, underlies the famous “Chinese speed” – has domestic roots, though it evolved in international contexts. Since the 1990s, Chinese construction companies have become accustomed to the harmonised government–construction consortia relations that they cultivated domestically. [10] Winning a government contract – and support – is critical for the smooth implementation of projects (and projects in these international contexts, at times even offset Chinese companies’ unfamiliarity to local cultural and legal conditions.) [11] Design blueprint of Phase I. source: http://www.zgzjwx.org/detail/2d0kjg.html Taking Ethiopia as an example, we may consider the nature of large overseas projects the Chinese has been involved with before the Belt and Road initiative. China’s presence within the country goes back to the 1970s, when Emperor Haile Selassie and PM Zhou Enlai signed a project to build a 300km long gravel road in the Amhara region. The year 1997 witnessed the first Chinese company entering the Ethiopian construction market building the Addis Ababa ring road. Like elsewhere in Africa, the infrastructural developments Chinese companies have been involved in, though termed as an aid project in the PRC’s documents, are in fact projects tied to the resources or revenue of the recipient countries. They mainly filled the gap left by traditional donors who shifted away from infrastructure to humanitarian aid. [12] In the case of Sheger, the nature of the contract is on an EPC basis according to a Chinese subcontractor to CCCC. An EPC project means that the engineering, procurement, and construction responsibilities fall on the constructor. While this allows the constructor to streamline and integrate processes at their discretion – in this case, turning to a top-down mobilisation and coordination of human and material resources from China (80% of the total) and other CCCC projects in Ethiopia – such “turn-key” projects keep local input to a minimum. In case of Beautifying Sheger , both the designer and site supervisor are from China’s Urban Construction Academy rather than Ethiopian consultant companies. As a result of the closed nature of the project, our requests to interview Chinese staff members have been politely declined. The mobilisation mode of the construction giant CCCC is exemplar among China’s state-owned enterprises, which often uphold discipline and sacrifice for collective purposes – a socialist working ethos, with its pedigree from the Stakhanov movement in the Soviet Union. In another project contracted to a Chinese Special Operatives Executive (SOE) in Addis Ababa, whenever VIPs or political leaders (both Ethiopian and Chinese) are about to visit the construction site, engineers and workers have to conduct shock work, and their performance and preparedness are linked to opportunities for promotion. In other words, both the management and engineers are directed by a mix of collectivism and career instrumentalism. Many overseas projects of Chinese construction companies hire skilled domestic workers through labour companies, however, skilled Chinese labourers are still favoured by Chinese companies, or occupy a higher niche than local labourers, because of their familiarity with Chinese technical standards (Ethiopians follow EU, US, or Ethiopian standards) and the ease of communication in Chinese. Many Chinese workers are from rural areas, or are the second generation of so-called peasant workers, who gravitate to foreign countries because they can earn a much higher salary and [can] subsequently buy an apartment in China’s cities. [13] Carrying their parents’ puritan work ethic, these workers remain quite adaptable to the intense workloads overseas, in the hope that they may climb up the social ladder in Chinese society. Thanks to the nature of the EPC contract, the integrated supply chain; the mobilisation model (characteristic of the overseas project of the SOEs); and the incentive structure of the Chinese management and workforce all contribute to the everyday progress of the project. Biruk Terrefe argues that the Beautifying Sheger project represents a form of urban aesthetics targeting urban elites, the Ethiopian diaspora, and tourists; and that there exists the operational continuity of planning centralisation. [14] The quick accomplishment of the project will no doubt be a positive political asset to PM Abiy Ahmed, but it also represents the enormous power of states and a triumph of their collective hyper-modern imagination of grandeur, minimalism, and speed. It is unavoidable that local expertise; the complexity of the riverside landscape; the livelihood and memories of the inhabitants; and the nature and ecology of the Addis rivers are all sidestepped and silenced. III. THE PROJECT: BEAUTIFYING SHEGER 1. Existing Condition of the Rivers Over a century of neglect and mismanagement made the Addis rivers a site of informal settlement, landfills and open defecation, outlets of domestic sewers and factory pollutants, deeply eroded gullies and high retention walls, and wild vegetation. Meanwhile, important infrastructures such as waste and storm water lines, roads, bridges, powerlines, and telecom cables criss-cross them. Our site visit to the parts of the river targeted in the pilot project reveals that there are still urban farms using polluted water for irrigation, with informal and formal settlements often precariously hanging off the deep gullies. The current state of the rivers targeted in the pilot project of Beautifying Sheger, clockwise: informal settlement side to side with modern buildings, urban farm, high retention wall and landfills (Picture: Sinkneh Eshetu, 2020) Other than during the rainy seasons, the water in the rivers is not actually natural water but rather, domestic sewer and factory releases. In the rainy seasons, which only happens twice a year, the rivers often overflow at some points, causing flooding hazards. Researches have shown that the storm water which heavily contributes to the seasonally rising rivers is increasing with the growing urbanisation that creates impervious surfaces. [15] Parts of the rivers run through enclosed culverts for long distances, intensifying the pressure of the water downstream. The rivers pose a high risk to public health and wellbeing, which only continues to grow with the rapidly increasing buildings and population that have no provisions of fitting infrastructure and services. One of the results of the unplanned development of Addis Ababa is the co-existence of slum dwellers with the urban fluent. In recent years, there has been a rapid makeover of the face of Addis, which often involves the displacement of slum residents. The riversides are no exception. Modern buildings and high rises are rapidly encroaching these places, often buying out and dislocating people, building more concrete embankments, and further contributing to the liquid and solid waste. Unlike these ad hoc changes, Beautifying Sheger targets the entire river system and promises to mitigate the negative impacts posed by the former. Most likely encouraged by the rising land value (following the transformation of the rivers with the riverside development project), new buildings are sprouting along the river. This further transforms the existing ecosystem, urban fabric, and sub-culture. New buildings along a street near the newly built Friendship Square. (Picture: Sinkneh Eshetu, 2020). 2. Earlier Efforts at Riverside Development The effort to clean and beautify Addis Ababa’s rivers is not new. An independent office, Addis Ababa Rivers and River side Development Project Office, was also established in early months of 2016 ( addisstandard , March 6, 2019 ). Other organizations, such as Addis Ababa Environment Protection Authority (1995), Addis Ababa Beautification, Parks and Cemetery Development Agency (2009), Forum for Environment Ethiopia (1997) and Tena Kebena (1993), have also been trying to clean the landfills and create public spaces near the rivers. However, these sporadic efforts failed to explicitly target to clean the rivers of their pollution sources or connect the entire river system in series of green spaces, which Beautifying Sheger promises to do. Earlier efforts at restoring the river bank, an area part of the pilot project (Pictures: Sinkneh Eshetu, 2020). 3. The Current Project: Concept Note, Design and Construction According to the project Concept Note, Addis Ababa City Riverside Green Development (May 18, 2019), the project aims to: make the river watershed clean and healthy, create public spaces along the rivers, and increase the green space in the city. It plans to achieve this through concrete embankments along the rivers; erosion and runoff control structures wherever necessary; waste and storm water lines, and water treatment plants along the rivers; and artificial lakes for irrigation. The concept does not propose public participation in the design and implementation process, though unemployed people affected by the project will be offered jobs as day laborers at the construction site. While it admits this project may involve the relocation of people within the buffer zone, it promises to allow existing farmers to continue ‘owning’ and managing their gardens even after the completion of the project. However, whether or not these measures are to be incorporated in the current and future design and construction, raises a number of questions: What justifies the recommendation that the entire river bank will be lined with concrete embankments? Are the existing sewer and storm water lines of the city combined? Will the sewer and storm lines proposed to be built along the river also be combined? Given that most of the water running through the riverbeds in dry seasons is from sewer and storm water lines, where will the water flow into the rivers from if separate sewer and storm water lines are to be built? If, in dry seasons, the river water is expected to come wholly from the water treatment facilities, will this be enough to create running rivers throughout the dry seasons? Can the storm water hazards during the rainy season only be controlled by in situ measures, or are there measures to be implemented beyond the immediate vicinity of the rivers? Are the existing and proposed heavy retention walls and flood control structures necessary if the storm water control measures mentioned above are implemented? 4. The Construction Process The pilot project is expected to be completed in approximately mid-2020 to coincide with the 50thanniversary of the China-Ethiopia diplomatic tie. In fact, part of the project, named Friendship Square, was inaugurated on September 10, 2020 on the Ethiopian New Year. However, the park is not yet open to the public, and construction work is still underway in some parts of the site. Friendship Square is only a small part of the entire project; however, it is a good indicator for how this may transform the entire river landscape and the connected urban spaces. We have made repeated visits to the park (within its perimeters and from the outside), conducted informal interviews, and have taken photographic documentation. Among our findings is that aside from the concrete embankments, the proposed ideas in the concept note – as well as the wildly publicized design – are not being implemented. The riverside development under way and completed (Pictures: Sinkneh Eshetu, 2020) The concrete embankment is even being built in places where the slopes are gentler; which could have been designed in a way for the people and wildlife to interact with the river, adjacent soils, and vegetation. Moreover, it is easily noticeable that sewer and stormwater lines are still emptied into the riverbeds at the completed sites, as well as in the sites under construction. This research will explore whether these are permanent outlets or will later be diverted to storm and sewer lines proposed in the concept note to be built along the rivers. Though the Friendship Square is constructed on a site that was cleared a few years ago for another project and people are not currently being displaced, we are told that young people from the surrounding area are hired in the project in different capacities. Though we did not interview them during our visits, we have seen them working as gardeners, cleaners, and in other areas. The project will soon be expanding to the Eribekentu area that lies opposite Friendship Park, separated from it only by a road, which is still heavily populated by several informal housings which have been in existence for decades. The people in these areas have been told that they are soon be relocated. So far, they are also not formally participating in the design and construction process. Some among them expressed their wish for the project to transform the area without the need for relocation. Works have already begun in other areas the pilot project is expected to include, such as Peacock or Central Park. This area is one of the few public parks that has been in existence for a long time. This is a flood plain where the vegetable gardens are relatively wide, engaging a large number of families. The “owners” of these gardens, some of whom have been working on the land for decades (though the land is actually owned by the public), hope that they will continue to “own” and work on their farms during the coming project. As the informal settlers and farmers are willing to be interviewed, we plan to approach them later with formal interviews to learn their attitudes and ideas about the impending change. This research is yet to find out whether the same Chinese landscape architect, who designed the Friendship Park, will design other parts of the pilot project with or without the participation of local professionals, and whether or not the current local consultants will continue with their tangential contributions. IV. INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES, TRENDS AND GOOD PRACTICES Around the world, we are beginning to recognise that the treatment of urban river banks and other water bodies with hard infrastructure without considering the natural ecosystem causes incalculable damage. This recognition is motivating designers, as well as city administrators, to take precautions to re-naturalise urban rivers. This trend has taken several approaches which could serve as an invaluable lesson for the Ethiopian context. We have been collecting and selecting different cases from around the world related to the re-naturalisation of urban rivers; natural flooding; erosion and landslide hazard control measures; innovations in dealing with urban complexity and heritage preservation in river rehabilitation projects; and green infrastructure, aesthetics, ecology & survival. These selected cases and lessons, with a due consideration for trends and cases in China, will be presented to the public, as well as professionals, in a way that they may generate awareness and dialogue, which may be used as input in the further design and development of Addis Ababa’s rivers. V. Public Attitude and Engagement A cursory review of social media about the public attitude towards Beautifying Sheger project mostly reveals support, excitement, and appreciation. Some critical voices are heard once in a while. Some of these voices consider such extravagant gardens as luxuries and suggest that this should not be the government’s priority. Others decry the further displacement of citizens and the near total erasure of public memory, which has been ongoing for years in many urban development projects. The impact of the widely publicized Beautifying Sheger River Development project is already starting to be seen. Some other cities in the country are beginning to plan and design similar public spaces and riverside development projects. One of these designs, that of Jimma City, was recently shared on a Facebook group called Ethiopian Architecture and Urbanism [16] . Taking this as an opportunity, we attempted to engage the public and professionals to discuss the Addis Ababa project under consideration. Another discussion was on the heritages and ruins around Addis Ababa (particularly those on Entoto Hill). Some attempts are also made to engage with key decision makers by commenting on their twitter postings. One of these comments was seen by a person in Pakistan who inquired about our findings as similar things are happening in his country. Similar indirect engagements will continue until the research organizes its own events and discussions to sensitize authorities and the public on the probable negative impacts of Beautifying Sheger. Given our current global situation and the condition of the country (COVID-19 and the conflict in Tigray region), other strategies could be planned to safely engage the public. The informal engagements mentioned above indicate that this research has the potential to influence decisions and practices in Ethiopia and beyond it. This will be more so if well planned events are organized, and publicly sharable documentations such as videos are produced, should resources and conditions permit. Sinkneh Eshetu (penname: O’Tam Pulto) is a published author and landscape architect. Aziza Abdulfetah Busser is a landscape designer; practising professional architect, and academician. Berhanu is an anthropologist in African Studies. [1] The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. [2] Terrefe, B. (2020). Urban layers of political rupture: the “new” politics of Addis Ababa’s megaprojects . Journal of Eastern African Studies. DOI: 10.1080/17531055.2020.1774705. [3] Concept Note. (May 18, 2019). Addis Ababa City River Side Green Development . [4] State of NSW and Department of Environment and Climate Change. (2008). Cultural landscapes and park management: a literature snapshot – a report for the cultural landscapes: connecting history, heritage and reserve management research project . Sydney South, Australia. [5] Concept Note. (May 18, 2019). Addis Ababa City River Side Green Development . [6] Terrefe, B. (2020). Urban layers of political rupture: the “new” politics of Addis Ababa’s megaprojects . Journal of Eastern African Studies. DOI: 10.1080/17531055.2020.1774705. [7] Reference to Captain James Cook (1728-1779) who used this term, employed by the British, to justify occupation of a territory on behalf of the Crown, when they claimed possession of Australia. [8] Note: the Chinese government has a slightly different definition for “aid project” ( yuanzhu gongcheng ) which follows market principles (Deborah Brautigam 2009:115). The content of these so-called aid projects can vary case by case. Typically, large construction projects involve the client, constructor, supervisor, and loaner. In other projects contracted to Chinese companies, the Ethiopian government and the International Development Association are often the clients, and the projects are financed through Chinese banks such as Sino Eximbank. [9] CCCC Wins the Contract of Riverside Project, Erecting a Stele of Development and Friendship . http://www.zgzjwx.org/detail/2d0kjg.html . Access Time: September 10, 2020. [10] Derissen, Miriam. 2019. Tales of Hope, Tastes of Bitterness: Chinese Road Builders in Ethiopia . Hong Kong University Press. [11] For instance, in examining a road construction program in Ethiopia, Driessen (2019) argues that Chinese ignorance of Ethiopia’s labour regulations, as well as the legal protectionism, stems intrinsically from Ethiopia’s political system in which the local state is marginalised in federal-initiated road programs; and it is the local states which often bring Chinese companies to court. Through court decisions, the local administrations form a de facto alliance with local workers [to instead] push through a number of design revisions beneficial to local communities [though without necessarily requiring the consultation of local experts or expertise]. [12] Bräutigam, Deborah. 2009. The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa . Oxford University Press. [13] Derissen, Miriam. 2019. Tales of Hope, Tastes of Bitterness: Chinese Road Builders in Ethiopia . Hong Kong University Press. [14] Terrefe, B. (2020). Urban layers of political rupture: the “new” politics of Addis Ababa’s megaprojects . Journal of Eastern African Studies. DOI: 10.1080/17531055.2020.1774705. [15] Beyene, M. N. (June, 2016). Urbanization and Its Effect on Surface Runoff: A Case Study on Great Akaki River, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia . Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology. [16] https://www.facebook.com/groups/665698490519013/?multi_permalinks=1082731795482345¬if_id=1607455244518798¬if_t=group_highlights&ref=notif Previous Next

< Back Stories from the room - Conversation 21 Feb 2022 Jasphy Zheng Stories from the Room project by Jasphy Zheng has been implemented in many locations including Shanghai, Addis Ababa and Bor among others. Participants and organizers of the project in different locals gathered to reflect on situating the project locally. After this meeting, we continue to work on a permanent home for Stories from the Room achieve in Public Library Bor. Participants in conversation were Jasphy Zheng (artist), Violeta Stojmenovic (Public Library, Bor), Larys Frogier (director Rockbund Art Museum), and Dawit Seto and Sarah Bushra (Contemporary Nights, Addis Ababa) and Biljana Ciric (WCSCD). Previous Next

< Back Corena* Musings Addis Ababa 15 Apr 2020 Sarah Bushra I am writing this text safely tucked in a studio apartment in Basha Wolde Condominium , Arat Kilo, Addis Ababa. Although the city is not in total lockdown, I barely leave my home, except for sporadic coffee breaks at a café downstairs. At least once a day, I make my way down from the fourth floor – pausing at the balcony of each story to look out at the city and check if it is still there and indeed intact between my climbs down each staircase. The pauses get longer with the passing days, and my gazes more unsure and less futile. Balcony Series – Addis Ababa, Sarah Bushra. There seems to be so much time stretching between the sips one cup packs, to embody all the possibilities the coffee’s dreamy color alludes to. Yet, sitting on a low stool and staring down the road, the day suddenly dusks and I realize there’s no time at all. It’s been 4 weeks since the first confirmed case was announced in Ethiopia, 3 weeks since the government banned all public gatherings, 3 weeks since schools and universities shut down, 5 days since the first reported COVID-19 death. There are new languid movements my limbs have adopted as they move through the day – in stark contrast to the lilting anxiety that sits at the opening of my throat. I think of my eyes and imagine how this lethargy translates into my vision. I see a wave, a certain dissolution and emergence of communities – as the physical spaces fade and the virtual appears. Among the many articles, listicles, memes, and mantras I encountered online that urge us to reflect on the changing times brought about by the global pandemic, one stood out to me, captivating in its subtlety. Tamrat Gezahegne shares on his Facebook account pictures of his stone carving installation. These images are less of a call to action as they are a solace, inviting us to the tranquility the artwork offers. My mind wanders to the meditative act of carving a stone, remembering Louise Bourgeois as she says: “….the thing that had to be said was so difficult and so painful that you have to hack it out of yourself and so you hack it out of the material, a very, very hard material.” Selected stone Carvings, Tamrat Gezahegne. Images shared with permission of the artist. Thinking about the physicality of the rock, despite what it refuses to do, Gezahegne has carved it to fit his imagination. Empathy is my entry point to his work. Reflecting on his perseverance and the repetitive force he used to hack, I ask what the thing was that has to be said that was so painful, maybe in this case, so alien and unprecedented. When the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia announced the first case of Corona in the country, I saw huddles of people, mostly mothers living in my apartment complex talking in hushed tones. I imagined at one point every conversation in the world dominated by Corona. All of us connected with this invisible string of whispers scuttling through our ears. Art makes this link apparent and visceral, as if we all are components of one physical body connected through the veins under our skin. Selected paintings, Selome Muleta. Images shared with permission of the artist. Scrolling down artist Selome Muleta’s feed is like peering through a hole into her private unraveling, performed beautifully and with care. We see the figure in her paintings shuffle in her bed from one side to the other, dressing and undressing through the day, cross-legged and ideally sitting facing the wall, before she melts into her surrounding, no different from the rigid and inanimate room she occupies. I imagine us, Addis dwellers engaged in a collective struggle to swallow the concept of physical distancing and self-isolation and I wonder what small things are letting them linger at the back of our throat floating in a thick fluid of uncertainty. We are now constantly attentive to where our hands might fall, as if they had not once freely landed on the brackets of our neighbor’s folded arm, or cupped a stranger child’s cheek, or hoisted the trailing corner of netela and flung it across the back of a woman rushing out from the neighborhood suk . These acts of intimacies that threaded people into communities are now replaced with static jerks as we remember that it’s no longer okay to hug, kiss or shake hands. As the government tallies the positive cases from a meager pool of tests, the real fear of most Addis Abebes come from imagining the impending fate, when the virus surges into our community in full force as it has done into other metropolises across the globe. On April 8, the Ethiopian government issued a State of Emergency, the fourth one in three years, urging citizens to take the necessary precautions, abide by the sanctioned laws, support one another, and nurture a spiritual relationship with God. Thus far Ethiopians’ strongest grounding against the unsettling nature of the virus has been a spiritual armor. On April 6, the Ethiopian Religious Council officiated the beginning of a one-month long prayer period among all religions represented in the country. The pandemic escalating in the middle of Lent, priests have been burning incense on the streets of Addis, to protect the city from COVID-19. The smoke in the air is reminiscent of the trash burning tradition on Hidar 12 (St. Michael’s day), of each year to commemorate the Spanish flu that took the lives of many Ethiopians in 1918. Alula Pankhurst draws our attention to this correlation in his post that includes his picture of a hazy Addis as the city celebrates the pandemic’s centennial by burning trash. He cautions those that criticize this traditional and historical practice and asks if we remember COVID-19 in 100 years, how will we commemorate it? I noticed my mind wouldn’t trail to memory-scape pressed by the immediate curiosity of how all this is going to end. But I imagine the post-COVID world will be defined by the company we keep now amidst the storm. This pandemic challenges and disrupts our understanding of community. It confronts us with our loneliness, unveiling the true nature of our ties, not only as we exist confined alone or with a select few, but also by unveiling the true nature of our ties to people, places, and ideologies. * Corona virus as it’s commonly pronounced by Ethiopians. It echoes sentiments of breaking/disrupting language as a form of resistance, reminiscent of Maaza Mengiste’s words in her war novel, The Shadow King, “the deliberate mispronunciation has spread across the country, started by those who did not know better and continued by those who do. It is another sign of [Ethiopians’] rebellion, another sign that they are trying to fight in every way that they can.” (Mengiste, Maaza. The Shadow King. W W Norton, 2019.) Sarah Bushra is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, working primarily with a hybrid of text and images. Previous Next