The six members of Ethiopian Dance Art Association outreach and research team traveled to Hawassa

December 25, 2021 to December 31, 2022, the six members of Ethiopian Dance Art Association outreach and research team traveled to Hawassa, as part of EDAA’s UNESCO IFCD project “Strengthening the Capacity of the Dance Sector in Ethiopia.” They met EDAA’s contact in Hawassa and the officials of the local cultural affairs office, and held a general assembly of local dancers.

The outreach team informed the assembly of the history and mission of EDAA, especially about the capacity building project funded by UNESCO. Melaku spoke about the importance of working together in the whole country to improve the life and work of dance artists in Ethiopia. About 100 dancers from the area attended the meeting. 93 of them registered to become EDAA members. With the assistance of EDAA’s Addis Ababa team, the local dancers established their own EDAA branch, and elected 9 artists to be in leadership positions.

The Addis Ababa team witnessed and supported the election process: First 15 names were nominated, and then 9 of them were voted in. An important intervention by the team was to ensure that there was a woman representative for the local leadership. The EDAA team also conducted additional focus group interviews and individual interviews to learn more about the work, life and vision of dancers in Hawassa and the region around the city.

The local dancers expressed their enthusiasm for the opportunity to connect with EDAA, “Now we have hope.” The challenges they face as dancers are similar to those faced by dancers in Addis Ababa, such as lack of societal respect and economic security, as well as additional gender-based discrimination and harassment faced by women dancers, who have to deal with people’s misunderstanding of their professional work as dancers.