Countdown to OSA Conference
The keynote speakers chosen for this year's conference are accomplished professional human rights advocates through their respective talents and gifts. Artist Kadir Said has decades of credential in empowering and mobilizing the Oromo people through his revolutionary and romantic songs. Kadir will be speaking on the topic: "Jiruu fi Jireenya Artistoota Oromoo Biyya Ambaa fi Qabsoo Bilisummaa Saba Oromoo," translated roughly as , " The work and the lives of Oromo Artists in the Diaspora and the Oromo National Struggle."
Dr. Trevor Trueman, the Director of Oromia Support Group, a U.K-based human rights group,who has spent more than two decades relentlessly advocating for human rights on behalf of the Oromo people, will keynote the conference. His keynote speech is metaphorically titled,"Trampled Grass: The Human Price of 22 Years of Abuse," focused specifically on the TPLF/EPRDF era of Ethiopian tyranny.
The combined experience of the two keynote speakers in advocating on behalf of the Oromo can span 50 years, at least. Just being there and listening to their experiences alone can be very rewarding for scholars and non-scholars alike.
The conference schedule contains 10 panels covering a range of important issues on Oromia, Oromo, Ethiopia, Horn of Africa and other international and domestic topics.
This conference also stands out because a growing number of women scholars on Oromo Studies will be participating in presenting their research. This might be the largest women scholars represented at OSA in recent years.
Indeed, this Horn of African academic association is growing with stature in ways that put it on a par with its sister institution, the African Studies Association. Hover your mouse over this sentence for the complete conference schedule and watch the video ad at the end to warm yourself up for OSA.
For those using social media such as Twitter and Facebook, we propose tweeting under the hashtags #OromoStudies #OromoEmpowerment #OSAWeekend #Oromo #Oromia #Ethiopia #DC. Remember to include the first hashtag as the primary hashtag in all the tweets about this conference if you are tweeting from the site like Oromo Press staff plan to do.
The Oromo Studies Association, OSA, has announced plans to hold its 27th international annual conference at Howard University in the US capital Washington DC from August 3-4, 2013. The conference will be held under a broad and inclusive theme: "Examining Paths to Oromo National Empowerment in the 21st Century." The theme hints to multiple possible paths to Oromo national empowerment that the academics are expected to focus on exploring in order to respond strategically to the overwhelming challenges the Oromo nation is faced with under the long-standing Ethiopian empire's military occupation. The military occupation of Oromia has resulted in a protracted violence against the Oromo people, threatening to bring them to the brink of genocidal destruction if conditions continue unabated.
The keynote speakers chosen for this year's conference are accomplished professional human rights advocates through their respective talents and gifts. Artist Kadir Said has decades of credential in empowering and mobilizing the Oromo people through his revolutionary and romantic songs. Kadir will be speaking on the topic: "Jiruu fi Jireenya Artistoota Oromoo Biyya Ambaa fi Qabsoo Bilisummaa Saba Oromoo," translated roughly as , " The work and the lives of Oromo Artists in the Diaspora and the Oromo National Struggle."
Dr. Trevor Trueman, the Director of Oromia Support Group, a U.K-based human rights group,who has spent more than two decades relentlessly advocating for human rights on behalf of the Oromo people, will keynote the conference. His keynote speech is metaphorically titled,"Trampled Grass: The Human Price of 22 Years of Abuse," focused specifically on the TPLF/EPRDF era of Ethiopian tyranny.
The combined experience of the two keynote speakers in advocating on behalf of the Oromo can span 50 years, at least. Just being there and listening to their experiences alone can be very rewarding for scholars and non-scholars alike.
The conference schedule contains 10 panels covering a range of important issues on Oromia, Oromo, Ethiopia, Horn of Africa and other international and domestic topics.
This conference also stands out because a growing number of women scholars on Oromo Studies will be participating in presenting their research. This might be the largest women scholars represented at OSA in recent years.
Indeed, this Horn of African academic association is growing with stature in ways that put it on a par with its sister institution, the African Studies Association. Hover your mouse over this sentence for the complete conference schedule and watch the video ad at the end to warm yourself up for OSA.
For those using social media such as Twitter and Facebook, we propose tweeting under the hashtags #OromoStudies #OromoEmpowerment #OSAWeekend #Oromo #Oromia #Ethiopia #DC. Remember to include the first hashtag as the primary hashtag in all the tweets about this conference if you are tweeting from the site like Oromo Press staff plan to do.