DW Akademie in Ethiopia
Ethiopia continues to face ongoing conflicts as well as restrictions to freedom of expression. Although the two-year war between the central government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the northern Tigray region ended in November 2022 with the Pretoria Peace Agreement, progress has been slow in implementing it due to the conflicts and precarious humanitarian situation. Ethiopia adopted an initial guideline for transitional justice to address human rights violations in April 2024, and the Ethiopian “National Dialogue” officially got underway in June 2024. However, additional conflicts, primarily the clash between the army and local militias in the Amhara and Oromia regions, are also jeopardizing the country's stability.
While Ethiopia’s media landscape has become more open and diverse since 2018, repressions against the media have increased again since 2021. In Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2024 world press freedom index, Ethiopia dropped 11 places and is now ranked at 141 out of 180 countries. Progress in the media sector has dwindled and so has the safety of journalists. And while commercial mainstream media struggle with scarce resources, online media, which often promote sensationalist journalism, now dominate. Internet access has increased but with it have come challenges such as disinformation and hate speech. Mainstream media are no longer significant sources of information.
Our activities
To advance media professionalization, DW Akademie and its partnerMERSA Media Institute (MMI) have established a training center through the project “Good journalism and enriched dialogue to foster democracy in Ethiopia.” Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the project runs from 2022 – 2024. The center offers innovative, relevant and practice-oriented journalism training programs aimed particularly at young journalists. In a 12-week course, they develop practice-oriented journalistic skills and, in media houses, take part in a fellowship program.
DW Akademie and the MMI also promoted a constructive public dialogue that ran from 2022 to February 2024 to promote mutual exchange, and especially for youth. These regular dialogues brought media professionals together with representatives of civil society and young people in a so-called “dialogue minibus taxi” as well as MMI’s studio and social media channels. Civil society organizations were also involved, openly discussing topics such as mental health and cyberbullying. The MMI is now in charge of these project components, with an aim to continue the minibus taxi.
With the "Empowered Media - Informed Communities" project, DW Akademie and its Ethiopian partner Omni Ethiopia (OE) work to strengthen up to 30 local radio stations in Ethiopia’s rural regions. The project runs from July 2024 to January 2026 and focuses on local journalistic training. In this volatile environment, it promotes more professional reporting, strengthens quality journalism and supports social participation through constructive dialogue on key issues.
The project "Empowered Media - Informed Communities" (EMIC) is funded by the German Government and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. EMIC is being implemented by Omni Ethiopia and DW Akademie in cooperation with the Ethiopian Media Council (EMC).
Funding: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Program Director: Nina Otte-Witte
Location: Addis Ababa
Local partners:MERSA Media Institute ,Omni Ethiopia (OE)
Focus:Professionalism and economic sustainability of the media sector, digital journalism, innovation for dialogue
