Ethiopian Culture - Ethiopia Insight

The culture of Ethiopia is very multi-faceted, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the country. Among many traditions, respect (especially of one's elders) is very important. In Ethiopian culture it is customary to rise up out of one's seat or give up one's bed for an older friend or family member, even if they may be just a year older. more >>

Germany, UNESCO assist in digitalizing papers, photos for Ethiopia

Mar 24, 2006, 11:22 GMT

Addis Ababa - An international project to digitalize rare Ethiopian manuscripts, illustrated religious works, and historical photographs dating back 150 years in a collection at Addis Ababa University was inaugurated Friday.

The project was jointly financed by UNESCO and the Cultural Preservation Programme of the German Federal Foreign Office to help the university's Institute of Ethiopian Studies restore and preserve its collection of cultural and historical relics.

The digitalized documents include some 2,000 rare manuscripts on parchment and 38,000 photographs, including illustrated religious manuscripts of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

It also contains historical sketches of the country by explorers and by the British Expedition of the 1860s to Ethiopia by Lord Napier of Maqdala.

At the inaugural ceremonies, UNESCO representative Awad Elhassan said the UN cultural agency contributed 50,000 US dollars to the project.

Dr. Dieter Klucke, Cultural Attache of the German Embassy and Director of the Goethe-Institut Addis Ababa Gebrekristos Desta Centre, said Berlin had contributed a total of 300,000 euros (360,000 dollars) to the digitalization and three other cultural heritage projects in Ethiopia.

He said that German interest in preserving Ethiopia's cultural heritage was part of its Federal Foreign Office initiative since 1981 that had been encouraging developing countries to preserve their national identity 'and thus promote Germany's goal of cultural dialogue on the basis of equal partnership.'

Institute director Elizabeth Woldegiorgis said the digitalization project would now make available to scholars at home and abroad 'hitherto unavailable rare documents and historical manuscripts.'

She added that some of the rare manuscripts now digitalized, could be said to have been preserved in the nick of time, as they were on parchment scrolls on the verge of falling apart.

dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur