Negussie Mengesha

Negussie Mengesha comes from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he started his journalism career in 1964 as news writer and reporter in the Voice of the Gospel, a radio station run by the World Lutheran Federation. He also used to be news anchor on the Ethiopian Television. In 1967, he won a scholarship and went to Cologne, West Germany where he studied journalism and political science at the Albertus Magnus University of Cologne. He also got a practical training in radio and TV journalism in the West German Broadcasting Cooperation (WDR), the largest German Radio and TV network.

Negussie worked in Deutche Welle (Voice of Germany) as an editor and broadcaster and later as the chief of the Amharic Service, a popular and widely listened program that was a major source of objective and balanced information in mid 1970s when Emperor Haile Seleassie ‘s semi feudal rule was overthrown by a popular up rising.
In 1977, he headed back to his native country to serve his people and promote the principle of free media. His dream didn’t last long when he was forced to flee his country. He lived over a year in the Sudan focusing and writing on the civil conflict in Ethiopia, the devastating famine catastrophe and the plight of Ethiopian refugees.

In 1981, Negussie immigrated to the United States and joined VOA in August of 1982 as a Senior Editor for the newly launched Amharic program targeted to Ethiopia, a country that was under the Soviet domination and a military dictatorship. He was one of the first staffer who played a key role in formulating and designing the program and training the new employees.

From 1986 to 1996, he was the Chief of the Amharic service. A former refugee himself, Negussie traveled several times to Sudan in the 1980s and made extensive coverage enhanced with sound and actualities about the lives of the Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees, the hardships they endured.

In 1984/85, he witnessed and reported when hundreds died from hunger, malaria, typhoid and other diseases. His program gave voice for the voiceless.
He also covered the peace negotiation between the former Ethiopian government and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) mediated by President Jimmy carter in Nairobi, Kenya. Using his pen name Getahun Tamerat, he interviewed several Head of states and key political figures from the Horn region, including President Carter, President Buyoya of Burundi, President Issais Afeworki of Eritrea, the spiritual leader of Sudan, Hassan Turabi.

Using his pen name Getaun Tamerat, he produced the most popular program between the listenership in the target area and a bi-weekly panel discussion for the first time involving political leaders and key figures in substantive political discourse.
In 1985, Negussie was one of the first journalists who discovered and reported secretly organized massive transportation of Ethiopian Jews through Sudan to Israel. In 1989, he went to Israel and spent one week with the Ethiopian Jews, assessing their lives and adjustment in their new home and producing series of programs.
In 1996, Negussie started the USAID funded Central Africa Service, today one of the most successful services in VOA. Since December 2000, he is the Program Manager for the Africa Division. His responsibility covers nine Services broadcasting in 14 languages to the entire sub-Saharan countries of Africa, with a total audience of 49 million people.

In 2003, he helped start a new service in English, Shona and Endebele targeted to Zimbabwe where a dictatorial Mugabe government is controlling all media outlets, thus denying the free flow on information to its people.

In February of 2007, he again played a key role in crafting, designing and starting a new Somali radio program at the VOA, targeted to a war torn country of Somali and the rest of the Horn region.

Negussie has three children: Nengis, MBA graduate student at Kellogg Business School, Northwestern University Chicago, Tesfaye, a graduate student at School of Journalism, Colombia University, New York and Yamrot, a winner of the Banneker/Key Scholarship award, Sophomore, attending Honors program at the University of Maryland, College Park. Tesfaye and Yamrot are born in the USA.

Dr. Brook Lakew - Keynote Speaker - Zethiopia Club February 17, 2008

Dear Zethiopia Club Members:

Dr. Brook Lakew is one of the few scientists privileged to be present on the night of October 15, 1997 at Cape Canaveral, Florida to see the Cassini spacecraft leave its launching pad and begin its long journey to faraway Saturn.

After traveling in space for six years and nine months the spacecraft fired its engine causing it to slow down and successfully insert itself into Saturn’s orbit on July 1, 2004. At that point the spacecraft began sending data it was collecting from the mysterious and beautiful planet, much to the delight of the NASA scientists who had worked on building the spacecraft.

Dr. Lakew had the privilege of being a witness to the launching of the Cassini spacecraft: not as invited guest but because he is one of twelve NASA scientists who contributed to the building of the different and highly sophisticated instruments carried on board the spacecraft.

He is a member of the team that developed the far Infrared detectors carried by CIRS instrument onboard Cassini. The detectors are working perfectly and returning valuable data from the planet. The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), measures infrared energy from the surfaces, atmospheres and rings of Saturn and its moons permitting the study of their temperature and composition.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Lakew was involved in the successful Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) mission launched in 1989 which looked back in time to detect the very faint whispers of the Big Bang- an event widely believed to have started the Universe as we know it about 15 billion years ago.

Dr. Lakew is now leading 3 funded projects to build the next generation infrared sensors for future missions to the outer planets of our solar system.

Dr. Lakew, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt (GSFC) Maryland is married and a father of two. He holds a PhD from the University of Paris (France) and has been working at NASA’s GSFC since 1984.

A true inspiration and pillar of our community, we look to Dr. Lakew to continue to lead by example, mentor our youth – and impact our future. I hope that you find Dr. Lakew’s insights and information regarding Global Warming as fascinating as I do and I welcome you to the Zethiopia Club.

Sincerely,
Dereje Desta

Zethiopia 5th year Anniversary Gala Dinner

Zethiopia 5th year Anniversary Gala Dinner

(You do not want to miss this event!)

Saturday, November 10, 2007

From 5:00 PM to Midnight

at the Holiday Inn Eisenhower Metro
2460 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

for more information call - Zethiopia
202 518 0245

or e-mail dereje@zethiopia.com

Afewerk Tekle

Afewerk Tekle - http://www.maitreafewerktekle.com/

Afewerk Tekle (born 22 October 1932) is one of Ethiopia's most celebrated artists, particularly known for his paintings on African and Christian themes as well as his stained glass.

Born in Ankober to Feleketch Yamatawork and Tekle Mano, Afewerk grew up under the Italian occupation during the Second World War. Following the war, in 1947, Afewerk decided that he wanted to help rebuild Ethiopia and elected to travel to England to study mining engineering. Before departing, Afewerk, together with other students leaving to study overseas, was addressed by Emperor Haile Selassie. Afewerk recalls being told "you must work hard, and when you come back do not tell us what tall buildings you saw in Europe, or what wide streets they have, but make sure you return equipped with the skills and the mindset to rebuild Ethiopia".

Afewerk had already shown talent as an artist as a child, decorating several walls in his home town. Whilst at boarding school in England, this talent was recognised and encouraged by his teachers. As a result, Afewerk was persuaded to switch from engineering and enroll in Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. He then went on to become the first African student to enter the Slade School of Art where he studied painting, sculpture and architecture.

Returning to Ethiopia as a university graduate, Afewerk could have accepted an assigned ministerial post, but instead decided to spend time travelling around the provinces of Ethiopia to get more experience of his native country and culture, which he reflected in his paintings. In 1954 he held his first one man show in Addis Ababa, that gave him the funds to travel around Europe for two years where he learnt how to design and construct stained glass windows. He also made a special study on Ethiopian illustrated manuscripts in the British Library, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and the Vatican Library.

Back in Ethiopia, Afewerk opened a studio in the National Library of Ethiopia. His growing recognition lead to government commissions for murals and mosaics in Saint George's Cathedral, Addis Ababa, and several of his designs were used on the national stamps. He was also commissioned to produce sculptures of famous Ethiopians, although on the monumental statue of Ras Makonnen in Harrar was completed. Most notably, in 1958 he designed the stained glass windows in the Africa Hall of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa. The three windows cover an area of 150 square meters, and represent the sorrow of Africa's past, the struggle of the present, and hope for Africa's future.

In 1961 Afewerk held a major retrospective in Addis Ababa, which led to his painting Maskal Flower being shown at international exhibitions in Russia, the United States and Senegal. Increasing funds allowed Afewerk to travel around the continent of Africa. With much of Africa still emerging from colonialism, Afewerk became fired with black emancipation and the struggles for independence. This is reflected in his paintings of this time, with titles like Backbones of African Civilization and African Unity.

In 1964 he became the first laureate of the Haile Selassie I Prize for Fine Arts. As his reputation spread abroad, Afewerk was invited to put on an exhibition in Moscow following which he toured the Soviet Union giving lectures. The American government responded with an invitation for one man exhibitions in Washington and New York and a similar lecture tour of American universities. Additional international exhibitions followed in Senegal, Turkey, Zaire, the United Arab Republic, Bulgaria, Munich, Kenya and Algeria.

Through much of the 1970s Afewerk was engaged in producting murals and mosaics for many public and religious buildings around Ethiopia, including the murual Last Judgement in the Adigat Cathedral in Tigrai. In 1977, his painting Unity Triptych won the gold medal in the Algiers International Festival.

The early 1980s saw a second major exhibition in Moscow and an exhibition in Bonn. In 1981, his painting Self-portrait was the first work by an African artist to enter the permanent collection of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

In 1997 he exhibited at the Biennale of Aquitaine, France, winning first prize in the international competition. He was also nominated the Laureate of the Biennale which gave him membership of the French International Academy of Arts.

Today Afewerk continues to live and work in Addis Ababa, in his self designed 22-room 'Villa Alpha'.