Empowering Inclusive and Sustainable Local Governance in Ethiopia

Sustainable local governance is essential for long-term impact. That message was clear during a recent mission to Ethiopia by VNG International as part of the We are Able! programme.

“Inclusion is an indication of civilization,” said Dr. Abebe Yehualawork at the opening of an inclusive curriculum workshop. Together with The Hague Academy for Local Governance, VNG International trained 55 faculty members at the Ethiopian Civil Service University. Dr. Abebe highlighted that “it is the missing enabling societal environment that turns an impairment into a disability.”

The training aims to prepare future civil servants to build more inclusive societies, ensuring that positive change continues after the programme ends. Also, a workshop was organized with local authorities and Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) from four sub-cities of Addis Ababa. The goal was to create a “handover document” that shares key lessons, challenges, and best practices to support continued progress on disability inclusion and food security.

Next organizing and participating in the workshops, our VNG International colleagues also visited the Ministry of Water and Energy and the Water and Land Resource Center (WLRC) under the Ethiopia Water Pricing Project. Discussions focused on how to integrate the lessons learned on awareness raising and the software tools from the project into upcoming work on integrated water resources management in the country. Dr. Adey Nigatu Mersha of WLRC stated: “We will ensure that your exit strategy is the beginning of our new water management projects.”

This collaboration shows how local governance, inclusion, and sustainability go hand in hand.