Addis Ababa honors Michael Jackson

Unbelievably, it has been a year since the King of Pop Michael Jackson died. His millions of fans all over the world included many in Addis Ababa.
Fans around the world marked the first anniversary of his death, June 25, with various events from candlelight vigils to slumber parties planned in honor of MJ’s extraordinary 50 year journey.
Over 5,000 fans in the US are reported to have marched since dawn to cast flowers and mementos to their idol.
In other parts of the world as well various events were organized to mark the first year anniversary.
In Tokyo, flowers began piling up where 50 diehard fans paid more than 1,000 dollars each to attend a sleepover inside an exhibition space showcasing some of the singer’s belongings.
In Germany, candlelight vigils with music, balloons, posters and Jackson imitators were planned in numerous cities, including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
Fans dressed up like Michael in Prague and unveiled plans for a bust of the singer at a city party.
Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa too wasn’t left out of the celebration of the pop star.
Hosted in the city’s main hall, more than sixty young talents came together after weeks’ of preparation to reenact the singer’s sensational music and dance moves on the stage.
“We called on the media for Michael Jackson’s fans with dancing talent to come to us and be part of the event,” Getaneh Tsehaye said. He is a founder of Helget Entertainment and Dance Studio which organized the event.
The entrainment, which co-runs, a studio with Frank Addis Bar and Restaurant, was responsible for finding sixty dancers a venue for the long performance of MJ’s most recognizable, sensational dance moves from his video clips.
On June 30 at city hall invitations were sent to out to fill the place to capacity but hundreds more, mainly youngsters were allowed in. The 10 something Haleget dancers collaborated with others and another performance by Abyssinia Art Academy musical performance flavored the event.
Respect for the King of Pop was the name of the event and from the city’s theatre bureau to various FM radio programs; many put an effort to make it happen.
“From now on we want to honor Michael Jackson with similar events at June 25 every year,” Getaneh said.
Helget Entertainment and Dance Studio, who came to the limelight with an appearance in Love and Dance movie wants to make the event stand permanently and be recognized among the annual global events honoring the extraordinary Michael Jackson. The upcoming association they are helping to establish, The Ethiopian modern music dancers association, should aide the effort. (Compiled by Kirubel Tadesse)

Challenges and Opportunities of the Young & the beautiful

By:- Biruk Gebremedhin


The fashion industry is a fast-paced, ever more complex world of creativity of design, knowledge driven business, and technology that many people find fascinating and alluring.

Modeling art for several years depict how that fashion industry could have made a cultural and economic development through the courage of inspirational, beautiful, elegant and charismatic models.


Fashion is seasonal, and as an augmentation industry gives many challenges in career opportunities. “In order to be successful, you must have a passion for fashion with a real burning desire to work in the industry. For many successful people in this business, fashion is their life-they live it and think it constantly. This industry values work experience and education” said Amleset Muche.


Amleset is one of a very few Ethiopian models featured in fashion runway shows in USA, Italia, China, Poland and here in Ethiopia. Born 1987 in Gonder, she is model, social advocate, film producer and actress who have a multitalented personality. She has studied BA in Journalism and Mass Communication here in Addis and has also acquired further studies in New York Film Academy. She has also honored an International Stylish Award in Poland in 2006.

Despite such a growing business and personal achievements, here in Ethiopia, she argues that, it has a number of challenges on the sector from less public attitude to less payment for their performance. And that is the main reason for her to deviate from modeling into film production. And In 2008; Amleset produced the film- production entitled “Selefiker’ (about love).

Fashion designers conceptualize and create new clothing and accessory designs. They analyze fashion trends and work closely with production and marketing to design, produce, and promote a finished, ready-to-wear product for apparel manufacturers, specialty and retail stores, and individual clients.

The present-day model Hiwot justifies the fashion industry interlink and interdependent nature of business that could not be easily successful without the art of modeling.

Hiwot Assefa, 20, born in Diredawa and a graduate of Tour Operator said “The industry has gradually growing with constraint of budget and thus taken us for less payment for our act with the margin of 500 to 1000 Ethiopian birr per stage. And it is true that such a law wages can not enhance anyone’s concern.” She added “for most models it is a par time job and difficult to be a permanent one”.


With all these challenges, Hiwot performed in Algeria, South Africa, Turkey and here in Ethiopia. She has also awarded Miss Intercontinental Award in Belarus 2006.

To overcome such challenges, She further noted that Modeling agency has to be flourish for uncompromising excellence and attributes our success to the professionalism of our commitment to able to find internationally acclaimed employment in the fashion industry at all levels. And the government has to play its key role with adequate institutions and resource for betterment of the industry.

Source: EthiopianReporter

Catching up with chef Marcus Samuelsson

Ten years before he won "Top Chefs Masters" in an upset victory, Ethiopian-born Swede Marcus Samuelsson conquered the New York dining world with his contemporary take on Scandinavian cuisine at Aquavit. Later, he took on the challenges of Japanese fusion (Riingo), gourmet hamburgers (Marc Burger) and modern American seafood (C-House).

This fall he's embarking on another ambitious project: an American, farm-to-table restaurant in Harlem. This love of American food culture was clear from his 2009 cookbook "The American Table," which interspersed innovative recipes with stories of regional foods and cooks.

We caught up with Samuelsson (before his big win) at the launch of a new line of cooking ranges he designed for BlueStar Ranges.

Q Tell us about your next restaurant project.
A It's going to be called The Red Rooster and we are going to take the same farm-to-table theme we have (at C-House) and it will have all the same love and care. It's going to be American food, but very democratic and affordable. I already have the space. It should open September-ish.

Q You have such a diverse background. What are your best food memories?

A Sunday dinners with my family at my grandmother's house (in Gothenburg, Sweden) where we all had our jobs to do. She might cook a pork roast stuffed with prunes and serve it with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts and carrots. Very basic. Maybe we started with a lentil soup and then had apple cake served with a sauce for dessert. It was all very rustic and made from scratch. We had luxury and didn't even know it.

Q What do you think about the Swedish cooking in the U.S.?

A I love meeting Scandinavian Americans and seeing Swedish restaurants in the States. But I do think there is a difference between the Scandinavian American cooking and the cooking in Scandinavia today. The cooking here reflects what food was like in Sweden 150 or 100 years ago with lutefisk and a lot of dishes we don't eat anymore. But then there are certain dishes like meatballs from Ikea that we all still eat.

Q What was it like to cook the Obamas' first state dinner?

A I worked very closely with the first lady months in advance to plan for the state dinner and think about what we would provide for the Indian prime minister. We also talked a lot about childhood obesity and health and what we could serve from the White House garden. When you are gathering food from the garden, the meal could not be more farm-to-table. It's amazing to be gathering food to cook that night and look over and see the Oval Office.

Q How have the first lady's campaigns changed the food conversation in the U.S.?

A Talking about food and health, inviting chefs to the White House and cooking with kids has done so much to get the conversation going. I think it is great that she has put these things all together talking about food and health and obesity. All you have to do is look at all the different blogs and the people joining the discussion to see that it's making a difference. I think we are on the right path and we can fix this thing.

Q What were your goals in designing a range?

A Heat! We have a 22,000 BTU burner while most people at home have 12 or 14. I wanted to blend high power and low temperature control so you can cook more precisely. Interest in food is at an all-time high, and so the consumer demands many of the same things we have in our kitchens. They want the same knives, they want the same cookware we have in the restaurant, and now we can give them some of those things on the range.

meng@tribune.com

Three Ethiopian Films Win Awards at The 7th Tarifa African Film Festival in Spain

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Thursday, June 3, 2010

New York (Tadias) – Three Ethiopian films have won coveted awards at the 7th African Film Festival in Tarifa, Spain.

Haile Gerima’s Teza won the “Best Full Length Movie” award, while Atletu, a film about the legendary long distance runner Abebe Bikila produced by Rasselas Lakew & D.Frankel received the “Prize of the Audience” award.

In the Short Film category, Zelalem Woldemariam’s Lezare (For Today), a 12 minute movie which explores the link between environmental degradation and poverty, was the recipient of the “Best Short Film Youth Jury Award.”

The winners were selected from a pool of 15 nominees from over 10 countries by an international jury of experts. They received cash prizes ranging from 2,000 to 15,000 Euro. The competition took place from May 21st to 29th in Spain.

Below is the full list of winners:


7th Tarifa African Film Festival award winners (Photo Courtesy of Zeleman Production)

1. Best Female Actress, IMANI from Uganda, directed by Caroline Kamya

2. Best Actor, FROM A WHISPER from Kenya, directed by Wanari Kahiu

3. Best Director, IMANI from Uganda, directed by Caroline Kamya

4. Best Short Film Young Jury Award, LEZARE, directed by Zelalem Woldemariam

5. Best Short Film RTVA Award, LE ICHA from Tunisia, directed by Walid Taya

6. Best Documentary Film, LES LARMES DE L’EMIGRATION from Senegal, by
Alassane Diago

7. Prize of the Audience, ATLETU from Ethiopia, by Rasselas
Lakew-D.Frankel, and EHKI YA SHAHRAZADE from Egypt, by Yousry Narsrallahr

8. Best Full Length Movie, Teza from Ethiopia, by H. Gerima

Supermodel Liya Kebede's Ethical Fashion Apparel Preserves Ethiopian Hand Weaving (Video & Photos)

Credit: LemLem

Ethiopian supermodel and and World Health Organisation Goodwill Ambassador Liya Kebede graces the pages of Vogue this month wearing her ethical fashion label the Lemlem collection--styled with a pair of Olsen Haus vegan shoes, to boot--reports Ecorazzi. Lemlem launched in 2007 out of Liya's desire to create a Western market for the traditional weavers of Ethiopia and, according to her website, "to preserve the art of weaving." Initially the line was comprised of children's apparel but it has since expanded to include women's clothing and accessories; summer dresses, tunics, scarves, wraps, sarongs, and more. Click through for photos of the collection, the weaving process and a video interview with Liya Kebede.

The Hand Made Process
The collection is produced on a small scale using traditional handwoven fabrics that are made with 60% cotton and 40% rayon (Lyocell, Tencel™, or Modal™ are more sustainable alternatives to rayon). View the hand made process in a series of photos, below.

What's cooking at the White House? Chef Samuelsson knows...

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Samuelsson was adopted at the age of three
He cooked for President Barack Obama's first White House state dinner
He has won three James Beard Awards


Every week CNN's African Voices highlights Africa's most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera. This week the show profiles celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson.

New York (CNN) -- Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson is a gastronomic tour de force.

The Ethiopian-born chef has won three coveted James Beard Awards, an accolade described as "like winning the Olympic gold medal for chefs," and has been celebrated as one of "The Great Chefs of America" by the Culinary Institute of America.

With three restaurants and cookbooks to his name, Samuelsson, 39, is firmly established in the world of haute cuisine, so it was no surprise that he was chosen to cook for President Barack Obama's first White House state dinner.

The dinner featured a seasonal menu reflecting American and Indian flavors in honor of the visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Samuelsson worked with first lady Michelle Obama to create a menu that included potato and eggplant salad, roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney, chickpeas and okra, green curry prawns and caramelized salsify with smoked collard greens.

It's been a whirlwind rise to the top for the chef who says he developed an interest in cooking at just six years old.

But life has not always been easy for him or his family. Born Kassahun Tsegie in a small village north of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Samuelsson was three years old when he, his older sister and mother contracted tuberculosis during an epidemic in Ethiopia.
Admitted to hospital, Samuelsson and his sister Linda survived, but his mother was killed by the disease. After their mother's death, a nurse took pity on the young siblings and found an adoption agency to register them, Samuelsson told CNN.

Blog: Meeting Marcus Samuelsson

Months later, Swedish couple Anne Marie and Lennart Samuelsson adopted the children and they left Ethiopia for a life in Europe, which at times proved radically different for them.

Looking back on his upbringing, Samuelsson said: "My mother was white, my father was white, we were mixed kids, mixed family. It was the norm, you know. Not until maybe you're in your teens do you really start reflecting on that maybe that's not the norm."

It was only later in life when his sister started to dig into the family history that Samuelsson discovered his biological father in Ethiopia was still alive.

Samuelsson told CNN: "We found him and my step brothers and sisters. This is one of my biggest gifts to have met my birth father and my sisters and brothers and I feel extremely connected to them
My father knew we were adopted. He knew that we were in Sweden but he just didn't know where," he added.

It was in his adoptive home that Samuelsson's love of cooking was shaped and developed by his grandmother. He would spend hours in the kitchen with her and by the age of 16 had decided to become a world-class chef.

He attended the Culinary Institute in Gothenburg, and then worked in Switzerland, Austria and France before moving to the United States in 1991 where he was employed as an apprentice at acclaimed Scandinavian restaurant "Aquavit" in New York.

This was to be his launch pad to culinary fame. After four years at "Aquavit," at the age of just 24, Samuelsson was promoted to Executive Chef and his career skyrocketed.

Fifteen years on, Samuelsson has created his own brand, with three restaurants and a collection of cooking books and classes to his name. It's been hard work but Samuelsson credits his success to his origins.

He told CNN: "I always feel like the biggest luxury I have is that I am connected to poverty. I come from a clay house in the country in Addis. No water, no electricity, no nothing ... I think it is my responsibility to represent poverty. Talk about it and also show there's lots of happy togetherness, family and love."

Mulatu Astatke to open a jazz institute in Ethiopia

A FRIEND who lived in Addis Ababa for many years once told that what she missed most after leaving the Ethiopian capital – aside from her host's kitfo, a traditional beef dish, and a neighbour's honey mead- were afternoons spent listening to a local radio station.

Tuned into by taxi drivers, shopkeepers, bureaucrats and bank clerks alike, its eclectic spill of styles, from cha-cha and mambo to Puerto Rican bugalu, Coptic church hymns, Mozart and folk song, was, she later discovered, produced by a certain Mulatu Astatke.

Not simply a spirited programmer, he was one of Ethiopia's most revered composers, a man who, not unlike Nigeria's Fela Kuti, fled political unrest to study music in Britain and the US. When the two returned home in the 1960s, they fused the myriad influences they had encountered on their travels to create signature styles: Kuti crafted Afrobeat, Astatke fathered Ethiojazz.

Yet while Kuti pursued a life of legendary hedonism – once marrying 27 wives in a single ceremony – and fuelled his music with searing political commentary, Astatke embraced a different brand of patriotism. He taught music at Addis Ababa University, arranged music for Pan-African Elvis Tlahoun Gessesse and educated a broader public through his radio show.

"In Ethiopia, everyone leaves the country to study, so when you do, it's your responsibility to come back and teach what you have learnt, tell what your experience has been," he says.

The 67-year-old will perform his dreamlike, elsewhere melodies in Australia for the first time this weekend as part of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. It's a brief visit for a man with a hectic schedule. "Last week I was in Paris and Athens, then Addis and now to Australia. I am too busy, I think, but this is the way."

While Astatke's collaborations have been many, including Duke Ellington in the 1970s, the meeting that initiated his most recent wave of acclaim involved filmmaker Jim Jarmush. They crossed paths in 2004 at the Winter Garden in New York. Astatke was performing a sold-out show. Astatke recalls: "He came to the dressing room afterwards and said: 'OK, it's taken me six years to look for the music for my next film but now I have been listening to your music and I love it. Can I use it?'."

Broken Flowers, which starred Bill Murray, premiered at Cannes in 2005, winning the Grand Prize of the Jury. Astatke has blossomed ever since, touring the US and Europe in 2008, including Glastonbury. "Wow, it was a dream, I tell you. Just to see thousands and thousands of people in one place, in tents, in the mud. I was so amazed how they love music, how they sacrifice themselves to hear it. What a beautiful experience."

British label Strut subsequently released three Astatke albums in quick succession: a retrospective of his work titled New York – Addis – London: The Story of Ethiojazz (1965-1975), a collaboration with UK collective the Heliocentrics, Inspiration Information, and an album of new songs, Steps Ahead. The opening track of Steps is a tribute to his time at Harvard University, where he spent two years on a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship. Last year he ventured to Massachusetts as part of an Abramowitz artist-in-residence scholarship at MIT.

As to his next steps, even Astatke concedes they will be hasty. In June, he will open his own jazz institute in Addis Ababa. "It will be the best place to learn for students from across east Africa: Kenya and Tanzania. Then I must finish the opera I am writing too. And then I go back to London to play the Barbican. Fast steps, oh yes, exactly!"

Mulatu Astatke plays The Forum tomorrow and Monday.

'Teza': Ethiopia's tortured history, as seen through a disillusioned man's eyes

Both intimate and sprawling in its scope and reach, "Teza" is a remarkable portrait of the tortured political and social history that Ethiopia suffered in the last decades of the 20th century.

Waves of torment and pride that gripped the country are vividly captured through the eyes of a man named Anberber (a haunting Aaron Arefe), who is subjected to extremes of elation and devastation. His journey of disillusionment is the very personal exploration of a national psyche as interpreted by filmmaker Haile Gerima.

Remaining very much a cipher in the first few reels, a graying, defeated Anberber has returned to his rural village with scars both physical and psychological. His confusion is ours, but the sorting out begins as he flashes back nearly two decades to his jubilant time as a medical student in Cologne, Germany. As an idealistic socialist, he and his fellow expatriates rejoice when a Soviet-backed military junta overthrows the monarchy of Haile Selassie.

But the grand utopia Anberber and his intellectual countrymen dreamed of has little bearing on reality back in Addis Ababa, where his frustration grows under the increasing brutality of the communist regime. Eager to focus on his career as a research physician, Anberber cannot escape the oppressive contradictions of a society where banners of an unwanted emperor (Selassie) have been replaced by alien ideologues (Marx and Lenin).

Though he struggles to maintain his principles, resistance is futile in the face of a new corruption and the constant threat of violence. Once again expatriated to Germany, this time in the service of the communist East, Anberber faces constant racism and the horror of actual violence. With his mind and philosophy skewed, his search for truth and simplicity guide him back to his impoverished boyhood home.

Though sometimes disjointed and fraught with overly impressionistic flourishes, "Teza" is an impressive undertaking that balances melodrama with realism in depicting the inner life of a complicated character and the historical tenor of a little-known time and place in the world.

Ted Fry: tedfry@hotmail.com

Liya Kebede lands in Time's '100 Most Influential People' List

Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede has been named one of the top 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine which will be released later today, according to WWD.

Liya was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A film director spotted her while she was attending Lycee Guebre Mariam school in Addis Ababa and introduced her to a French modeling agent. After completing her studies, she moved to France to pursue work through a Parisian agency. Liya later relocated to New York City.

Liya's big break came when Tom Ford asked her for an exclusive contract for his Gucci Fall/Winter 2000 fashion show. Liya's popularity in the fashion industry sky-rocketed when she appeared on the cover the May 2002 edition of Paris Vogue which dedicated the entire issue to her.

Liya has been seen on the covers of Italian, Japanese, American, French and Spanish Vogue, V, Flair, i-D and Time's Style & Design. Liya has been featured in ad campaigns including those for Gap, Yves Saint-Laurent, Victoria's Secret, Emanuel Ungaro, Tommy Hilfiger, Revlon, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada and Louis Vuitton. In 2003, Liya was named the newest face of Estée Lauder cosmetics, the first black woman to serve as their representative in the company's 57-year history. Her contract was rumored to be for $3 million dollars.

Source: Liya's Profile Wikipedia

Teza’, the latest work of Ethiopian director Hailé Gerima

In today’s culture show, Hailé Gerima speaks cinema with Eve Jackson. Known for his independent, direct storytelling that's anything but Hollywood, the director makes films about Ethiopia's struggle. His best-known movie is the acclaimed ‘Sankofa’ which won a stack of international awards including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film festival. His latest work is called ‘Teza’.

Watch the interview at
http://www.france24.com/en/20100428-haile-gerima-teza-ethiopian-film-director-jackson

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Cheapest and Most Unique Vacation Spot

Imagine a vacation that costs a fraction the price of most traditional vacation spots yet contains sights and experiences available nowhere else. This unique, yet non-traditional vacation location is Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, which is located in the horn of Africa.

Cuisine and Entertainment in Addis Ababa

As an urban city, you can expect all of the conveniences you are accustomed to in any American city. The city boasts an amazing variety of places at which you can sample both local and international cuisine. Fasika is a hot spot for anyone that wants to sample eating from a dazzling array of traditional Ethiopian dishes, whilst live entertainment featuring prominent local acts is provided. Moreover, for the cost conscious traveler, feel free to order the most expensive choices on the menu, a full meal for two including tip will set you back the equivalent of a mere twenty dollars.

Shopping in Ethiopia

Get ready for the shopping experience of your life! The Merkato is the world's largest outdoor market. You will be able to buy practically anything you could ever possibly want at this one location. Just remember that all prices are up for negotiation, so sharpen your bargaining skills before you come.

Other locations to shop at include the Friendship Supermarket, that is if you are looking for western style products. Three of the largest shopping centers are: Loyal Shopping center, Arat Kilo Shopping center (98 stores)and the Piassa Shopping center (67 stores)

Activities and Sightseeing Spots

Due to the length of the cities existence, there are many old and interesting buildings to visit in Addis Ababa. A particularly beautiful spot is the St. Georges Cathedral-Museum. The museum was built in 1975 to contain historical and ecclesiastical items. For a three-dollar fee, you can receive a guided tour that takes you through two separate levels highlighting Ethiopia's history.

Choices for the more active traveler are abundant. There are tennis courts available at the Ghion Hotel, swimming under the bluest skies imaginable at the downtown Hilton hotel. If the wish to have a gamble comes upon you, there is horse racing each weekend at the Addis Ababa Stadium on Ras Desta Damtew Ave. For evening entertainment, cinemas are located at the Cinema Ethiopia and theatre featuring traditional acts is regularly scheduled at the National Theatre.

Flights and Lodging Costs

The best choice for the cost conscious traveler is to book their hotel at the same time they book their flight. Great deals for weeklong stays can be found in the 800-900 dollars this includes staying at four-star hotels.

Marcus Samuelsson speaks on Chicago restaurants and "Top Chef"

Last week chef Marcus Samuelsson's unveiled the new line of stoves he designed for BlueStar ranges. But before the big reveal at his C-House restaurant in the Affinia Hotel, the Swedish-Ethiopian transplant to New York dished about other stuff. Here it is as promised:

The Stew: How did you like doing "Top Chef Masters"?
Samuelsson: Fun, fun, it was great.

Are you under orders not to reveal anything?
I am.

Whom did you like working with best?
They were all really nice but I’ve known David Burke the longest so it was fun to be with him. When I came to America he was one of the chefs I most admired. I always thought he was an American chef with a unique spin on food.

I bet Wylie Dufresne [of wd~50] came up with some interesting stuff.
Yes, Wylie and I are the same age and we came up at the same time and I love him, he’s very talented. But there are some chefs that you’ve always looked up to. Like Charlie and Rick Bayless, who I always associated Chicago food with. And Tony of course.

Where do you eat in Chicago besides C-House?
Now that I’m working here I don’t have as much time. I was much more up on it before before C-House. It’s weird how that works. But I enjoy the Chicago community — the guests and the chefs — a lot. I love what Paul [Kahan] and those guys are doing. They’re very forward thinking and fun and there’s a sense of publicness to what they’re doing and it’s not so expensive so more people can experience it. And they each restaurant tell different stories from Avec, to Blackbird to Publican. And I love Arun.

Do you ever go for Ethiopian or Swedish food in Chicago?
Yes, for Ethiopian I go to that place on Broadway.

Ethiopian Diamond?
Yes, that’s the one. But for Swedish, I make my own. You know, meatballs and gravlax.

African Film Festival Fosters Home-Grown Development Cinema

Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, is set to host a film festival aimed at boosting Africa's self-image and identity. The festival's organizers hope it will spawn a community of African film makers specializing in using cinema for development.

The International Short Film Festival is the brainchild of award-winning Mauritanian film maker Abderrahmane Sissako and his wife, Ethiopian cinematographer Maji-da Abdi. The event will feature 100 films by and about Africa and Africans, each from five to 30 minutes long.

Sitting side by side in front of reporters, Sissako explained in French his vision of using cinema as a development tool, while Abdi translated to English.

"It is a continent about which a lot is said, but has very little opportunity to speak about itself. Africa does not have as much opportunity to tell its own stories. That is why I think images as a part of development is firstly 'cinema as a mirror of yourself'. Through a mirror one can correct oneself, one can doubt oneself. One can be proud of oneself as well," Sissako said.

Sissako and Abdi say African children growing up on a diet of Hollywood-style films may never see images that reflect their own world. They say Africa needs a home-grown film industry to raise its self-esteem and represent African ideals. "When hundreds of thousands of people rarely see their own picture on the big screens, that is where I talk of prejudice. A child can be proud to see that his father can be a pilot or a doctor. But when he never sees on his screens a representation of something that he can resemble him or his parents, so it poses questions even though he does not have them clearly stated in the head," they said.

Abdi, the festival's chief organizer, says film also has the ability to break down cultural barriers, and to allow people see their continent through African eyes.

"We are seen mostly on CNN and other news as sort of this poor victim, when there are many more aspects of people in each country that we need to show to ourselves and to each other. It is a pity that Ethiopians do not know about other African countries, have never heard their languages in a film or know the different cultures well. We have all seen, in a movie, the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty, but nothing about our own continent," he said.

The film festival will run from June 14 through 19.

Winner of the prize for best East African short film will win an all-expenses paid trip to France for 10 days of cinematography training.

Teza -- Film Review

Bottom Line: Ambitious, sprawling drama about Ethiopia that well overcomes its rough-hewn edges.

Few contemporary films burn with the passion and authenticity of "Teza," Haile Gerima's elaborate drama chronicling three decades in the life of an Ethiopian man anguished by his country's social and political crises. The Ethiopia-born director, responsible for such acclaimed works as "Ashes and Embers" (1982) and "Sankofa" (1993), has produced a challenging but rewarding effort that will be essential viewing for those interested in African themes. Currently playing at New York's Lincoln Plaza Cinema as part of a nationwide tour that recently included a two-month run in Washington, the film recently was the subject of a front-page article in the New York Times.

Complicated and occasionally off-putting in terms of structure and style, "Teza" begins in 1990 when Anberber (newcomer Aaron Arefe, delivering a powerful performance), a doctor, returns to his native village and is reunited with his elderly mother. Suffering from various mental and physical infirmities, including the loss of a leg, Anberber is dismayed to see that his country has been devastated by the oppressive Marxist regime that has come into power.

When tribal elders fear that the new arrival is cursed and begin a ritual to cure him, it cues a series of flashbacks depicting his leaving his country in 1974 to move to Germany and study medicine. There, he and his friends embrace socialism and work from afar to overthrow the dictatorial Emperor Haile Selassie. Returning to his homeland upon the rise of power of Haile Mariam Mengistu in the 1980s, he soon discovers that one form of repression has been replaced by another.

The film ultimately takes on more ideas than it can comfortably handle, resulting in a sprawling but never tedious tour throughout modern Ethiopian history, interspersed with meditations on such subjects as personal responsibility, racism and the relationship of the self-exiled to their native lands.

Handsomely shot despite an obviously low budget and considerable logistical difficulties, "Teza" is a valuable addition to the annals of African cinema.

Venue: Lincoln Plaza Cinema (New York) (Mypheduh Films)
Production: Negod-gwad, Pandora Film
Cast: Aaron Arefe, Abeye Tedla, Takelech Beyene, Teje Tesfahun, Nebiyu Baye, Mengistu Zelalem
Director-screenwriter: Haile Gerima
Producers: Haile Gerima, Karl Baumgartner
Director of photography: Mario Masini
Editors: Haile Gerima, Loren Hankin
Music: Vijay Ijer, Jorga Mesfin
Art directors: Patrick Dechesne, Alain-Pascal Housiaux
Costume designer: Wassine Hailu
No rating, 140 minutes

Ethiopia’s Liya Kebede

The 11th-highest-paid model in the world in 2007, Ethiopia’s Liya Kebede has been around the runway since she walked for Tom Ford in 2000. And we just love these photos of her in Vogue Italia so much that we had to share them with you as Today’s Candy.

Kenna: Climbing for Clean Water

Ethiopian Singer: Soul Searching Led To Debut Album

Once you hear her smooth and silky voice it will be hard to forget it. Yet, years passed before she realized she wanted to become a singer. Ethiopian native Meklit Hadero went to college to major in political science, but after moving to San Francisco she found her true love: music. Now, only five years after her first public performance, she is out with the new album “On A Day Like This.” Guest host Allison Keyes talks with singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero about her life and finding herself through music

Kenna On The Inspiration Behind 'Summit On The Summit: Kilimanjaro'

In 2005, Kenna — who had long heard stories of the majesty and mystery of Mt. Kilimanjaro from his father — decided to climb the peak. He made it to Kosovo Camp, a clearing located some 16,000 feet above sea level (and still 3,000 feet from the summit), and then pushed onward toward the top of the mountain. He didn't make it.

Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro - Celebrity News

Five years later, he decided to make the trek again, this time in the hope of calling attention to the global clean-water crisis. Both the trip and the cause were personal to Kenna, because when his father was a child in Ethiopia, he lost his brother and friends to water-borne diseases and, as he put it, "I could have been one of those kids."

So, in January, with a crew of nearly 300 backing him up — including fellow musicians Lupe Fiasco and Santigold, actors Jessica Biel, Emile Hirsch and Isabel Lucas, plus a team of scientists, United Nations ambassadors and skilled guides — he headed back up the mountain. (His friend Justin Timberlake intended to join the trek but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts; Justin introduces the film.) And their trip is documented in "Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro," a 90-minute film that premieres Sunday (March 14) at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.

And apart from detailing the group's massive scaling of Africa's tallest mountain, the film also contains a symbolic message, one that applies not just to the trek, but to tackling seemingly insurmountable issues like global clean water: that together, we can accomplish great things.

"When you go by yourself and you're on a solo mission, it's not necessarily something that registers at the end of the day. No one has your back. Getting to the top of Kilimanjaro this time had everything to do with the fact that I had an army with me," Kenna told MTV News. "Some of us would literally look at each other and say, 'If you weren't here, I wouldn't have made it.' Our director, Mike Bonfiglio, was basically watching Isabel Lucas, and saw her dedication when she was really, really ill at the top of this mountain. And he, literally, was like, 'She made it, I've got to do this.' "

Unlike his previous attempt, this time around Kenna would not be denied in his quest to make it to the peak of Kilimanjaro. He had made his mind up, and he wouldn't be denied: because he had friends with him, and because he knew there were millions of people depending on him to spread his message.

"I think what happened is our medic told us, 'You know what? It's going to be something you can actually accomplish, even if you're completely ill and sick and close to dying, it will be fine,' " he said. "She made it so we felt like we could deal with being uncomfortable, and at that moment, I was like, 'I don't care. If anything goes on with me, at this point, I've come this far, I'm not going down.' "

Tune in to "Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro" Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on MTV. And find out what you can do to help solve the global water crisis now at the "Summit on the Summit" Web site.

supermodel Liya Kebede and journalist and visiting scholar at Stanford university, Abebe Gellaw, are named among the Young Global Leaders honorees.

Two Ethiopians, supermodel Liya Kebede and journalist and visiting scholar at Stanford university, Abebe Gellaw, are named among the Young Global Leaders honorees.

In a press release it issued today, the World Economic Forum noted that the honor was bestowed on 197 Young Global Leaders who were selected from a pool of nearly 5000 nominees from around the world for their “professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.”

This year’s list of Young Global Leaders, who are all below the age of 40, include tennis star Roger Federer, Evan Williams, Co-founder and CEO of Twitter, Steven Chen, Co-founder and Chief Technologist of Youtube, Jon Favorue, Obama’s chief speech writer, Wyclef Jean, Singer and Founder of Yélé Haiti Foundation, Nelson Mandela’s grandson and South African Member of Parliament, Mandla Mandela, Saudi Arabian Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Sultan, Crown Princess Mette-Marrit of Norway, sixteen ministers from around the world and many CEOs.

“I am not only thrilled but also humbled to be included in this year’s World Economic Forum list of honorees. I will take advantage of this global opportunity to promote the causes that are closer to the heart of Ethiopians such as the struggle for freedomm, respect for human rights and dignity in Ethiopia,” Abebe said.

“I will start this exciting journey later this month at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where I will attend a leadership course specially designed for YGL honorees. For the next five years, the opportunity offers me wider perspectives on issues that affect the world and on how decent leadership and governments operate around the world to address the pressing challenges facing humanity,” he noted.
This year’s honorees were selected by a committee chaired by H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and comprised of eminent international media leaders including Steve Forbes, CEO of Forbes Media, James Murdoch CEO of News Corporation-UK, Arthur Sulzgerber , Chairman and Publisher of the New York Times, Tom Glocer, CEO of Thomson Reuters and Elizabeth Weymouth, Editor-at-Large and Special Diplomatic Correspondent of Newsweek.
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The following WEF press release

http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20News%20Releases/PR_YGL2010

World Economic Forum Announces Young Global Leaders 2010

Yann Zopf, Associate Director, Tel.: +41 (0)22 869 1480 – yann.zopf@weforum.org

* Young leaders from 72 countries are honoured for their outstanding leadership, professional accomplishments and commitment to society
* Young Global Leaders are selected from a variety of sectors such as business, government, academia, media, non-profit organizations and arts & culture, and from all regions of the world
* Young Global Leaders engage in task forces that address specific challenges of public interest with the objective of shaping a better future

Geneva, Switzerland, 3 March 2010 – The World Economic Forum has announced its Young Global Leaders (YGLs) for 2010. The honour, bestowed each year by the Forum, recognizes and acknowledges up to 200 outstanding young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

For 2010, the Forum has selected 197 Young Global Leaders (PDF, 7 pages, 160 KB) from 72 countries and all stakeholders of society (business, civil society, social entrepreneurs, politics & government, arts & culture, and opinion & media). The new class represents all regions: East Asia (43), South Asia (21), Europe (46), Middle East and North Africa (14), sub-Saharan Africa (17), North America (38) and Latin America (18). This year’s selection has more gender parity than ever, with 38% women.

“The World Economic Forum is a true multistakeholder community of global decision-makers in which the Young Global Leaders represent the voice for the future and the hopes of the next generation. The diversity of the YGL community and its commitment to shaping a better future through action-oriented initiatives of public interest is even more important at a time when the world is in need of new energy to solve intractable challenges,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Drawn from a pool of almost 5,000 candidates, the Young Global Leaders 2010 were chosen by a selection committee (PDF, 1 page, 135 KB), chaired by H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, comprised of eminent international media leaders.

The Young Global Leaders 2010 reflect regional and stakeholder diversity. The ones from North America include Elissa Goldberg, Director-General, Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (from Canada); Evan Williams, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Twitter (from the US); Kevin M. Warsh, Board Member, Federal Reserve System (from the US); Marissa Mayer, Vice-President, Search Product and User Experience, Google Inc. (from the US); and Margo Drakos, Chief Operating Officer, InstantEncore.com (from the US), among others.

“Changing the way our global food system works, so that everyone can have access to good, clean and fair food, is entirely within our reach. It will take dedication, citizen engagement and collaboration between our world’s top innovators, activists and leaders,” stated Josh Viertel, president, Slow Food USA. “The Forum of Young Global Leaders brings together minds that can make this change possible. I am honoured to be included among them and look forward to the good work we will do together.”

The 2010 honourees will become part of the broader Forum of Young Global Leaders community that currently comprises 660 outstanding individuals. The YGLs convene at an annual summit – this year it will be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2-7 May 2010, the first time in Africa and the largest ever gathering of YGLs – as well as at Forum events and meetings throughout the year. These events enable YGLs to build a strong and diverse community, to engender a better understanding of the global and regional agendas and to engage in initiatives to address specific challenges of public interest (read more about YGL task forces (PDF, 6 pages, 84 KB) or visit www.redesignourworld.com).

“There are many wonderful communities and opportunities to be enjoyed in college and beyond, but the YGL community is truly beyond compare,” said Kristin Rechberger, Vice-President, National Geographic Society, a YGL honoured in 2009. “The YGLs are leaders who don’t have anything to prove, given their deep, impressive variety of accomplishments; yet, there is great knowledge and humility regarding how much more important work there is yet to do – work best accomplished through creative collaboration and strong friendships. It’s a wonderfully welcoming and inclusive community, with opportunities as grand as we want to create. Being a YGL this past year has truly changed my life. We welcome the new class to our community!” Geneva, Switzerland, 3 March 2010 – The World Economic Forum has announced its Young Global Leaders (YGLs) for 2010. The honour, bestowed each year by the Forum, recognizes and acknowledges up to 200 outstanding young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

For 2010, the Forum has selected 197 Young Global Leaders (PDF, 7 pages, 160 KB) from 72 countries and all stakeholders of society (business, civil society, social entrepreneurs, politics & government, arts & culture, and opinion & media). The new class represents all regions: East Asia (43), South Asia (21), Europe (46), Middle East and North Africa (14), sub-Saharan Africa (17), North America (38) and Latin America (18). This year’s selection has more gender parity than ever, with 38% women.

“The World Economic Forum is a true multistakeholder community of global decision-makers in which the Young Global Leaders represent the voice for the future and the hopes of the next generation. The diversity of the YGL community and its commitment to shaping a better future through action-oriented initiatives of public interest is even more important at a time when the world is in need of new energy to solve intractable challenges,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Drawn from a pool of almost 5,000 candidates, the Young Global Leaders 2010 were chosen by a selection committee (PDF, 1 page, 135 KB), chaired by H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, comprised of eminent international media leaders.

The Young Global Leaders 2010 reflect regional and stakeholder diversity. The ones from North America include Elissa Goldberg, Director-General, Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (from Canada); Evan Williams, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Twitter (from the US); Kevin M. Warsh, Board Member, Federal Reserve System (from the US); Marissa Mayer, Vice-President, Search Product and User Experience, Google Inc. (from the US); and Margo Drakos, Chief Operating Officer, InstantEncore.com (from the US), among others.

“Changing the way our global food system works, so that everyone can have access to good, clean and fair food, is entirely within our reach. It will take dedication, citizen engagement and collaboration between our world’s top innovators, activists and leaders,” stated Josh Viertel, president, Slow Food USA. “The Forum of Young Global Leaders brings together minds that can make this change possible. I am honoured to be included among them and look forward to the good work we will do together.”

The 2010 honourees will become part of the broader Forum of Young Global Leaders community that currently comprises 660 outstanding individuals. The YGLs convene at an annual summit – this year it will be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2-7 May 2010, the first time in Africa and the largest ever gathering of YGLs – as well as at Forum events and meetings throughout the year. These events enable YGLs to build a strong and diverse community, to engender a better understanding of the global and regional agendas and to engage in initiatives to address specific challenges of public interest (read more about YGL task forces (PDF, 6 pages, 84 KB) or visit www.redesignourworld.com).

“There are many wonderful communities and opportunities to be enjoyed in college and beyond, but the YGL community is truly beyond compare,” said Kristin Rechberger, Vice-President, National Geographic Society, a YGL honoured in 2009. “The YGLs are leaders who don’t have anything to prove, given their deep, impressive variety of accomplishments; yet, there is great knowledge and humility regarding how much more important work there is yet to do – work best accomplished through creative collaboration and strong friendships. It’s a wonderfully welcoming and inclusive community, with opportunities as grand as we want to create. Being a YGL this past year has truly changed my life. We welcome the new class to our community!”

Notes to editors

* More information about the Forum of Young Global Leaders at http://www.younggloballeaders.org/
* List of YGLs honoured in 2010
* List of the YGL community
* List of the YGL Selection Committee
* List of the YGL task forces or visit http://www.redesignourworld.com
* Visit our YGL YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/yglvoices
* Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/YGLvoices
* Nominate a potential Young Global Leader through our website

——————————————————————————–
About The Forum of Young Global Leaders
Established in 2004 by Professor Klaus Schwab, The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multistakeholder community of the world’s most extraordinary young leaders who dedicate a part of their time to jointly address global challenges and who are committed to devote part of their knowledge and energy to collectively work towards a better future. Together the Young Global Leaders work to discover innovative solutions to today’s most pressing problems through various initiatives and workstreams, as well as catalysing the next generation of leaders.
——————————————————————————–

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971 and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (www.weforum.org )

UMGP Announces The Promotion Of Ethiopia Habtemariam To Senior Vice President, Creative Services/Head Of Urban Music

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) announced the promotion of Ethiopia Habtemariam to Senior Vice President/Head of Urban Music. Habtemariam was previously Vice President of Urban Music.

Based in New York, Habtemariam is responsible for finding and developing songwriters, artists, and producers for the urban music department of Universal Music Publishing Group, and has signed some of music's biggest superstars, including; multi-platinum recording artist and songwriter Chris Brown, breakthrough artist and songwriter Keri Hilson, gold recording artist and songwriter Ciara, BMI Songwriter of the Year and Producer of the Year Polow Da Don, Andre Merrit, Candice Nelson, Balewa Muhammad, Ezekiel Lewis (The Clutch), Rock City, and Brian Kennedy to name a few.

In addition to talent acquisition, Habtemariam works to create new opportunities for the company's current roster of writers to exploit catalog, and serve as a liaison between the writers, record companies and the publishing group in order to place songs and writers on upcoming artist projects, soundtracks, and compilations.

In making the announcement Tom Sturges, Head of Creative Affairs, Universal Music Publishing Group stated: "Ethiopia has proven herself to be one of the most remarkable executives I have ever worked with. She has a great and proven ear for talent, the eyes to spot an amazing opportunity to do business, and the force of personality that allows her to establish unending relationships throughout the industry. This promotion is well-deserved and another great step in Ethiopia's career.

In her new role, Habtemariam will oversee one of the hottest urban rosters in music—from multi-platinum and GRAMMY® award winning acts like Mary J. Blige, Polow, 50 Cent, Eminem, Jeremih, Amerie, Ashanti, Jill Scott, Prince, Nicole Sherzinger, Ice Cube, Raphael Saadiq, Swizz Beatz, DMX, Asher Roth, Beastie Boys, R.Kelly, Babyface, Keyshia Cole, and many more. Universal Music Publishing Group was recently named Publisher of the Year at the BMI Urban Music Awards, as well as publishing the Songwriter of the Year (T-Pain) and Producer of the Year (Polow). UMPG also has a publishing interest in the Song of the Year, Jordin Sparks' "No Air."

Habtemariam joined the company in 2003.

A Glance at Ethiopian Women in Cinema

When I asked pioneer Ethiopian filmmaker Salem Mekuria in 1997 about the presence of Ethiopian women in cinema she stated that while there were those who worked for the government, she was the only independent filmmaker—enthusiastically embracing the emerging group of women that have now come of age. At the present, Ethiopian women in cinema are imposing themselves both in Ethiopia and the Diaspora, as the extra-Ethiopia territories, notably the United States, have been the locations from which the first group has developed. It is not surprising that the United States counts a significant number of Ethiopian women as it has the largest population of Ethiopians outside of Africa.



Salem Mekuria, based in Massachusetts was trained in documentary filmmaking in the 1980s at NOVA, WGBH-TV, a Boston-based PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) science-focused public television program. In the 1990s Lucy Gebre-Egziabher and Aida Muluneh studied film at Howard University in Washington, DC where their compatriot, internationally acclaimed Haile Gerima is film professor—both completed their studies in the early 2000s. While Aida Muluneh chose image studies early as an undergraduate student, Lucy Gebre-Egziabher returned to school to study film while working as a senior program officer in international education, realizing a dream she had since childhood. During that same period, Aida Ashenafi completed film studies at Ithaca College in New York State in 1999. Like Salem Mekuria, U.S.-born African-American-Ethiopian Nnegest Likké got her training inside the industry, initially with a public access community television station in Los Angeles, California. On the continent, Yetnayet Bahru Gessesse represents a promising trend of Ethiopian-trained filmmakers.



Salem Mekuria honed her filmmaking skills while working on themes related to the African American community of Massachusetts, the region where she lives and works. She later focused her camera on Africa in the two acclaimed works for which she is most known. She dealt with social and political issues relating to women refugees in the film, Sidet: Forced Exile (1991), and the multilayered issues of revolution, lost, and betrayal in the film, Ye Wonz Maibel: Deluge (1997). From the very beginning of her film projects, Lucy Gebre-Egziabher directed her gaze towards issues relating to the Ethiopian Diaspora in the Washington DC area. Her last film, At the Second Traffic Light (2000) has a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and inter-religious focus with the intentions of highlighting the importance of tolerance. At the same time a filmmaker, Aida Muleneh is best known for her photographic work, notably in the 2003 seminal exhibition Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora at the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Her film work in progress, Unhealing Wound, traces the experiences of Ethiopian war orphans raised and schooled in Cuba beginning in 1978, during the government of Mengistu Hailemariam. Aida Ashenafi, after studying, living, and working in the United States, returned to Ethiopia where she co-founded a communications company. Her award winning film Guzow (2009) is a documentary set in rural Ethiopia.



While Maji-da Abdi has also directed documentary films, notably The River Between Us (2001), her most visible work has been as producer and film professional in many African film-related initiatives. She currently manages the Paris-based production company Chinguetty Films that she created with her partner Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako. Nnegest Likké represents the first-generation of U.S.-born Ethiopians, her Ethiopian father met her African-American mother while they were both students at the University of California at Berkeley in the 1960s. Perhaps her comedy film, Phat Girlz (2006) with an “African twist”, is indicative of the influences of Hollywood, rather than a more “engaged” cinema evident in the works by other Ethiopian women. Although Yetnayet Bahru Gessesse may be setting a similar trend in Ethiopia.



One of the objectives of the First Ethiopian Film Initiative Meeting held in Addis Ababa in 2008 was to tackle the important issue of film training, as there is a lack of viable film schools in the country. Yetnayet Bahru Gessesse addressed this problem at the meeting in her presentation, “A Young Filmmaker’s Personal Experience”. Though she completed her studies in computer science, her passion for cinema gave her the motivation to navigate the Ethiopian cinematic terrain through trial and error, as a professional cinema infrastructure does not exist. After her successful debut film Aldewolem (2008), a romantic comedy, she participated in a filmmaking workshop in Burkina Faso in 2009, at the Imagine Film Training Institute founded by Gaston Kaboré.



The active presence of women in the emerging Ethiopian cinema is evident in their visible participation at the Ethiopian Film Initiative Meeting and the active and supportive reception of their films, both in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Diaspora. Their numbers are increasing as well as the resources for making films. Of course the Ethiopian Diaspora will continue to play a vital role in these initiatives. In fact, the connecting forces of the two have strengthened both, as there is a concerted effort to build and work together, drawing from the positive energies that each has to offer.

Ethiopian beauty is 1st runner up in global beauties contest

Ethiopian beauty is 1st runner up in global beauties contest

WINS GB FACE OF AFRICA TITLE

Melat Yante Woldesenbet who was Ethiopia’s representative to the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant placed as 1st runner up in the Global Beauties Face of the Year competition.

She was also awarded the Global Beauties Face of Africa winner!

The fifty finalists were chosen among the world’s most prestigious pageants. Out of thousands of women who competed nationally and internationally in 2009, the competition then chose the Top 25, Top 15, Top 10, Top 5 and then the winner.

Melat was chosen by the international panel of judges in the top three from the first round of competition. She is presently in Germany preparing to compete in the Top Model of the World pageant.

She also plans on returning home to Ethiopia to compete in other national contests for an opportunity to continue competing in international pageants.

(see www.globalbeauties.com “Face of the Year” for official results and details)

Defar's debut tops another stellar line-up in Stuttgart - Preview

4 February 2010 – Stuttgart, Germany - It wouldn’t be a normal Sparkassen-Cup Meeting without some kind of world record attempt, and although the two protagonists from last year’s riveting women’s 3000m will again be on the track Saturday (6) night in Stuttgart, they will be running in separate events.

The Sparkassen-Cup is the third of nine IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings in 2010.

Last winter, Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and Russia’s Anna Alminova waged an unexpected battle in the race in which Defar was attempting to lower her own record of 8:23.72, set on the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle track in 2007. In that contest, Defar was on record pace after two kilometres just before Alminova moved into contention and turned the race into a tactical struggle. The Ethiopian’s final time of 8:26.99 - still the third best of all-time - was more than three seconds off the world record.

This year, Alminova will instead be contesting the 1500m, in which she is the reigning European indoor champion. But that doesn’t mean Defar will only be running against the clock in the 3000. Kenya’s Silvia Kibet, the Berlin silver medallist in the 5000m from last summer, has slipped in as a late entry and could derail Defar’s plans again as did the Russian last year. On the other hand, strong runs from both could produce the Sparkassen sparks for which this fixture is noted, with its history of seven world records in middle- and long-distance events. Stay tuned.

Among those accompanying Defar and Kibet in their fifteen laps will be European 5000 finalist Sabrina Mockenhaupt of Germany and a former European indoor bronze medallist, Silvia Weissteiner of Italy.

The Women’s 3000m is just one of the highly anticipated moments in this 24th edition of the Sparkassen-Cup, an event which continues to enjoy the longest continued single sponsorship of any indoor athletics event in the world.

Alminova, in moving to the 1500m, will find herself stacked up against the top finisher from Berlin last summer, Maryam Jamal of Bahrain, plus the reigning World indoor champ in the event, Geleta Burka of Ethiopia.

Jones-Ferrette bringing strong momentum

For fast indoor female sprinting during this indoor season, one only needs to think “Jones”. Laverne Jones-Ferrette of the US Virgin Islands brings her world-leading 7.09 (from Karlsruhe last Sunday and Dusseldorf on Wednesday) to the women’s 60m, where she will tangle with Carmelita Jeter of the US, the Berlin bronze winner and, after a stunning 10.64 to end the season last September, the second-fastest 100m competitor of all-time. The reigning World indoor champion, Angela Williams of the US, plus a former World indoor champion, Bahamian Chandra Sturrup, add further lustre to the field.

The other part of the “Jones” stamp on sprinting is carried by hurdler Lolo Jones of the US, who also departed from Karlsruhe with a 7.90 world-leading performance in the women’s 60m Hurdles, a mark she lowered in Dusseldorf to 7.85. Beijing bronze and Berlin silver winner Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Canada, plus Jamaica’s Lacina Golding-Clarke - a finalist at the last five World Indoor Championships - are both in the field, as are three-time outdoor World Championships finalist Vonette Dixon of Jamaica, Valencia bronze medallist Anay Tejeda of Cuba, and Germany’s top exponent of hurdling, Carolin Nytra.

Robles vs Oliver and Svoboda

Current Olympic gold and bronze winners, Cuba’s Dayron Robles and David Oliver of the US, lead the list in the men’s 60m Hurdles. Robles will arrive after a solid 7.50 debut in Dusseldorf. Lining up with them will be European indoor bronze medallist Petr Svoboda of the Czech Republic, Berlin finalist Dwight Thomas of Jamaica, and Athens fourth placer Maurice Wignall, also of Jamaica.

Although nearing the end of his 39th year, American Allen Johnson is showing no apparent signs of retirement. The seven-time World champion (indoors and outdoors) ran an excellent early-season 7.58 last weekend and is a late addition to the hurdle field.

The Men’s 60m features three sprinters from the West Indies who have dipped under the ten-second barrier in outdoor competition.

Jamaicans Lerone Clark and Helsinki world championships silver medallist Michael Frater will joust with double Beijing sprint finalist Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles.

Former European indoor silver winner Craig Pickering of Great Britain will also challenge, as will last year’s surprise Sparkassen winner Christian Blum of Germany. The home-country sprinter posted his current PB of 6.56 in a go-for-broke lean at the finish which left him flat on the floor and with injuries necessitating an abrupt end to a short but promising indoor season last year.

French invasion into German Pole Vault territory?

There are few countries which can rival Germany in the depth of pole vaulting, both on the men’s and women’s sides, a fact which obliges a German meeting organizer to include both in the timetable. Ironically, the two male competitors most highly decorated from last season hail from neighouring France, as Romain Mesnil and Renaud Lavillenie, the Berlin silver and bronze winners, respectively, lead an impressive list.

The host nation adds a substantial cachet with the last two European indoor bronze medalists, Alexander Straub and Björn Otto, plus former European indoor champions Tim Lobinger and Danny Ecker, as well as Beijing finalist Raphael Holzdeppe.

The women’s event features the surprise World champion from Berlin, Poland’s Anna Rogowska, in her season opener. Two medallists from the last European indoor championships - Germans Silke Spiegelburg and Anna Battke - will see action, as will Valencia bronze winner Fabiana Murer of Brazil and Beijing finalist Caroline Hingst of Germany.

Though not projected as a world record attempt, the Men’s 3000m still has a formidable cast, led by reigning World indoor champion Tariku Beleke of Ethiopia, and his countryman, the bronze winner in Valencia, Abreham Cherkos. Beijing 5000m bronze medallist Edwin Soi of Kenya, who finished fourth in Valencia, will see an indoor track for the first time this year. His countryman, Sammy Mutahi, will see an indoor track for the first time in his life!

Mekkonen and Kaki headline middle distance fields

Deresse Mekkonen of Ethiopia returns to defend his Sparkassen title in the men’s 1500m, accompanied by Valencia bronze winner Juan Carlos Higuero of Spain, European indoor bronze medallist Yoann Kowal of France, and his compatriot, Berlin steeplechase bronze winner Bouabdellah Tahri. There will be two further runners of note to watch - William Biwott of Kenya, who set a World junior record in the mile last year in Oslo, and World youth finalist, 17-year-old Mohamad Al-Garni of Qatar – who both made their indoor debuts in Dusseldorf.

World indoor 800m champion Abubaker Kaki heads the list in that event, along with Berlin finalist Jackson Kivuna of Kenya and new Czech indoor national record holder Jakub Holuša.

The Men’s Long Jump features two-time World outdoor champion Dwight Phillips of the US, who will make his season debut in that event after sprint outings in Karlsruhe and Dusseldorf. Among those Phillips will contend with are the former World indoor bronze winner Salim Sdiri of France, and Osaka finalist Christian Reif of Germany.

Ed Gordon for the IAAF

Proud Teddy at the Proud Bird in L.A.

It is really great to be young; but for those who are not, the next best thing is to be at a Teddy Afro concert and jam late into the night with a ballroom full of irrepressible and euphoric young Ethiopian Angelinos. On February 13, Proud Teddy brought his triumphant “Love Conquers All” world tour to the Proud Bird, a well-known LA institution for one-half century themed around vintage WW II war birds. Teddy was in top form belting out one hit after another as he almost levitated on stage. His Abugida Band and backup singers bellowed flaming rhythms and roots-style music combining traditional Ethiopian melodies with reggae beats. Teddy was on fire at the Proud Bird, as was his enraptured audience. I have listened to Teddy Afro on CD and viewed his Youtube videos countless times. His voice, his message and powerful lyrics and his melodies have moved me, rocked me, soothed me and lifted me when I was down. But there is nothing that compares to watching this young musical genius live. The difference between watching Teddy live and listening to him on CD/Youtube is the difference between listening to gospel music on the radio and singing it in the choir with the preacher directing. The Proud Bird concert was a quasi-spiritual experience, almost like being at an old time southern Baptist revival. His audience was not only passionately and emotionally involved with the lyrics and melodies in his music, they were spiritually bonded to him with some invisible gravitational force. There was not a single person at the concert who was not movin’, swingin’, rockin’ and rollin’ and groovin’.

For those us who had never seen Teddy perform live and witnessed the standing-room only crowd go into semi-conscious trance, it was a walk down memory lane. I recall seeing such deep spiritual connection between an artist and his audience decades ago when Bob Marley came to my alma mater, the University of Minnesota, on May 30, 1978 (Kaya Tour) and November 15, 1979 (Survival Tour). Those fortunate enough to have present at a Bob Marley concert know exactly what I mean.

As the show began, for nearly a minute we could only hear Teddy singing from backstage using a remote microphone. It was an electrifying moment of anticipation. As Teddy burst on stage wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Marley’s image, the audience went into total frenzy. I could not help but feel the palpable spiritual presence of Bob Marley on stage that night. Teddy was unbound; he sang and danced and pranced, leaped and twirled and fluttered on stage as streams of sweat flooded down his face. The jam-packed audience cheered, clapped, screamed, shrieked, shouted and hopped; and a sea of upward stretched hands swung side to side in the cavernous hall.

Having seen Teddy live, it is plain that he does not sing just to sing. I really believe the man sings for one reason only: He is hopelessly in love with Ethiopia. How is it possible for anyone to sing for over two hours and manage to include in every song something about Ethiopia, its people, its cities and towns, rivers, mountains and valleys, religions, history, geography, politics and on and on? He sang nearly all of his classic hits, but he ignited the audience on a five-alarm fire when he sang about Africa’s “father” H.I.M. Haile Selassie and Yastesereal. “How is it that thousands of young people who were not even born at the time the Emperor was murdered by the Derg military junta have such connection to him”, I wondered. What is it about the song “Yasteseryal” that drives Ethiopians into near-convulsive ecstasy when they hear it?

To say that there is something extraordinary about Teddy as an artist is to state the obvious. But perhaps what is less obvious is the fact of how Teddy has inherited the mantle from the Bob Marley and adapted it for Ethiopia. Some have indeed compared Teddy to Marley for his ability to bring a political, spiritual, and rhythmic power to his music and his raw ability to electrify his audience. Like Marley whose passion was African liberation and pan-Africanism, Teddy’s passion is the freedom, unity, reconciliation and harmony of the Ethiopian people. Like Marley, Teddy’s music is stirring, thrilling and even heart-wrenching. Like Marley, Teddy sings songs of love, peace, hope, faith, charity, justice, reconciliation, understanding and forgiveness. These are the sources of Teddy’s rhythmic power which enable him to reach deep into the Ethiopian soul and psyche and suture the festering wounds of despair, soothe the unendurable pain of oppression and prophesy the coming of a new day of love, peace and justice in Ethiopia.

To describe the “Teddy Afro musical experience” as a mere concert is to do injustice to the truth. It is really more than that. It is the closest thing to a spiritual revival meeting. Teddy just does not sing about the love he has for Ethiopia and its people, he makes you feel it in your bones. He does not just talk about bringing Ethiopians together, he brings them together in his concerts. He doesn’t just warn against hate, he teaches how love conquers hate. He is not nostalgic about the past, but he wants us all to understand it, learn from it and honor those who have made contributions despite their mistakes. Like any revival meeting, Teddy has the audacity to believe in the coming of a new day, and to prophesy Ethiopia’s redemption. Now I know why this young musical genius is loved by millions of Ethiopians, and why he is a national hero and not just an extraordinary artist.

On stage, Teddy appears to be a man of small physical frame and stature, but he is a powerhouse of endless spiritual energy and musical creativity. He not only can mesmerize his audience with the sheer power and purity of his message, he can actually be seen “curing” souls. His uses his voices to dazzle, his lyrics to seduce, his melodies to spellbind; and combines it all in an exhilarating stage showmanship that captivates, delights, enchants, charms and simply overpowers. He gives everything to his audience, and his audience give back to him all their love.

The virtuosity of the Abugida Band and the sweet chorus of the backup singers is simply spectacular. They just kept the collective ecstasy jah-ming. The event organizers are to be commended and appreciated for coordinating such a magnificent tour and for making it possible for Ethiopians in exile to see and enjoy Teddy live. Teddy will continue with his world tour. As he does so, let us be mindful that he is that strong steel bridge that spans the generation and geographic gap among Ethiopians.

In our youth thousands of miles away from our homeland, Jimi Hendrix, a great superstar from Seattle, Washington taught us, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Teddy has now traveled thousands of miles to America to teach our children, “When the power of love overcomes those who love power in Ethiopia, Ethiopia will know peace.” It is nice to feel young once again. Proud Teddy, thanks for a great lesson. More Love Power to you, brother, and to all of us. Thanks for a great revival meeting in L.A.!

Jah, Yasteseryal! Love Conquers All! (Fikir Yashenefal)

Ethiopia: Teddy Yo - All Man, No Myth

Teddy Yo, a young, vibrant rapper, has been making the local magazine headlines for sometime now. The rapper's innovation in blending the Gurage melody and beat with a contemporary hip-hop beat has been appreciated by many. His trademark music, Guragetone (including a track by that name), was a hit three years ago, and he is now out with a new album. Very soon he will be releasing more singles and later a new project.

Teddy Yo (full name Tewodros Assefa) resides with Eden, his wife of two years. He sometimes wears inconspicuous clothes when he goes out that blend into society and a baseball cap down low over his eyes. He does this just so that he can get from Point A to Point B without having a dozen conversations along the way with fans and random people who recognise him. He is the epitome of an arada or an in-the-know Addis Abeban.

But after a one hour interview in a relaxed café, he became a whole lot more. During the interview, he talked about life, happiness and even history.

People love him, and he gets the encouragement to do what he does from them, he said, but he had a bone to pick with views held by some regarding Amharic rap.

"Some people say rap is not good for our culture or that it is not part of our tradition," Teddy Yo began.

He begged to differ. There is more in common with Ethiopian tradition than some people think, he said.

For example, after kings of old, like Emperor Tewodros, gathered their troops for battle, they would basically freestyle rap to get the troops ready for war in what is known as kererto and shillella, he explained.

His voice intensified as he described the connections of rap with the doo-rag (bandana) that Emperor Menelik wore under his hat, tilted like rapper R-Kelly does today, to the cornrow hairstyle of Emperor Tewodros and the combs stuck in the afros of the Afar and Kereyu. Even Negus T'ona of the Welayita wore an earring like most rappers, he said, as his own glistened in the evening light.

"I am not saying that American rappers took everything from Ethiopia, but there is a connection and many shared traditions," he said.

Most Amharic rappers only rap about partying and having fun, but Teddy Yo raps about life. To him, life is not only about the good times, but also the bad. He raps about the parties and he raps about the problems. He does this in a way that is often humorous, even to older generations that normally do not like or listen to rap.

His track 904 is a funny but all too true story of meeting a girl in a minibus, who turns out to be a golddigger, taking all his money and leaving him broke. He has some simple but wise words for those who want to avoid such relationships.

"Be honest, tell the truth, and do not pretend to be rich," he says with a smile.

His latest album was Dimts Albaw Mesariya (Silent Weapon). It came out about three months ago.

During high school he listened to Tupac, Notorious B I G, Ice Cube, and Easy-E, all rappers in the US. He and his friends would then freestyle together. They called it 'Enka Salamta'.

Now he is preparing to release some follow-ups to the single that brought him fame, Guragetone, with two more singles entitled Oromotone and Tigray Reggae. They exhibit his unique prowess in combining US rap with Ethiopian rhythms.

His next music video project will focus on social problems and issues. He plans to work with NGOs to distribute the album for free in order to reach the people who need to hear the message the most.

Teddy Yo has big dreams for everybody, himself included. In the next five years, he sees himself with his own recording studio and production business at the top of his own building in Addis Abeba.

Production quality is very important to him including sound and video quality.

"I spend my own money to make sure my videos have good quality using current techniques and technology," he remarked. "There are some good guys here in Addis that work hard and research online everyday to keep up with all the latest video and sound engineering tips."

Though he takes pride in quality and the latest techniques, his main focus is the lyrics.

"Everyone, listen to the lyrics; listen to the message," he said.

"Everyone" is best taken literally, meaning the young, the old, the locals and those abroad, to all of whom he said, "Thanks - very much," as his closing remark.

Miss Africa USA: Liya Endale

School/Institution: (currently applying to 3 different graduate schools)

Major/minor: Psychology, Sociology

Giving back:

Tutor with Greensboro Dreamers
Teacher/Mentor with Empowered Youth Program at UGA
Guest speaker at scholarship fundraisers, talent shows, and high schools through the Moore's Ford Memorial Committee
Just Go Vote Foundation volunteer for 2004 elections
2004 Mock African Council Conference in Washington D.C.
Five-Year Aspirational Plan: In five-years I plan to be working on my PhD in School Counseling/Education or a related field so as to work with international students in America, helping them to manouver successfully in a new culture. Working in a public school system will also allow me to continue publishing my writing and playing my violin in the summers.

Country you are representing: Ethiopia.

Platform: I will help provide Ethiopian schools with easily accessible resources to make their students competitive on a global scale.

UGPulse: Tiger Woods... Same old story?

The media plays such a large role in forming our opinions on people, current events, places and ourselves based on insubstantial evidence. The story of Tiger Woods does not surprise me; not because he was an athlete, not because he was a black man, not because it is the same old story but because he was human and there was no evidence that he was handling success in a manner which honored his wife or followed the guidelines of what we as a society deem a 'respectable citizen'.

Realistically speaking, Tiger Woods was presented with tens of millions of dollars a year, beautiful women at the turn of every corner, a profession which keeps him away from home and any semblance of normalcy, and a posse of enablers more interested in reaping the rewards of befriending a superstar than giving sound advice to a friend. It takes a rare individual to handle this combination of circumstances in an honorable way. The only thing rare about Tiger Woods is likely his ability to play golf. Any other glorious characters of his personality were only fed to us by a media that would portray him in any way that brings in the fattest checks. Any other expectations we had about Tiger Woods were, frankly, unrealistic.

I often think of my disappointment when I learned that Martin Luther King Jr. cheated on his wife. It took some time for me to realize that the reason he was so influential had nothing to do with his habits in the bedroom and that it was not my place to judge him. In the same manner, I have to ask myself, "If MLK Jr. couldn't do it, why did I ever think Tiger Woods would? He does not even preach a value laden message. All he does is hit the heck out of a ball with a stick."


Contestant Liya Endale from Ethiopia.

UGPulse: Identity Theft... Are you concerned? How do you protect yourself?

Identity theft is a very real and very underestimated threat in our society. Our identity in this system has nothing to do with how much we love, smile or laugh. It has to do with a systemic method of rating our monetary credibility based on a specific series of actions we take which are monitored closely. Your credit rating will ultimately affect where and how you live, who you will marry and whether or not you will be able to afford going to school or buying a house. Subprime mortgages will likely, and hopefully, be an antiquated method of loaning money to people in troubled situations. Today, in order to buy a home, you have to have a down payment, 3-6 months of the mortgage payments in your bank account, have had the same job for at least two consecutive years, and a debt to income ratio of less than 45%. This means you have to have to have excellent credit for a creditor to take you seriously. Imagine if you do, in fact, manage to follow the rules and raise your credit score to a 740. Then, someone gets their hands on your 'identity' in the system. A crime committed against a faceless number in a system is a lot easier to commit, especially if you are in the growing situation where you have to feed your family and you are out of a job.

The chances of identity theft increase each time you pay your bills online, apply for another credit card, and use your debit card to pay for gas. The risks are like landmines scattered across our daily routines. If a we step on an active mine, the consequences can easily affect us for the rest of our lives. Recently, I accidentally opened up a skymiles MasterCard in my friend's name because I gave the representative his name and birthday. That is all it took for me to have a credit card with a 3-5 thousand dollar limit in someone else's name.

These warnings are not meant to terrify anyone into a paranoid panic, but to scare us into making smart decisions. First, take your birth year off of your facebook status. Next, be aware of how you are being monitored in this system. Did you know that there are three different credit bureaus which monitor different aspects of your monetary credibility? This means that depending on which credit bureau a lender checks with, one credit score can range by 100 points of another. Here is the good news, you can get a free copy of your credit report twice a year from each bureau so you can monitor your scores by reporting errors or being aware of any suspicious activity quick enough to prevent it from affecting your life. All you have to do is call and ask for it; Equifax 1-800-525-6285, Experian 1-888-397-3742, and TransUnion 1-800-680-7289.


Contestant Liya Endale from Ethiopia.

UGPulse: Tell us about the country you represent? Are all its women as beautiful as yourself?

Geographically, Ethiopia lies along the path of the Great Rift Valley which extends in Syria. Further, Ethiopia served as the hub of international trade for hundreds of years. For these reasons, the people of my country come in all shades. Our common features share those of the people from Ethiopia, into Egypt and Syria. Our noses are more narrow and our hair finer than our brothers and sisters from countries which do not lie along this geographic path resulting in a mixed population. Unfortunately, this world values these physical features and I often hear that women of Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and so forth have a reputation of being very 'beautiful'. I, however, do not define beauty by how fine one's hair is or how narrow one's features are. These transient labels only serve to create animosity between regions based on nothing more than what we are forced to believe is 'beautiful'.

Further, I do not believe that these characteristics are what make me beautiful. My strength is not what lies on the outside, but in the way I perceive this world, the way my mind calculates all of the different stimuli I have been presented with from the time I was born in Addis Ababa. My beauty is in my warrior-spirit, my inability to love half-way, and my ability to show others how to think beyond the surface. So, are the women of Ethiopia as beautiful as me? Yes, and most even more so. Not because of the reasons others may call them beautiful but because of their courage which surpasses mine and strengthens me, because of their intellect and their resilience. This is what makes all women beautiful.

UGPulse: If you watched the new incredible movie, Avatar, what moved you most in the movie and what positive or negative message did you take home from watching this movie?

Today, we are bombarded with more stimuli on a daily basis than ever before. It takes more energy than ever to filter the intake of images, music, and media and not to get caught up with what 'looks pretty'. Remember. Everything can be broken down into basic messages. It is then our responsibility to actively choose what messages to internalize.

I was too excited to watch the movie Avatar after friends of mine from Georgia to South Korea raved about how awesome it was. With 3-D glasses on, I watched the most expensive movie made to date and took in all of the sophisticated technology which allowed computerized images to seamlessly blend in with a physical world. I was floored, moved by the raw and unbridled emotion of the main character, Neytiri . Outside of the obvious allusions to historical attacks on civilizations for their resources, there was something about this movie which lingered with me. I could not put my finger on it but I took it home with me and toiled with it for days.

In congruence with other films which have recently been released, certain themes began to stick out to me. Blind Side, Invictus, and Avatar all centered on the plight of a colored people. But when it came time to find the solution to each of their conflicts, the challenge was always met by a person or persons of Caucasian descent. First, I was angry at myself for coming up with such a negative synopsis of movies which were perhaps intended to funnel more positive messages of hope, resilience, and the power of a giving heart. These messages are vital and obvious. However, I believe subtle messages are more powerful and therefore dangerous because they seep into our subconscious, bypassing that level of thinking which allows us to choose what values and beliefs we take from these messages.

When people see that heroes always look a certain way, some will begin to believe that they can not be heroes because they do not share these characteristics of the ones on the big screens. I would love to see an Avatar where the hero is a Na'vi, a Blind Side that focuses on tackling the true and systemic problems that resulted in the condition of the victim instead of presenting the symptoms as the main problem. And I would love to see a movie about Nelson Mandela that uses the people who bled, fought, sacrificed and lost the most for a new South Africa to pass along the same message of forgiveness.


Contestant Liya Endale from Ethiopia

Redefining "impossible" when it comes to maternal mortality

Someone recently told me that saving mothers' lives in the developing world is impossible. They argued that the maternal mortality problem is too complex, too challenging, too expensive.

But, that is exactly the wrong attitude.

We've overcome health challenges today that once seemed impossible. We've eradicated disease, created cures and discovered innovative new methods to save lives that would have been unimaginable only a few decades ago. We've done it before and we can do it again.

Just look at smallpox. Sixty years ago, more than 50 million cases of smallpox emerged annually and a quarter of the victims died. To get a sense for the magnitude of 50 million people per year, consider that today there are five million new cases of HIV/AIDS each year. There were ten times more people with smallpox, plus the global population was smaller.

In 1967, the world health community launched a global effort to eradicate smallpox. It took a coordinated, worldwide effort, required the commitment of every government and cost $130 million dollars. By 1977, smallpox had disappeared. The smallpox eradication saved $17 billion dollars and millions of lives. In just 10 years, we had done the impossible -- turned one of the world's deadliest diseases from a terror into a memory.

And smallpox is not the only global health success story. Polio has been reduced by 99 percent since 1988. Twenty-six countries reduced their malaria cases by more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2006. Creative new health strategies like micro-insurance for poor people or Kangaroo care for pre-term babies are transforming health outcomes in even the most low-resource settings. Dedication and innovation are transforming health care worldwide.

One hundred years ago, dying in childbirth was an accepted norm in the United States and Europe -- tragic but inevitable. Today it's almost unheard of. Some might think that the overall increase in wealth is what saved mothers' lives and that, without it, real progress is impossible. But they are wrong. For proof, we need only look to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka isn't a wealthy nation. A third of its population lives in poverty and it has been devastated by natural disaster and civil conflict. However, the tiny island nation has done something remarkable -- it reduced its maternal mortality rate by almost 50 percent every decade since independence. In 1960, 340 Sri Lankan women died for every 100,000 live births. Today, the rate is only 13 deaths for every 100,000 births, a rate nearly comparable to developed nations.

Sri Lanka achieved this dramatic drop in maternal deaths by investing in health infrastructure. It built a network of health centers which provide free health care to the population. It invested in training skilled midwives and providing all women with access to family planning while educating communities and empowering them to secure their own health care. Sri Lanka proves that being a developing nation doesn't mean a country is condemned to a high maternal death rate. For example, Sri Lanka has a lower GDP than the Ivory Coast, but the Ivory Coast has more than ten times the maternal death rate.

There is reason to hope, even in most affected countries. In August, I traveled to my home country of Ethiopia with a team from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to shed light on the state of maternal health. Ethiopia continues to have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and much of what we saw was heartbreaking and frustrating. However, we also saw progress. The Ethiopian government has trained 30,000 young women to serve as health extension workers and provide essential health care like immunizations and antenatal check-ups to rural communities. We met women who survived difficult pregnancies because of the new hospitals and clinics the government is building and I met the dedicated health workers working around the clock to save lives.

The same elements that wiped out smallpox -- national commitment, coordinated, focused efforts and sufficient funding -- can save mothers' lives in the developing world. I'm asking all nations to take up this challenge: commit to ending maternal mortality now. Make maternal health a national priority. Recognize that mothers' health is at the heart of achieving development, not a by-product or an afterthought. Dare to create a world where giving birth doesn't mean gambling with your life.

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Liya Kebede is supermodel, actress, designer, maternal health advocate, mother. Source: The HuffingtonPost