Nick Barnett's Public Talk

Humanities hosts public talk

The Faculty of Humanities hosted a public talk by Nick Barnett, the spokesperson to the U.S. Embassy. The topic titled ‘Political transition and social media’ by Mr. Barnett emphasized on the impact of social media usage on the political transition in Ethiopia and democratization. In his talk, addressed to faculty and students, Mr. Barnett take the extreme sides social media users position themselves regarding some political issues as one of the biggest threats to the country’s peace building efforts. In line with information dissemination, fake accounts and the resulted fake news and misinformation are believed to have malicious impacts in the proper functioning of the nation.

Speaking on the position of the US pertaining to the current situation in Ethiopia Mr. Barnett said, “The U.S. government does not take any sides, but supports the democratization process of the country where people are equally treated”. Amanda Jacobsen, the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer, added that the U.S. seeks to see a country where everyone’s participation is visible in a democratic culture. “However people are different, they have a shared vision to Ethiopia”, Mr. Barnett added. He advised that the only option for people on social media is to hold dialogues about differences and work steadily and relentlessly towards commonalities.

In the end, Dr. Dawit Amogne, the dean of the Faculty of Humanities, expressed his gratitude to the attendees and presenters.