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Yohannes Gebregeorgis is an Ethiopian businessman and the founder of Ethiopia Reads, a philanthropic organization committed to bringing literacy to the children of Ethiopia. In 2008, he was recognized as one of the "Top 10 Heroes of the Year" by CNN. [1] In 2011 he was awarded American Library Association Honorary Membership. [2]
Gebregeorgis grew up in the town of Negele Borana, about 12 hours from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. [1] His mother could not read, and his father could only decipher a few words, but he was committed to providing his son with an education. [3] At age 19, he picked up his first book outside of school. ‘“Books saved my life,’ Yohannes says”. [3] From this point on, Gegregeorgis sought to read what he could get his hands on.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Yohannes Gebregeorgis was politically active and joined the resistance against the ruling military dictatorship of Ethiopia, the Derg. [1] He sought political asylum in the United States and emigrated there in 1982. [1] Once in the States, Gebregeorgis pursued his B.A. and eventually got his Masters of Library Science at the University of Texas. [4] He was then offered a job as the children’s librarian at the San Francisco Public Library. [1] There he was responsible to collect foreign language books for the children’s collection, and he soon discovered, “The library had books in more than 75 languages, but I could find none in Amharic”. [3] This spurred him on to find books written in Ethiopia’s predominant language. [1] When he found none, he took it upon himself to write the book Silly Mammo, a traditional Ethiopian folktale, in an Amharic and English translation. [1] He also connected with Jane Kurtz, a children’s author, who had lived much of her childhood in Ethiopia, and she helped him publish Silly Mammo. [3] They used the proceeds from the book to begin raising money for a literacy campaign to get books into the hands of Ethiopian children. [1]
In 1998, Ethiopia Reads, the program dedicated to fostering literacy in Ethiopia, was born. In 2002, Gebregeorgis quit his job at the San Francisco Public Library and moved back to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with 15,000 books and ready to open his first free library for children. [1] On April 5, 2003, the Shola Children’s Library opened for the children of Ethiopia. [1] Since then, the organization helped open 10 free school libraries. [4] The organization also sponsors the Mobile Donkey Libraries program, designed to bring books to children in rural parts of the country where they cannot access one of the many other libraries Ethiopia Reads sponsors. [5] Ethiopia Reads also publishes books in Amharic for young Ethiopian readers. [6]
In addition to his book, Silly Mammo, Gebregeorgis also wrote many reviews for School Library Journal during his time at San Francisco Public Library. A sampling is listed below.
Addis Ababa University (AAU) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, and one is located in Bishoftu, about 45 kilometres (28 mi) away. AAU has several associated research institutions including the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. The Ministry of Education admits qualified students to AAU based on their score on the Ethiopian University Entrance Examination (EUEE).
Aari is an Omotic language spoken by the Aari people in the South Omo Zone of Ethiopia.
Mekelle, or Mekele, is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray. It is located around 780 kilometres (480 mi) north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, with an elevation of 2,254 metres (7,395 ft) above sea level. Administratively, Mekelle is considered a Special Zone, which is divided into seven sub-cities. It is the economic, cultural, and political hub of northern Ethiopia.
Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin was an Ethiopian poet and novelist. His novels and poems evoke retrospective narratives, fanciful epics, and nationalistic connotations. Gabre-Medhin is considered to be one of the most important Ethiopian novelists, along with Baalu Girma and Haddis Alemayehu. His books have been successful in commercial sales and in even academic theses. His works are solely based in Amharic and English.
Mammo Wudneh was an Ethiopian writer, playwright, journalist and President of the Ethiopian Writers' Association. He was actively involved as a peacemaker between Ethiopia and Eritrea working on an interfaith committee chaired by Abune Paulos, the Patriarch of the Tewahedo Church.
Sahle Sellassie Berhane Mariam is an Ethiopian novelist and translator.
The mass media in Ethiopia consist of radio, television and the Internet, which remain under the control of the Ethiopian government, as well as private newspapers and magazines. Ten radio broadcast stations, eight AM and two shortwave, are licensed to operate in Ethiopia. The major radio broadcasting stations include Radio Fana a private station, Radio Voice of One Free Ethiopia, and the Voice of the Revolution of Tigray. The only terrestrial (broadcast) television networks are government owned and include EBC and other regional stations. In keeping with government policy, radio broadcasts occur in a variety of languages including Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Tigrigna, and more. There are also many video sharing websites which are a popular way of getting information as well as entertainment in Ethiopia.
Ali Mohammed Musa, known professionally as Ali Birra, was an Ethiopian singer. He was regarded as the most popular Oromo icon, as well as an influential artist in the other regions and urban areas of Ethiopia. He had played a lot of songs in Amharic, Afar, Arabic and Somali languages. Ali was a celebrated as a poet and multi-instrumentalist.
Le'ul RasMengesha Seyoum is a member of the imperial family of the Ethiopian Empire. In 1974, the monarchy was abolished by the Derg, a communist military junta.
Getatchew Haile was an Ethiopian-American philologist widely considered the foremost scholar of the Ge'ez language and one of its most prolific. He was acknowledged for his contributions to the field with a MacArthur Fellows Program "genius" award and the Edward Ullendorff Medal from the Council of the British Academy. He was the first Ethiopian and the first African to win the award.
Abe Gubegna was an Ethiopian writer. His name is sometimes spelled "Abbé" or "Abbie". He published eight novels, five plays, three collections of poetry, and translated several biographies of world leaders as well as other works. Abe mainly wrote in Amharic, but two of his books were written in English.
A number of Ethiopian sign languages have been used in various Ethiopian schools for the deaf since 1971, and at the primary level since 1956. Ethiopian Sign Language, presumably a national standard, is used in primary, secondary, and—at Addis Ababa University—tertiary education, and on national television. The Ethiopian Deaf Community uses the language as a marker of identity.
Fitsum Zemichael is an Eritrean singer. He was born to Zemichael Mengistu and Abeba Abraha. He went to a local mission school, Lassalle Catholic College, for his primary education and later joined his elementary at Adventis school. Zemichael finished his secondary education at Gelawdiyos Secondary School in Adama, Ethiopia in 1990.
Jane Kurtz is an American writer of more than thirty picture books, middle-grade novels, nonfiction, ready-to-reads, and books for educators. A member of the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in children's and adult literature, Kurtz is an international advocate for literacy and writing. She was also part of a small group of volunteers who organized the not-for-profit organization, Ethiopia Reads, which has established more than seventy libraries for children, published books, and built four schools in rural Ethiopia.
Amsalu Aklilu was a distinguished lexicographer of Amharic and a language professor at Addis Ababa University, a major figure in Ethiopian studies. He was born in Dessie, Wällo; attended a local church school and later attended and graduated from Holy Trinity Secondary School, in Addis Ababa. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Cairo University and his doctorate from the University of Tübingen in German.
Kebede Michael was an Ethiopian-born author of both fiction and non-fiction literature. He is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and versatile intellectuals of modern Ethiopia – he was a poet, playwright, essayist, translator, historian, novelist, philosopher, journalist, and government minister belonging to the Shewa Amhara nobility and member of the Solomonic dynasty. His maternal ancestor was King Sahle Selassie of Shewa.
DejazmatchZewde Gebre-Sellassie was an Ethiopian nobleman, historian, and former deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He was born in the village of Galdu, in the subdistrict of Mecca, to the north-west of Addis Ababa where his father was relegated.
Dawit Yohannes was the first Speaker of the House of Peoples' Representatives, the lower chamber of the Ethiopian Parliament, from 1995 to 2005. He was also the Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Daniachew Worku was an Ethiopian writer whose works include novels, plays and short stories. He wrote in both Amharic and English.
Assefa Gebre-Mariam Tessema is an Ethiopian poet and academic. He wrote the national anthem of Ethiopia from 1975 to 1992, Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia be first. As of 2016, he was working as a teacher in Kaffa Province.
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