McCormack Grad School Strengthens Ties With Ethiopia

Collaboration between the Center for Governance and Sustainability and the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Centre/Network (HoA-REC/N), which dates back to the 2009 Global Environmental Governance Forum in Glion, Switzerland, has evolved into a long-term partnership between the University of Massachusetts Boston's McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies and Addis Ababa University.

At Glion, HoAREC/N and the Global Environmental Governance Project, which later gave rise to the Center for Governance and Sustainability at UMass Boston, embarked on a collaboration on environmental governance. Over the next couple of years, the two centers engaged in analytical and outreach projects, including a meeting for Ethiopian governmental and non-governmental officials in the run-up to Rio+20 and collaboration in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-5) process. In the summer of 2012, the two centers had their first personnel transfer, with Research Associate Michael Denney spending two months in Ethiopia to assist with HoA-REC/N's land management project in the Gambella region.

On November 16, Michael Denney joined UMass Boston's Provost Winston Langley and Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance Maria Ivanova to travel to Ethiopia to sign a memorandum of understanding between Addis Ababa University and UMass Boston, to participate in the conference on "Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities," and to explore future partnerships with a number of African universities.

Maria Ivanova and Provost Langley will also spend two days in Djibouti meeting with government and university officials including the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of finance, and the president of the University of Djibouti to investigate potential collaboration.