Ethiopia, with its diversity of culture and fast economic growth, is one of the strongly driven countries in Africa. In the past ten years, Ethiopia’s GDP’s growth rate has been an average of 10%. The country’s renaissance was propelled when it introduced the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) in 2010. The objective of this plan is to jump-start the pace of the dynamism of the country. Through the first GTP, which lasts for 5 years, significant results are achieved in developing infrastructures in all aspects. To mention few, road construction and telecommunication are some of the highest achievements of the GTP.
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s constitution article 41(9) and article 91(3) precisely show the government duties and responsibilities to protect, preserve and support the cultural heritages and arts. The constitution highlights the importance of the diversity of cultural expressions in Ethiopia since 1994. Cognizant of the fact that all policies, measures and international agreements ratified by Ethiopia are proven to agree with the constitutional pillars, the upper mentioned and other various articles pledged in favor of the cultural expressions have gotten ample opportunities and conducive platform both to be underpinned by policies and dignified.
As the second GTP starts, Ethiopia, is now investing in the development of its lively cultural sector. Ethiopia has now incorporated culture as a strategic element for the second GTP and for the first time dedicated an entire chapter for the cultural sector, setting up benchmarked goals for the implementation. This move reaffirms Ethiopia’s dedication and the importance of the link between culture and development. The country has revised and ratified the new cultural policy, developed in consultation with stakeholders. It underlines the values of the 2005 Convention, supporting the diversity of cultural expressions at the creation, production, enjoyment and dissemination level. The missed link between culture and development in the previous policy has come up vibrant in the revised one. “Development of Cultural Industries” has been genuinely addressed, taking into account its economic and social impact. To this effect, issues like, institutional and legal framework, programs for the development, distribution of cultural products, professional capacity development, investment incentives, awards, and credit facilities have been well addressed for the industries enhancement
