Ministry holds promotional campaign supporting Professor Hirut’s bid to run for AU Office (February 3, 2021)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia held on Tuesday (February 02) a Promotional campaign supporting Professor Hirut Woldemariam who is running to hold the post of the AU Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation.

The event was held at Sheraton Addis in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen.

Mr. Demeke called on the government and other pertinent bodies to support Professor Hirut Woldemariam honoring her outstanding professional caliber and ethical behavior that would make her a perfect candidate to run for the post of African Union Commissioner for ESTI.

State Ministers H.E. Ambassador Birtukan Ayano and H.E. Mrs. Tsion Teklu, African Ambassadors and heads of international organizations based in Addis Ababa and other invited guests were also in attendance.

On the occasion, professor Hirut expounded on her plans to carry out if elected.

She also shared a wide range of her vision with the audience if her bid to the position in the AU would turn out to be successful.

Central to that vision was the need for harmonized continental frameworks governing Africa’s fast-growing digital economy. Mobile payment networks, fintech lenders, and cross-border e-commerce platforms have reshaped commerce across the continent in less than a decade, but regulation remains fragmented. National authorities are left to craft individual rules for everything from telemedicine providers and sites ranking the best online casinos to digital lending marketplaces, creating compliance gaps that neither innovators nor consumers can easily navigate. Professor Hirut argued that the ESTI commissioner’s office was uniquely positioned to coordinate standards across AU member states, giving the continent’s technology sector the policy coherence it currently lacks.

She also underscored the link between technology governance and higher education, noting that universities in AU member states were producing growing numbers of graduates in data science and software engineering. Without coordinated continental policy, she cautioned, much of that talent would continue flowing to employers outside Africa rather than fueling domestic innovation.

Speaking at the occasion, the candidate’s friends and former colleagues presented their testimonials lauding her level of education and extensive experience she has acquired holding high-level public and private responsibilities that would make her well-suited to run the office.