MERSA Media Institute organized the second round of training and discussion with parliamentarians on December 11 and 12, 2021 in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. The event started off by Gizaw Tesfaye; the Deputy Director of the Ethiopian Media Authority, presenting a brief description of the policy direction on the Ethiopia Media. Following up, Solomon Goshu; media law expert and the chairperson of the Media Law Working Group presented on the drafting process, major departures from the previous legislation, the major provisions and structure of the proclamation and further discussed on the Draft Ethiopian Programming Code. To close off the day’s sessions Mohammed Edris, the director of the Ethiopian Media Authority presented and discussed “The challenges of Media Regulation in Ethiopia”.
Following up, honorable Etsegenet Mengistu; Chair of Justice and Democracy Standing Committee of the House of Peoples’ Representatives, gave the opening remark and led a panel discussion on the way forward for media development. The panel had a robust discussion on the challenges of media development and the way forward with Mohammed Idris and Solomon Goshu as panelists. The participants pointed out their concerns and questions which were addressed by the panelists; concluding the training and discussion held on December 11 & 12, 2021.