"Meetings Are Toxic🤭," according to Fried and Hansson in their book “Rework”. It’s the single and major source of waste and inefficiency leading to disruption in workflow, killing creativity and arriving at a poor decision! 1/n Meetings are more of concepts and abstract words than concrete actions. Usually they are stranded with unclear agendas resulting in confusion and hinder effective discussion. And during this time the information exchanged is minimal compared to the time spent. 2/n

I left Addis Ababa after few days visit, with a mixed feeling of pride and sadness. I feel honored to have been able to walk with my chins high and alive after surviving a genocide. And this is possible, because of our brothers and sisters who paid a price with their life, limbs and traumatic experiences. This same thought brings me sadness as the price is too high and irreversible. The youth didn’t deserve to have lost their life while city dwellers are all warm and comfy in their homes.

When war broke out in Tigray, my kids with their father were stranded in Mekelle while I was in AA. In the morning when I woke up to the news on the internet, my then friends started calling to break the news one at a time at which point my body was shaking.1/n I spontaneously lashed out on my Facebook wall, as if the world could hear and do something, including God! I continued receiving mixed phone calls throughout the day, some asking genuinely if I am ok while others were only prying if I knew some intel!2/n

In some countries it is common for students to have what they call a 'Gap Year’ after finishing high-school, in order to help them figure out what they want before college year. This gap year has been forced upon students in #Tigray in all age group and for over three years.1/n Around February 2022 “Education in emergency” was in effect for Kg-6th grade where the grades was revised to fit a compressed calendar while textbooks and teaching methods remain the same. The overall situation is a critical topic for research in education. 2/n

Significant portion of #Tigray population with an enormous potential for change is YOUTH (age 18 - 29 for this context; However without a census for over 2 decades, exact figure remain obscure 😏). Currently war, siege and previously Covid-19 have affected their lives immensely. Many had to grab arms and fought to defend their sovereignty during the two years long war, disengaging from their daily life and aspirations. Others if they escaped being arrested or killed by forces of 🇪🇹 , 🇪🇷 and Amhara, they have been displaced,

The one thing but the most important we have lost and destroyed in our community is Trust! Trust in ourselves, relationships, organizations, government or even on humanity has been shaken to its core. I believe lack of trust at all levels has caused us friction, hidden agendas, conflicts, rivalries, win-lose thinking, defensive communications which later led to the unprecedented crisis we are in.

“መስመር እዩ ሃይልና” I have taken this phrase to mean VALUES are what we stand for and builds our PRINCIPLES as #Tegaru. Similarly “መከተ” is protecting it from any oppressors that tries to disrupt it.
But now am asking what are our values and principles? 1/13 To put a working definition for this two words, I will quote the book “Principles” which explain them as, “Your values are what you consider important and they define who you want to be. However, they are not practical to use when you are faced with tough decisions. 2/13