Sustainable Sweden Association (SSA), the sister association of Sustainable Sweden Development Ethiopia (SSDE), is working for an economical, ecological and social sustainable development, through designing and implementing effective projects both at the national level in Sweden, and the international level. SSA works in collaboration with governments, environmental organizations and municipalities towards healthier communities and successful green business across the nations. Furthermore, in response to the global challenges of climate change, an international network of eco-municipalities is emerging, which Ethiopia works to be part of.
SSDE is a charity organization established in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. This country is currently in a sustainable transition process. Indeed, 14 municipalities choose to become eco-municipalities, a Swedish concept. Our aim is to coordinate and help the 14 municipalities involved in this transition, and to make the link between Ethiopian municipalities and Swedish partners.
Why this transition?
Nowadays, Ethiopia has a leadership role in whole Africa. It is one of the countries with the fastest development in the world. It can be seen as a model in this area. It is necessary and beneficial for Ethiopia to keep this status. Above all, the country has the power to maintain its economic and cultural leadership!
Today, Ethiopia is facing many challenges. First of all, the African country must deal with political and economic issues. Ethiopia also has to face a great population growth. Moreover, because of its fast development, Ethiopia has to encourage new jobs and researches in the field of new technologies, dealing in the same time with the high cost of communication. Finally, Ethiopia needs to deal with environmental issues directly threatening the country, such as climate change, problems of waste management, the growing need of energy for the inhabitants, and of course sanitary challenges.
The Eco-municipality 5.0 concept can offer many answers to these issues and be a tool for the Ethiopian government, in order to reach a sustainable society. It also shows that Ethiopia believes in international cooperation and democratic ideals.