Flow says hello, or ‘tena yistilign’, to Ethiopia

Amharic is one of the oldest spoken languages in use in the world today.

A semantic cousin to Arabic, Ethiopia’s national tongue was recorded in inscribed evidence (on caves and rocks) in the 6th and 7th century BC.

Considering that the first evidence of Old English was propagated by the Anglo-Saxons in the early 5th century AD, Amharic is over 1 100 years older than English.

Today some 27-million people still speak this ancient lingo, mostly in Ethiopia.

What’s all this got to do with Flow?

Well, not much, actually. In fact, not much at all.

But it is of some relevance when reflecting on Flowstar Roshni Nana’s most recent business trip – a one-day project management speed session at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa.

“Flow was contracted (via tender) to design and develop a digital platform for the Communication for Social Change (CFSC) Consortium, a forum that works with the African Union that seeks to promote shared African values,” explains Roshni.

The project involves on-the-ground dialogue and interaction in six cities across Africa, managed by the CFSC Consortium, as well as a forum website that will connect individuals in Africa and across the African diaspora.

“I travelled to Addis, as the city is fondly known, to meet with the head of the CFSC Consortium, Denise Gray-Felder, and the AU Director of Information and Communication, Habiba Mejri-Cheikh, and present Flow’s website credentials and our proposed design for the digital element of the project,” she adds.

In the 24 hours Roshni spent in Addis, she not only managed to meet with key decision-makers and get the go-ahead to fast-track Flow’s digital concept to development, but she also met with members of the AU Department of Political Affairs, toured the AU headquarters, sampled a few bites of local cuisine and enjoyed an evening of jazz at Taitu, the oldest hotel in the city.

“Although I wasn’t in Addis for very long, I must compliment the city on its fabulous food and friendly people. The injeera (a type of flat bread served with small curries) I ate was as delicious as the company I kept,” she says with a grin.

And did she learn to speak any Amharic?

Roshni clarifies: “In Ethiopia there are over 80 recognised languages, with some 200 different dialects. I learnt very quickly that greeting people with a simple ‘selam’ and a genuine smile gets you far.”

Congratulations to Flowstar project manager superstar Roshni for flying the Flow flag high in Ethiopia – we are all incredibly proud (and rather jealous of your jet-setting, too!)