Supporting Ethiopia’s National Dialogue Process

When Ethiopia embarked on its National Dialogue process in 2022, a nationwide effort to build consensus on some of the country's most decisive political and social questions, the Dialogue's legitimacy would depend on more than bringing the country together. It would depend on how genuinely inclusive, transparent and accountable the process proved to be. By independently monitoring and analysing the dialogue, Ethiopian civil society organizations set out to shed some light on these questions: tracking whether diverse and marginalized voices were represented, where gaps remained, and how evidence-based recommendations could reach decision-makers. This work continued throughout the dialogue, which concluded in Addis Ababa in August 2026 after 40 days of deliberations among nearly 4,000 delegates. GIZ, through the Support to Good Governance (S2GG) Programme, supported Ethiopian civil society organizations in taking on this role. Read the below story to find out how.

1. The Issue
The Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) was established in 2021 to address Ethiopia’s deep-rooted political, social and ethnic divisions and to foster consensus on fundamental national issues. Its mandate is to facilitate an inclusive and effective national dialogue by identifying key issues for discussion and engaging diverse segments of Ethiopian society.

At the same time, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have an important role to play in ensuring that the National Dialogue is inclusive, transparent and accountable. Independent monitoring can help assess whether diverse and marginalized voices are represented, identify gaps in the process and provide evidence-based recommendations to decision-makers. This is particularly crucial in an environment where disinformation and hate speech can shape public debate, especially on social media and across different local languages.

However, Ethiopian CSOs faced constraints in terms of the technical, financial and human resources needed to monitor and analyse such a complex national process. As a result, civil society monitoring and advocacy efforts were not yet sufficiently systematic to provide the ENDC and other stakeholders with timely, evidence-based insights and feedback.

Snapshot from the high-level advocacy workshop launching the 1st monitoring report on the Ethiopian National Dialogue process in July 2025.

2. The Programme and Partners

To address this, S2GG supported civil society monitoring through three complementary approaches:

A chart showing S2GG's three complementary approaches to support civil society monitoring

Together, these interventions generated independent evidence from multiple perspectives: from broader scenario analysis to community-level monitoring of the dialogue to the analysis of public perceptions and online discourse.

The findings were shared with a wide range of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, including the ENDC and its Advisory Committee, the House of Peoples’ Representatives, the Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council, the Ministry of Peace, the Ethiopian Political Parties Joint Council, the Ethiopian Institute of Ombudsman, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, political parties, development partners, media and other CSOs.

Group photo of participants of the Community of Practice Hub of CSOs on National Dialogue workshop in August 2024.

4. The Impact

The Programme contributed to stronger state-society engagement by strengthening the capacity of CSOs to independently monitor the National Dialogue and by creating opportunities to bring evidence and recommendations into dialogue with key institutions.

The Community of Practice Hubs and related training strengthened the capacity of CSOs to observe and monitor the National Dialogue. Building on this experience, CEHRO continued its engagement in the national plenary process by training and deploying observers. High-level advocacy workshops provided platforms for constructive interaction between civil society and other stakeholders, highlighting the importance of inclusiveness, transparency and accountability in the dialogue process.

The dissemination of reports, advocacy events and direct exchanges between CSO partners and the ENDC and its Advisory Committee generated positive feedback and contributed to the uptake of recommendations aimed at improving the dialogue process. One specific example was the establishment of a Panel of Experts to advise the ENDC on technical and process-related issues. The panel was established following a recommendation made during an initial review process supported by Destiny Ethiopia.

The ENDC has since organized public consultations in line with the thematic findings of the monitoring reports, including dedicated platforms for persons with disabilities, women and youth, reflecting recommendations contained in the reports. The ENDC also held an agenda consultation and validation workshop with CSOs, providing stakeholders with an opportunity to contribute their views on the agenda items for the National Plenary, the final and main event of the National Dialogue process.

Monitoring of online discourse also contributed to institutional responsiveness. Findings from CARD’s social media monitoring informed discussions around religious inclusivity, communication practices and transparency, thereby strengthening advocacy efforts and contributing to a better understanding of public concerns and perceptions.

S2GG-supported activities have contributed to a more informed and evidence-based National Dialogue process by strengthening the capacity of civil society to monitor developments, identify gaps, amplify marginalized voices and engage constructively with decision-makers. The programme helped establish stronger channels between independent civil society evidence and institutional decision-making. In particular, CSO monitoring and advocacy contributed to greater attention to the participation of marginalized groups and to issues of inclusiveness and transparency.

Ultimately, the success of the National Dialogue depends not only on the outcomes it produces, but also on how inclusive and legitimate the process has been, how widely its recommendations are accepted, and how effectively those recommendations are taken forward and implemented. S2GG has helped strengthen the capacities, evidence base and engagement mechanisms that can continue supporting more inclusive, accountable and responsive public processes in the future.

A selection of the reports produced by CSO partners.

About the Support to Good Governance in Ethiopia (S2GG) Programme
The S2GG programme is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Government. The programme
aims to gear the Ethiopian governance system towards the transformation into a democratic and inclusive state based on the rule of law.

Authors: Anke Rehfeld, Component Manager & Israel Tibebu, National Dialogue Advisor , Support to Good Governance in Ethiopia (S2GG) Programme