IAEJ hires a full time ENP Coordinator-Elishevah Darar

IAEJ received special funding from the Moriah Fund to support Ethiopian National Project (ENP) related activities and the hiring of new National Project Coordinator, Elishevah Darar. Elishevah assumed her duties on June 10, 2003. From September 2002 until the present, the many hours per month of work being done on behalf of the ENP was being split by the IAEJ Executive Director, the members of the Strategic Unit, and the Office Secretary. The addition of Elishevah to the IAEJ staff has already helped streamline the organization's activities on behalf of the ENP Representatives.

Even in the short while that Elishevah has been at the IAEJ, she has been extremely active. Besides reviewing all the organization's materials on the ENP and meeting with staff members involved in different areas of the project, Elishevah also traveled extensively to meet with the Ethiopian National Representatives.

Over the course of her first two weeks as Coordinator Elishevah had six meetings with various representatives - traveling to visit each one in situ; to get a true sense of the work each is doing and their respective organizations. On June 15, after this initial acclimatization period, Elishevah took part in a meeting of the Representatives at the Mercaz Meida in Tel Aviv. The meeting focused on preparations for the Informational Conference held on June 20-21, 2003 (see below), which Elishevah was instrumental in coordinating with IAEJ Strategic and Community Empowerment units, organizing and seeing through.

Following the conference, on July 6, Elishevah participated in a meeting of the Ethiopian National Representatives' Hasbara Committee. At the meeting, the committee planned strategy for helping activists in each of the six target ENP locations to form local representational bodies to the project. The representatives agreed to travel to the various locations to provide impetus and support for this process. On July 7, there was also a general meeting of the Representatives concerning their planned incorporation as a registered non-profit organization. Discussions of Erez Ya'ar's planning suggestions, and details concerning the Representatives' three committees: Hasbara, Lobby, and Planning also were on the table at that meeting.

Finally, also on July 7, Elishevah sat in on a Lobby Committee meeting as well. In addition to her workload, Elishevah meets weekly with Carlos Steiglitz from SHATIL, to help guide her work.

Ethiopian National Project (ENP) Informational Conference for Ethiopian Community Activists: