Subtitle: Local and Village Leaders Empowered as Standard-Bearers of Cultural Revitalization

YAABALLO, BORANA ZONE, OROMIA – In a significant move to ground cultural preservation in community leadership, a comprehensive Oromo Cultural Heritage Training (Leenjii Haaromsa Aadaa Oromo) has been successfully delivered to administrators at the woreda (district) and village levels in Yaaballo.

The training, held on Gurrandhala 2, 2018, is part of a sustained, multi-year strategy. It falls under the broader Oromo Cultural Heritage Revitalization Strategic Plan (2017-2027) and the specific annual plan for 2018, signaling a long-term, institutional commitment to preserving Oromo identity.

In his opening remarks, Yaaballo Woreda Administrator, Obbo Boruu Diida, framed the initiative as foundational to nation-building. “Cultural heritage is not merely about expressing our identity,” he stated. “It is the very pillar of peace, social cohesion, and prosperity. Therefore, cultural revitalization must be adopted as a core agenda and implemented vigorously at all levels.”

Echoing this sentiment, Obbo Soraa Halakee, Head of the Woreda Prosperity Party Office, highlighted the multidimensional importance of culture. “Cultural heritage plays a critical role in social, economic, and political life,” he said. He called on all community structures to work in an integrated manner and urged the youth to actively engage in revitalization work, which will help “preserve valuable traditions and transform detrimental practices.”

The message from Addee Simenyi Aschaloo, Head of the Woreda Public Mobilization Office, positioned the training as a key implementation of the Oromia regional government’s flagship cultural policy. “This cultural revitalization is a strategy to reinstate our forefathers’ morning rituals in every household, to change work habits, and to strengthen the stage, knowledge, and economy of the Oromo people,” she explained. “It goes beyond restoring lost culture; it plays a paramount role in shaping the ongoing social, economic, and political transformations.”

Participants in the training engaged actively, sharing perspectives and unanimously emphasizing that every individual must play their part in making this cultural revitalization a reality and in returning lost heritage to its rightful place.

Why This Matters:
This training represents a top-down support for bottom-up change. By equipping local leaders—the figures closest to the people—with knowledge and a clear mandate, the initiative ensures that cultural preservation is not a distant policy but a living, community-driven practice. It recognizes that sustainable cultural vitality begins with empowered local stewardship.

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