Conference Program
Oromo on the Global Landscape · Minneapolis, Minnesota · August 1–2, 2026 · All times CDT
Day 1 — Saturday, August 1
Registration & Check-In
Badge pickup, materials, welcome table.
Opening Remarks
Welcome from the OSA President
Elders' Blessings
Oromo Feminist Praxis
Oromo Women in Europe: Pasts, Presents, and Futures of Feminist Praxis
Roundtable · Virtual (Germany)
Facilitated roundtable discussion — 45 min
Participants (Virtual)
Aster Gemeda; Oromo Horn von Afrika Zentrum; Tokkuma Dhubartoota Oromo Jarmanii
Moderator
Madeline Bass
Oromo Knowledge Production & OSA Legacy (Part I)
Individual Paper
On Oromo Knowledge Making: An Accounting at Forty Years — Ayantu Tibeso (In Person)
1 × 15 min presentation + 4 min Q&A + 1 min intro
Oromo Knowledge Production & OSA Legacy (Part II)
Panel
Asmarom Legesse, Investigator and Defender of Oromo Intellectual and Democratic Heritage
3 × 15 min presentations + 14 min Q&A + 1 min intro
Presenters
Mohammed Hassen Ali; Kassahun Checole; Ezekiel Gebissa (In Person)
Moderator
Bonnie Holcomb
Gadaa in Motion
Panel
Ilaaf-Ilaamee and the Gadaa System — Daniel Ayana (In Person)
Gadaa, Colonial Disruption & Oromo Elite Debates: Decolonial Methodology — Dessalegn Guyo (In Person)
Carrying Gadaa Forward: Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer & Pastoralist Governance among the Borana Oromo — Jatani Bonaya Godana (In Person)
3 × 15 min presentations + 15 min Q&A
Lunch Break
Lunch for purchase on site at Hagfors Center
Keynote Address
Plenary
“Investing in the Future: Oromo Knowledge Shapes New Possibilities for Growth and Global Engagement”
30 min
Keynote Speaker
Hon. Canon Naomi Jillo Waqo, CBS — Member of Parliament, Marsabit County, National Assembly, Nairobi, Kenya
Film Screening: The Siinqee Sisterhood
Film Screening & Discussion
The Siinqee Sisterhood: A Women’s Ateetee Ritual in Oromia, Ethiopia
20 min film screening + 15 min discussion + 5 min intro
Presenter
Peri Klemm (In Person)
Archives, Language & Technology (Part I)
Panel
Rediscovering Twentieth-Century Wallo Oromo Poetry: The Contributions of Ahmed Siraj & Ali Hader — Abdella Abdou (Virtual)
Afaan Oromo: The Exchange and Preservation of a Language Through Generations — Hawi Adem and Jalane Bati (In Person)
Digitalized Responses to Historical Marginalization: The Case of 2014–2018 Oromo Protests in Ethiopia — Ebba Turi (In Person)
3 × 15 min presentations + 15 min Q&A
Flash Talks
Emerging Scholar Flash Talks
Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Electrolyte Disturbances in Children Hospitalized with Acute Gastroenteritis: A Systematic Review — Hiree Dugassa (In Person)
Translating Health Evidence for Oromia Communities: An Afaan Oromo Knowledge Translation Series on Maternal Health, Nutrition Security, and Food Systems in Rural and Pastoral Ethiopia — Sena Mekonnen (In Person)
5–10 min per speaker within 60 min block
Panel 3B: Archives, Language & Technology (Part II)
Panel · Hybrid
Sheikh Bakri’s Oromo Orthography
Panel discussion — 45 min
Panelists
Taha Ali Abdi; Tamam Yousuf (In Person); Oreen Yousuf (In Person); Teferi Fufa (Virtual)
Moderator
Mohammed Hassen
Day 2 — Sunday, August 2
Registration & Check-In
Badge pickup, materials, welcome table.
Oromo in the Global Context (Part II)
Panel · Virtual
The Establishment, Recognition, and Power of Oromia Region Customary Courts in Light of Oromo Traditional Norms — Abdulatif Elemo (Virtual)
Human Rights under Prosperity Party Government — Trevor Trueman (Virtual)
From Fragmentation to Political Authorship: Reframing Ethiopia’s Crisis from Oromo and Multinational Perspectives — Hambisa Belina (Virtual)
3 × 15 min presentations + 15 min Q&A
Panel 5: Land, Livelihood & Resilience
Panel · Hybrid
The Life of Hora Bulcha, a Liberated Oromo: Post-Enslavement Dynamics and Bi-Directional Intracontinental Migration — Sandra Rowoldt Shell (Virtual)
Role of the Gadaa System in the Resilience of Pastoral Livelihoods in the Karrayyu Oromo — Ginbar Negera (Virtual)
Gada System in the Heightened Urbanization: Towards Indigenous Urbanism through Formal Urban Land Laws and Governance — Milkiyas Bulcha Abdi (In Person)
Beyond Oppression: Repositioning Oromummaa for the 21st Century — Anaol Dalle (In Person)
4 × 15 min presentations + 15 min Q&A
Thinking Together Across Struggle
Roundtable
Revitalizing Oromo Indigenous Institutions: Teachings and Practices
Roundtable discussion — 60 min
Participants
Begna Dugassa; Oli Bachie; Fantahun Diba (In Person)
Moderator
Begna Dugassa
Lunch Break
Lunch for purchase on site at Hagfors Center
2:45 PM
In Conversation with the Artists of Mara
Roundtable
In Conversation with the Artists of Mara: Diaspora, Creativity, and Oromo Knowledge Making
Roundtable discussion — 60 min
Participants
Lokho Kotile, Agartuu Inor, TBD (In Person)
Moderator
Ayantu Tibeso (In Person)
3:10 PM
Archives, Language & Technology (Part III)
Panel · Hybrid
Decolonizing Linguistic Heritage: Preservation, Standardization, and Empowerment of the Oromo Language
Issues in Standardizing the Oromo Orthography; the Case of Digraphs
The Toponymy of some Tulama areas
Haala Barnoonni Afaan Oromoo Biyya Keessatti Irra Jiru
Ayaa Gaazexaa Bariisaa (The Legacy of Bariisaa Newspaper)
4 × 15 min presentations + 15 min Q&A
Moderator
Tamam Youssouf (In Person)
Panelists
Abebe Keno Gonfa; Seenaa Gonfa Tulluu; Mohammed H. Adem (In Person)
Networking Hour
Informal structured networking for all attendees, presenters, and OSA members. Optional: lightning introductions, thematic tables, open floor.
OSA Annual Business Meeting
Hybrid
Zoom link available for members unable to attend in person.
Note
Open to OSA members in good standing.