From the 4th of January till the 6th of 2025, the International Conference on Eritrean Studies (ICES) was held with a theme, “Regional and International Cooperation for Sustainable Development.” The conference was convened by scholars, researchers, and practitioners from around the world, featuring over 150 selected papers. One of the presenters, professor Girma Bitsuamlak from the Western University of London, Canada, is our guest today.
Please introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a professor of civil engineering and director of the WindEEE research institution, which represents wind engineering, energy, and environment research. It is one of the world’s leading wind engineering centers. It has been a critical facility for testing some of the most essential building structures in the world, starting from the World Trade Center to many extraordinary buildings around the world, including New York and, most recently, Dubai Tower. So, the tallest buildings on three or four continents were tested in our laboratory. And I, at the moment, direct this laboratory.
I studied at Addis Ababa University, then went to India to further my education, and briefly worked in Asmara in 1998. I then left Asmara for Canada to continue my PhD and have been a professor of civil engineering ever since.
You attended the conference for three days and presented a research paper. Tell us about the conference.
The conference was inspiring for me. You rarely get a chance to come back to your homeland to contribute one way or another. I have been coming to Eritrea to visit my family and have a seminar or two at Mai-Nefhi College of Science and Technology. This conference will be a crucial networking experience and will create great collaboration in the future. Another exquisite experience that one might experience here is the chance to inspire the younger generation. It’s a way of showing such young people that it is possible and connecting them to their role models in different fields and work. It can give hope to those on their way that anyone can excel in education, research, industrial contribution, and more. It is great coming back home to share the experiences and knowledge and open the imagination of young people. A country’s future depends on how we inspire our young generation. I was inspired and excited that this conference wasn’t just about engineering but extended to many different fields. It is challenging to organize such meetings, but an excellent job has been done here, and I am thrilled to be a part of these diverse experiences. I was also amazed by the service and the hospitality.
Professor, you were amongst the first to give presentations at the conference. Can you tell us what your paper was about and what the aim behind it was?
My paper was on how to build in a climate-resilient and sustainable way. We now have a chance to rebuild our country. Thus, the central message of my presentation is that as we embark on this sustainable development aspect, we don’t need to make the same mistakes other cities did to develop. We learn from that, and we do the right thing. By the right thing, I mean sustainable design and sustainable construction. For instance, buildings in Eritrean cities like Asmara, Massawa, Keren, and Dekemhare are built in a way that fits the local climate. Even if you look at Hidmo construction, it is marvellous in very hot weather without any air conditioner but just through thermal mass design, green roof, etc. This green roof, by the way, is becoming a new norm in Northern America. Can you imagine how our forefathers have been doing that forever, and now the rest of the world is trying to do it? So we don’t have to go through many trials and errors to perfect the green roof buildings. So, with just the help of technology, we can achieve such a building quickly.
Most importantly, I emphasized a couple of things, like the energy demand in Eritrea and the means of having sustainable and reliable energy resources from solar energy, as we have 12 months of sunshine in our country, which is about 1300 watts of energy. We can harvest that and utilize it for many things apart from energy. We can now do it all with just computer simulation and the advancement of hardware, and we can catch up with the rest of the world in no time. I also emphasized that the country should focus on computing and have some central computer that every university can share. I was so happy to hear other presentations with similar focuses about continuing the tradition of having a well-planned and sustainable city like Asmara with vernacular architecture and buildings that respond to the climate properly. The good thing is that it’s not expensive but a matter of thoughtfully doing it.
How do you think such conferences are significant, and what can they contribute to the nation’s development?
As a professor, I usually get my inspiration from my students. One unique thing about this conference was that almost all the country’s high-ranking officials were there. It is fantastic as the young people can inspire the leaders, and the leaders can inspire the young ones. Many things, like the country’s security, have occupied their minds, which is understandable. So, to have such a unique interaction where the ones at the top and the younger ones exchange ideas and opinions is undeniably crucial. We all are creatures of God, and everybody is a capable human being. The only difference is the inspiration, meaning they are inspired enough to utilize their capabilities. These types of conferences inspire you to keep going, especially seeing the achievements of others and their well-organized presentations. This is the first aspect of the significance of the conference. The other aspect is the networking part. Establishing such networking would not be possible in just a couple of days without such conferences. One of the primary purposes of a conference like this is to connect people.
Every development action requires a multidisciplinary effort. Knowing who is what and what they do is crucial moving forward. I hope this also happens more often, even though it can be challenging budget-wise. However, since this is very valuable, such challenges can be minimized, and more conferences can be held. This helps people flourish and eliminate self-doubt as it is a mirror where you see yourself in others who have gone further. It gives you hope and makes you believe it is achievable, which is the first step to growth. Our young people need this kind of exposure.
Another aspect for me is the feeling of giving back to my home country. I planned to help people as a means of contributing, and I actually graduated 24 researchers in my career, 13 of whom are black people from Eritrea, Nigeria, or Ethiopia. Likewise, coming back here and contributing, at least in knowledge exchange, makes this unique as well.
As a distinguished professor, what plans do you have for sharing your knowledge with Eritrea?
I am an academic person. My impact is inspiring and training young people. I visited the College of Science and Technology, and the students I met there are incredibly brilliant. To excel in that way is fantastic, especially for females with all societal burdens. This inspired me to educate and enable such promising people through further education. Plus, a professor needs researchers, and they, in turn, need a professor. We need each other, so it’s not only me helping the students, but they are also doing the same. I want to have such a platform to connect us and grow together, which is one important thing I plan on doing in the future.
Any final remarks?
I was so impressed by the Ministry of Information’s interest in scientific things. That’s how you reach out to too many people. It’s crucial to show these kinds of news as well, focusing on development, science, and education, which are all hope for young people.
Thank you!