Background

Jimma University (JU)’s Institute of Oromo Studies (IOS) is a pioneering institute, the first of its kind, founded in 2015 to coordinate the hitherto fragmented Oromo studies both inland and abroad.

The Institute of Oromo Studies (IOS) at Jimma University is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to fostering awareness and appreciation of the indigenous Oromo Knowledge System and Practices. IOS was founded in March 2015 at Jimma University to fulfill the Oromo people’s vision in conducting research, studying Oromo traditional and indigenous wisdom, and preserving the studies for the development of Ethiopia in general and the Oromia Regional State in particular. The IOS reflects a commitment of Jimma University to teaching, research, and community services through rigorous research and study Oromo indigenous knowledge system and practices in publishing and preserving to contribute to the Oromia Regional state’s development and enhance knowledge-based economic, socio-cultural, and political development of the region.

Oromo is the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia with a rich culture, diversity, and language that can facilitate the national development and Ethiopia’s cultural revival and renaissance. The Institute of Oromo Studies (IOS) at Jimma University (JU) is a central forum and resource for Oromo-centered academic research and the Oromo studies program that develops Oromo language and culture and creates a forum for critical Oromo studies at local, national, and international levels and initiates dialogue on the Oromo knowledge system and practices both at home and in Diaspora. IOS conferences, seminars, films, and lecture series bring together faculty and students with widely varying interests and disciplinary backgrounds on Oromo studies. It also collects and preserves scientific journals, books, e-books, and e-journals, dissertations and theses, and articles published on Oromo studies for further reference for in-depth studies.

Through its research and center for creative arts and academic and research programs and extracurricular programs, IOS helps to prepare future Oromo scholars and practitioners for careers in development, arts, music, culture, governance, administration, law, human rights, and academic research and teaching.

IOS-affiliated faculty members are found in nearly all departments and schools on campus, as well as in universities across the Oromia region and beyond. Its Oromo studies program focuses on multidisciplinary research, cultural documentation, language studies, and the arts. In addition to research and scholarship, IOS offers short-term training programs and workshops, providing need-based and tailor-made capacity-building opportunities as required. It also works in close collaboration with the Oromia Regional Bureau, using research-based evidence to help address and solve regional challenges. Furthermore, IOS provides consultancy services to the region and other interested stakeholders on Oromo-related development projects.

A significant strength of IOS, therefore, has been its navigation of the global turn and, through its various initiatives, engaging discussions of Oromo indigenous knowledge and practices and global issues and their impacts on Oromia at the center. IOS seeks to introduce interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and cross-disciplinary discussions and debates in ways that challenge pre-existing assumptions and move the field in new and exciting directions. It further seeks to facilitate the development of new terrains of academic discussion by bringing non-academics (policy makers, artists, activists, journalists, and creative writers), film makers, and academics (university professors, independent scholars) into dialogues about Oromo history, politics, culture and language, arts, music, film, etc, to be debated on.

IOS serves as a central forum for events and programs on Oromo studies, initiating critical conversations at Jimma University and beyond. It plays a vital role in promoting Oromo studies in Ethiopia and internationally. The Oromo people’s history, rich Gadaa system, vibrant culture, and extensive diasporic community continuously attract both Oromo and non-Oromo scholars and researchers, contributing to the growth of a global network in Oromo studies. IOS strives to understand Oromo in a regional and global context and to integrate Oromo wisdom and practices into discussions and scientific research, contributing its share to civilization, conflict resolution, peace, and human development and betterment. IOS organized its guiding priority research thematic areas, Oromo Knowledge systems and practices, under different subthemes for further rigorous studies.

While IOS is very much committed to Oromo studies, we remain convinced that the regional institutes are essential in preserving the indigenous culture and knowledge of the nation’s nationalities and peoples in the south-western Ethiopia in addition to Oromo. Each nation, and nationality, and people in the southwestern regions bring a unique set of impulses, experiences, and knowledge to bear on strong Ethiopian economic development and indigenous knowledge and practices. We believe that it is the role of IOS to bring Oromo wisdom and contribute to discussions, topics, and key concerns at the local, regional, and national level to contribute to the regional development with an eye on national and global critical understanding and concerns.