Head of the Addis Ababa City Administration Culture and Arts Bureau It is known that our country Ethiopia has come into power by formulating various policies that will transform its potential cultural, historical and heritage resources into tangible results and to develop and manage the sector in an appropriate manner. These policies have been formulated and implemented as independent proclamations, rules and regulations, as well as various procedures, so that in the past years of change, the society has had a great opportunity to preserve its own culture, tradition, identity, values ​​and heritage and pass them on from generation to generation. Following this, the Addis Ababa Culture and Arts Bureau has been able to carry out encouraging activities through its comprehensive activities, taking into account the policies, proclamations, rules and regulations that have been enacted and implemented at the national level since the Constitution. Based on the tasks and responsibilities given by the proclamation, the bureau has carried out many activities to change the attitudes and superstitions, traditional practices and practices that hold back the social and economic development of the society with useful cultural values. The Bureau has been carrying out encouraging activities in all sectors over the years, by organizing cultural exchange platforms that promote various artistic works and cultural genres, organizing competition platforms that encourage and enhance the overall activity of the sector, and especially organizing effective and healthy cultural exchanges that enhance the image of the city, in a way that accommodates the diversity of the city's residents, especially focusing on the common resources of the community and common/public discourses that are a manifestation of the community's identity. In this context, not only are the results that should be strengthened and continued through the city-wide events that are regularly organized, but also the events that were previously held have been enhanced and improved. By inviting delegations from each region to visit our city and visit the corridor development works being carried out in the city, it has been possible to create a platform where they can introduce the progressive development that Addis Ababa is recording to their local area when they return to their region and have the opportunity to carry out development work in the same way. In this regard, it has been possible to understand from the comments given by the delegation members from each region that they felt that they had the opportunity to visit the city's potential cultural and artistic attractions and the construction of various mega projects in person and to exchange experiences with each other. In another way, the Lukan team, when they visited the events taking place in the city, provided a platform for them to create a social context that would allow them to create mutual connections by showing the traditions, customs, and cultural activities of the communities they represented from the source. Most importantly, Addis Ababa has become as beautiful and attractive as its name suggests, where all the people of the country live together and in love. It has been possible to create awareness among the city's community and its visitors about the city's change and growth. The events that are regularly held in our city, Addis Ababa, have been able to present cultural performances, activities, and activities that reflect the various cultural heritages and values ​​of the community living in the city; including food and clothing systems, and have been able to carry out encouraging work in promoting the construction of the city's image. At this stage, as a city, the cultural events that have been celebrated in all sectors under the coordination of the city office; It was possible to learn from the city-wide events that have been held that the role of art and tourism in building the image of our city, Addis Ababa, and creating job opportunities is significant, especially in strengthening the solidarity, unity, and people-to-people ties of the people as a country that has accommodated our national diversity, and that they have been of great importance for the peace, development, and construction of the country. It was also possible to understand that the festivals that are celebrated in this way have strengthened the competitive spirit of actors engaged in the field, creating a good competitive spirit among various institutions, individuals, and associations, and creating an opportunity to do better work in the future. Another important task that was given attention was to record, preserve, and preserve the permanent and movable heritage in our city in a way that is passed down from generation to generation. We have been able to make the libraries that have been built and put into service in the city convenient and attractive for service, and to continue the efforts to build a generation that believes in reading and logic by providing the necessary resources. In order to entertain the community and make it meaningful, art and artistic works that are regularly prepared for the community to educate and entertain are also among the activities that have been given attention by our office in the past years. As is known, art has a special role in educating the community and enabling it to fulfill its social mission effectively. Therefore, in this regard, in our country, in various ways, the prejudiced views and hateful thinking that have been a hindrance to the formation of strong interpersonal relationships in the community over the years have become a common denominator for us, and the values ​​of solidarity, unity, and tolerance of the community have become a common denominator. It is a living task that is mentioned at the forefront of the works that our government has worked hard to change and has achieved fundamental changes in terms of changing public attitudes. Among the works carried out in improving the appearance of our city, the issue of rebuilding the city and making its beauty competitive on an international level is one of the works that have been started in the past few years and have achieved encouraging results. Capacity building training activities to ensure that the service providers in the city maintain their competence and quality and provide appropriate services are also among the main activities carried out in the past years. These development activities, which are of great importance in building the city's image, were carried out in a manner that took into account the needs and existing conditions of the community. For example, the various art amphitheaters and plazas built in each corridor development and riverside areas were prepared with the views and participation of art experts in their construction process, and they were designed to take into account the needs of the city's community from the beginning. Finally, the Addis Ababa City Administration Culture and Arts Bureau continues to strengthen the results achieved in the past years of change, and in this fiscal year, especially the 2018 fiscal year report of the bureau clearly shows that the sector is recording very encouraging results from year to year. Therefore, since you, the leaders and experts of the sector at all levels, have an irreplaceable role in maintaining the results being recorded in our sector at this stage, I would like to remind you that this same activity should be carried out in an organized and coordinated manner. I urge the sector associations and stakeholders, who are organized in various professional sectors, to play their due role in all the comprehensive activities carried out by the Bureau and to be the owners of the transformational achievements recorded as a sector. I convey my message that the next period will be a time of development; peace; solidarity; tolerance and efficiency. I sincerely wish you a good working period. Thank you!