As part of the Increasing Migration and Climate Change Public Awareness through Collaboration and Teaching (IMPACT) project deliverables, HESPI hosted a successful webinar titled “Climate Induced Migration in the Horn of Africa and its Implications to the Education Sector” on 22 June 2026.

The webinar was open to all interested individuals. During the registration period, 83 participants from various organizations signed up and confirmed to attend. The session was conducted in English.

In the opening ceremony, Dr. Ali Issa, Managing Director of HESPI, extended a warm welcome to all attendees and emphasized that climate-induced migration represents a significant humanitarian and developmental challenge for the countries in the Horn of Africa. He further highlighted the necessity of enhancing awareness regarding the climate-induced migration crisis in both source and destination countries as a matter of urgency, wishing all participants a productive discussion.

Mr. Daniel Fantaye, Program Director at HESPI, provided an overview of the IMPACT project, walked the participants through the webinar agenda and invited the presenters to deliver their papers.

Four papers were presented at the webinar.

• “Bridging the Divide: Awareness, Communication and Climate Induced Mobility” by Dr. Fredu Nega, Senior Research Fellow at HESPI and the IMPACT project contact person. This presentation is part of the research output in the IMPACT project.
• “Strategies of Reducing Vulnerability and Building Resilience” by Prof. Terefe Degefa, From Addis Ababa University.
• “Reducing Vulnerability and Building Local Resilience: Empowering communities to prevent forced, distressed displacement in the Horn of Africa” by Dr. Husen Maru from HESPI
• “Impacts of Climate-induced Mobility on selected cities in Ethiopia” by Mr. Abel Chernet, Senior Climate-induced migration officer, from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Following the presentations, participants actively engaged in a lively question-and-answer session. The discussion covered a broad range of issues related to climate change, migration, education, resilience, policy development, and regional cooperation. Participants shared experiences, raised critical questions, and exchanged ideas on potential policy and programmatic responses. The interactive discussion underscored the importance of continued dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to address the complex and interconnected challenges of climate-induced migration in the Horn of Africa.

The webinar concluded with closing remarks from Mr. Daniel Fantaye and Dr. Fredu Nega, who expressed their sincere appreciation to all presenters and participants for their valuable contributions. They reiterated the importance of such knowledge-sharing platforms in fostering evidence-based dialogue and informing policy on critical issues affecting the Horn of Africa.

The webinar successfully achieved its objective of raising awareness and promoting informed discussion on climate-induced migration and its implications for the education sector, while strengthening collaboration among researchers, policymakers, development partners, and other key stakeholders working in the Horn of Africa.