KGNU Hemispheres interviews Nebiyu Asfaw, Community based organizer, Ethiopian Community in Colorado; Founder of the Annual Taste of Ethiopia. Tuesday, August 31, 2021 @ 6-7 pm Mountain States Time

Ethiopians and Eritreans in Colorado celebrate the selection of Abiy Ahmed as the country’s prime minister, late July, 2018 This “unity event” was held at Aurara High School in Aurora, Colorado. 7,000-10,000 people, mostly from Ethiopia and Eritrea were in attendance. It was a moment of hope and national unity. (R. Prince photo)

This coming Tuesday, August 31, 2021, at 6 pm Mountain States Time, KGNU Hemispheres will interview Nebiyu Asfaw, live. Asfaw works with the Ethiopians in Coloradans (a community based organization)  and a founder of “Taste of Ethiopia” – an annual festival in Aurora that introduces the heritage to Ethiopians in Coloradans. The festival brings together, literally, tens of thousands of people to the richness that is Colorado’s Horn of Africa population. Asfaw will discuss the situation of his community, the second largest immigrant community in the state after Latinos.  and one that has become increasingly political active. The program will also probe how Colorado’s Ethiopian Community views the crisis “back home” in Ethiopia which continues to be increasingly charged.

In Colorado, the program can be heard live at 88.5 FM (in Denver) and 1390 AM. It can also be heard live “streaming” at http://www.kgnu.org from anywhere in the world. It lasts one hour.

The program is produced by KGNU Hemispheres’ producer, Jim Nelson and program commentator, Rob Prince. This is the second in a series produced by Prince: Colorado and the Horn of Africa. Other programs will follow over the next year.

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Nebiyu Asfaw – a leader of Colorado’s Ethiopian Community

Nebiyu Asfaw’s Bio:

Nebiyu Asfaw is a native of Ethiopia and a proud Coloradan who is passionate about community service. Nebiyu is considered a thought leader in Colorado’s Ethiopian community where he has served in different capacities for over 15 years. Nebiyu advocates for his community locally and globally through organizing and civic engagement to improve conditions for Ethiopians and underserved minority groups.

As a native of Ethiopia, Nebiyu emphasizes the rich cultural landscape of his community as the co-founder of Colorado’s Taste of Ethiopia Festival; one of Denver’s largest summer festival. Operating under the motto “Once a Year Colorado Goes Ethiopian”, the Taste of Ethiopia has been a great success in mainstreaming the Food, Culture and Arts of the Ethiopian community in the Denver metro area.

Nebiyu is also co-founder and Vice President of the Board at the East Colfax Community Collective; an advocacy organization fighting to protect low and moderate-income residents and locally-owned businesses from displacement by urban revitalization efforts. East Colfax holds a special significance for Nebiyu and many in the Ethiopian and Eritreans communities, a neighborhood that celebrates diversity and welcomes thousands of new immigrants and refugees as the first place of settlement in Colorado since the 1970s.

Nebiyu is also a proud member of Denver’s “100 Men Who Cook” where he volunteers as a Chef to help raise education funds for local African-American students. Through this program; Nebiyu works on promoting plant-based Ethiopian food to the greater African-American community in the metro area. Nebiyu is also co-founder of the Ethiopian American Development council that works to advance the human rights, political, and economic interests of Ethiopian Americans and Ethiopians. Nebiyu also serves in several community advisory roles, including Governor Jared Polis’ Community Engagement Team, Congressman Joe Neguse’s Immigration Stakeholders team and the Community Police Advisory Team (CPAT) for Aurora Chief of Police Vanessa Wilson; where he contributes to the effort to improve police-community relations.

For his contribution to the community; Nebiyu was awarded the “African Americans Who Make a Difference” award in 2019 from the Denver Urban Spectrum; a Congressional Recognition from the United States Congress in 2018, and a “Life Time Achievement” award in 2017 from the East Colfax St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Nebiyu Asfaw interviewed at ETV (Ethiopian Television) recently

Background Article: The GrayZone Interviews Eritrean Journalist Elias Amare on the current conflict in Ethiopia