Festival Eritrea; culture, music, dancing… Solar Powered Oven?

Festival Eritrea is an annual showcase that brings the culture from all corners of the country together displaying their music, dance, and traditions to the public. Coming from the diaspora, this is one of those occasions you really look forward to seeing and experiencing on holidays back in Eritrea!

This year however we got to experience a part of the festival we hadn’t seen before. Inside the pavilion on the Expo grounds was a room showcasing innovative projects created by students from the Eritrean Institute of Technology (Mai Nefhi).

Designers were presenting amazing bits of kit they had put together from Tigrinya OCR Readers to Solar Powered Ovens! These projects weren’t just theoretical, they had created working prototypes for the public to see, and they were GENIUS!

As we attended the final ceremony to see who would win the battle of the Zobas for musical performances; we were amazed to see the first part of the ceremony was dedicated to those designers. Throughout the festival week, these designs were not only on display for the viewing public but were also there for a panel of judges to assess their future prospects. Students were being awarded financial rewards for the best projects but also to help them get on their way to bringing their prototypes to life.

A total of $100,000 (equivalent of 1,000,000NKF) was handed out in prizes to the students.

We really enjoyed walking through the halls and speaking to the students about their work. It was great to see the ingenuity behind the deigns created and we're looking forward to seeing where they get to over the coming months.

So next time you come to visit the Festival, don't just take in the cultural performances and music, go along and see the next generation of designers work!

#FestivalEritrea #ExpoFestival