Since 2021, Sustainable Lalibela's teams have had to deal with major constraints to implement the project. Conflicts in northern Ethiopia have regularly hampered access to the site and work on site. We have adapted to this situation by focusing on supporting local communities in need, and by relying on an exceptional local team.

The French Centre for Ethiopian Studies (CFEE), UAR3137, is a joint unit of the French Institute for Research Abroad (IFRE) of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) and the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS / INSHS). Based in Addis Ababa, it is the heir to nearly a century of Franco-Ethiopian scientific cooperation.

The activities of the CFEE concern the fields of earth sciences, palaeontology, archaeology, humanities and social sciences, and environmental sciences. It also provides scientific support in the field of heritage (Sustainable Lalibela, National Palace, National Museum of Ethiopia).

The CNRS has been involved through its researchers, engineers and technicians in the historical and archaeological research works on the site of Lalibela for over 10 years. It is with great enthusiasm that the CNRS is supporting the Sustainable Lalibela project, which not only continues the work undertaken by researchers, engineers and technicians of the CNRS joint research units in France and the French Centre for Ethiopian Studies, a CNRS unit in Addis Ababa, but also aims to expand scientific collaboration with a wide range of French and Ethiopian partners through an integrative approach.

The various aspects of the project, which combine fundamental research, participatory research and training in and through research with the aim of restoring and enhancing the site, meet the priorities of the CNRS's scientific and international policy. The commitment to a research agenda co-constructed with Ethiopian, scientific and cultural partners, which integrates theoretical and practical training, and which involves the local populations, is particularly valuable because it will ensure the development of specific skills and expertise, supported by research practices, which can effectively meet the needs of the public and the States.

he AFD supports financially and technically heritage valorization and preservation’s projects in Ethiopia. On this basis, the agency has allocated 3,3M€ to the CNRS in November 2020 for carrying out the ambitious and integrated Sustainable Lalibela Project. The project has been designed with federal, local and religious authorities in charge of this living heritage.

The AFD was particularly interested in several aspects of the project: the continuous dialog between the Ethiopian and French actors in the definition of the actions, the objectives and the process; the development of sustainable capacities for numerous actors and institutions: local craftsmen, future archaeologists, historians, heritage manager who will use their knowledge and skills to intervene on other Ethiopian sites, local guides for the valorization of the site; improvement of the site’s understanding and its open access through the establishment of a digital database center; community and various public’s inclusion (such as schoolchildren) in this project.

The AFD has been intervening in Ethiopia since 1996 in order to support the Ethiopian government, its public companies and the civil society in various sectors (energy, water, urban development, agriculture). Those commitments represent about 600M€.

Through its support in the preservation and valorization of the Churches of Lalibela, France remains faithful to its long-lasting friendship with Ethiopia. Fruit of a common will from the French Republic President Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Dr Abiy Ahmed, this project echoes the long cooperation tradition that unites French scientists and their Ethiopian colleagues for several decades.

It is this story that we carry on today through this ambitious restoration program of the Churches of Lalibela, scientific research and the training of the Ethiopian actors who are their safe keepers. The double ambition of the project draws its distinction: a scientific approach and a close partnership with the population of Lalibela and their representatives. Through this commitment, France remains faithful to its values: preserve what we trust in; make sure that future generations will be able to grow up and raise in the shadows of those monuments and of the memory they pass through time. Because heritage is a powerful contributor to political cohesion, binding generations, territories and people. This conviction gathers France and Ethiopia: indeed, our two nations comprehend their future with a deep awareness of the deep antiquity of their civilization.

I want to salute the great work led by the CNRS teams, of the French Center for Ethiopian Studies, and its Ethiopian partners to design and execute this ambitious project, with the support of the AFD and the French Embassy in Ethiopia.

The Church of Lalibela’s administration is glad and thankful to welcome the Franco-Ethiopian project, Sustainable Lalibela, led by a transnational and multidisciplinary team which aims to restore, preserve and enhance the World Heritage of Saint Lalibela rock-hewn Churches. The program highlights the multi-facet dimension of the Sacred Churches and the town of Lalibela: the research carried on will enable to bring profound solutions to the fragility of this heritage and to train local actors to sustainable heritage management.

The Ethiopian Heritage Authority is the Ethiopian federal authority in charge of the conservation, promotion and research of the country's cultural heritage. It is also responsible to UNESCO for the proper management of World Heritage sites. As such, it is a key partner in the Sustainable Lalibela project.