For years, I have been a volunteer in the International Ju-Jitsu Federation and in judo sports. The focus of my engagement is teaching values in sport and transferring knowledge in the field of development economics between Germany and Ethiopia. This has resulted to a great number of contacts. In October 2018, for example, I was able to accompany the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, at the “Compact with Africa” G20 Summit in Berlin. At his initiative, 350 million tree seedlings were planted in the country within twelve hours in summer 2019 – which is winter in Ethiopia. Between 1960 and 2012, construction projects and deforestation had reduced the forest cover in Ethiopia from 37 to three percent of the country’s land.
“In Africa there is a saying: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best is today.”