Haddis Tadesse of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be at Cascadia Community College Feb. 23 to talk about development issues in Africa, the world’s second-largest continent with an estimated population over 1 billion people.

Leading up to Tadesse’s presentation, a traditional Ethiopian dinner will be served beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Mobius Hall in the college’s new Global Learning and the Arts building. During dinner, a slideshow of photos from a trip Cascadia faculty members Panos Hatziandreas and David Ortiz made to Ethiopia in 2008 will be shown. Tadesse’s comments will begin at 6:30 p.m. and be followed by a question-and-answer session.

Tadesse’s presentation, “Development Issues in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities, and Progress,” will focus on the Gates Foundation’s work involving education and health in Africa. Tadesse is a policy and external relations officer for the Global Development Program at the Gates Foundation.

“As Americans, we have a stake in what happens around the world. I hope the audience will make the connection that we are part of a larger global community and that diplomacy and development are important when we engage with the world,” says Hatziandreas. “The more you engage your senses, the more you’ll learn. We want to engage as many senses as possible and give the audience an experience that will stay with them.”

The event is being co-sponsored by several groups at Cascadia, including the Cascadia Activities Board, the Diversity and Equity Center, the International Programs Office and the Cascadia Community College Foundation. It is free and open to the public.