The 50th Anniversary of the discovery of Lucy to be marked

Addis Ababa, February 15, 2024 (FBC) – The 50th Anniversary of the discovery of the remains of Lucy will be marked by various events so as to promote the tourist destinations of the country, the Ministry of Tourism disclosed.

To this end, a yearlong tour programs to various tourist attractions of the country have been organized. Tourists and researchers from various countries visited the tourist sites including the National Museum.

Seleshi Girma, State Minister of Tourism told ENA that professionals from various fields across the world have started to travel to Ethiopia as part of marking the 50th Anniversary of the discovery of the remains of Lucy.

He added that the programs organized for the event will provide an opportunity to showcase that Ethiopia is indeed the origin of human species.

On the sidelines of the events, various projects are under implementation in cooperation with partners to reintroduce Ethiopia’s tourism potentials and resources, he said.

The state minister also said that programs have been prepared to promote various tourism development and attraction sites that are being built in  the country.

He added that 28 visitors including Professor Donald Johanson,  a paleoanthropologist who discovered the remains of Lucy visited the National Museum.

The Institute of Human Origins of Arizona State University, USA, is globally recognized for its extensive researches on the remains of human species.

Institute of Human Origins Director, Professor Yohannes Haile-Selassie, told ENA that project coordinators are working with Afar State and Authority for the Conservation of Artifacts on details of the events.

The professor added that a yearlong program have already been prepared to mark the 50th anniversary of the excavation of the remains of Dinknesh or Lucy.

Lucy or Diniknesh was discovered on 24 November, 1974, in Afar Region in the locality of Hadar.

Professor Yohannes noted that more than 20 leading scholars who visited Ethiopia including Hadar in Afar, Omo area and Arbaminch have participated in preparing the program for marking the 50th Anniversary of the discovery of Dinknesh or Lucy and they have appreciated what they saw during their visits.

He added that a three day conference in which more than 200 scientists will participate is expected to convene in Addis Ababa in July this year.

The 50th anniversary of the discovery of Lucy will be marked from with range of events including symposiums, photographic exhibition and others.

Lucy is one of the oldest archeological remains of human species of 3.2 million years old.