Ethiopia is home to an astonishingly rich linguistic and cultural diversity with no less than 84 living languages, spoken by as many ethno-linguistic communities. This diversity is conditioned by the well preserved heritage of the country, which includes both tangible (built and movable) and intangible assets, by the creativity of contemporary artists as well as by the diversity of the natural environment. Cultural diversity is an asset which can contribute towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals when it is carefully exploited to capitalise on the economic and social potential of the various aspects of a country's heritage; for instance by developing culturally and ecologically sustainable tourism and creative industries. As in many other developing countries, heritage tourism and creative industries in Ethiopia have not yet reached maturity, amongst other things, because of inadequate legal frameworks and their ineffective implementation, weak institutional and political support, and underdeveloped entrepreneurial capacity. Furthermore, the marginalised social status of bearers of cultural traditions in the domain of traditional handicrafts and of creative artists contributes to the fact that culture has remained low on the Ethiopian agenda for development. Furthermore, Ethiopia's cultural diversity is paralleled by the representation of several major religions among the population, characterized by remarkable harmony on major development issues. This peaceful coexistence of faith organisations should not be taken for grated, nor should its potential be under-estimated and under-utilized for the reinforcement of a unity of purpose and moral cohesion in the articulation of a national vision for sustainable development. There is, therefore, a need to foster inter-faith dialogue and to thereby benefit from a united drive to defend and promote the integrity of creation, particularly with respect to environmental protection and sustainable use of the natural resource base. In order to improve the situation, the UNCT in Ethiopia proposes that a project be developed and funded which aims at: Inter-faith and inter-group dialogue ·Building on the already excellent relations between major religious leaders and state institutions on issues of national importance, promote purposeful inter-faith dialogue to advance the development agenda, to benefit from and give concrete expression to shared values and traditions of respect for nature, as a force for conservation and sustainable living; ·Enhancing tolerance and respect for cultural diversity by promoting regional and national cooperation and dialogue, while focusing on the inclusion of minorities, marginalised communities and disadvantaged groups; Legal frameworks ·Assisting the Ethiopian authorities and civil society to develop legal frameworks for the protection and safeguarding of the country's built, intangible (e.g. dance and music), linguistic, mobile (e.g. handicraft and museum objects) and natural heritage on the national and the regional level; ·Supporting the Ethiopian authorities to further develop governance capacities on the national and regional level for the development and implementation of cultural policies, and for taking advantage from international assistance that may be received from international legal instruments in the field of Culture; ·Encouraging more stakeholders in Ethiopian civil society to work together with the authorities on the development and implementation of cultural policies, while taking into account the interests of communities, groups and - if applicable - individuals; ·Assisting the Ethiopian authorities to develop legal frameworks for the development and promotion of cultural industries; ·Developing institutional capacity for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of cultural policies in Ethiopia, including the implementation on the national level of international Conventions in the filed of Culture to which Ethiopia is a party; Cultural industries ·Harnessing the potential of creative and cultural industries (e.g. producing and disseminating books, films, audio, audio-visual recording) for protecting and promoting Ethiopia's cultural diversity and for job creation, economic growth and other forms of poverty alleviation in the Ethiopian context;