In this video, Wintana Alemseged, Senior Political Adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), shares reflections on the development of the XCEPT programme in the Horn of Africa.

She discusses how the workshop surfaced both existing insights and a significant new idea – expanding the programme to include interstate boundaries. While XCEPT has focused largely on state-to-state borders such as Ethiopia–Somalia or Ethiopia–Sudan, this new direction offers an opportunity to better understand internal dynamics within countries like Ethiopia.

Drawing on her experience from the programme’s launch to the present, Wintana highlights the breadth of themes covered – from migration and political violence to economic reform. She underscores the importance of policy engagement, noting that if these intersecting research areas are taken up by political leaders, they could shape more effective responses to both regional and domestic challenges.