Ken Menkhaus noted the perception shared by the international community and by neighbouring countries that Jubbaland is an emerging federal state in Somalia. But, he asked, does Jubbaland have the key features, like those of Somaliland and Puntland, that would enable it to become a functional administrative unit? Jubbaland is not, he suggested, an ‘ethno-state’ like Puntland, because it is not…

Mark Bradbury, the RVI Horn of Africa and East Africa Regional Director, welcomed Nuruddin Farah, Binyavanga Wainaina and the large audience to the Nairobi Forum. In his introductory remarks, he described one of his first encounters with Farah, who had called him to critique a report he had written on Somalia. That conversation, Bradbury said, underlined for him the importance of understanding…

Mark Bradbury, the RVI Horn of Africa and East Africa Regional Director, opened this joint event with BIEA to launch a special issue of the Journal of Eastern Africa Studies dedicated to Somalia. This seminar was one of a series of talks on state-building in Somalia and an opportunity to explore significant changes occurring over two decades of statelessness. Ambreena Manji, Director…

On 7 May 2013, the Federal Government of Somalia and the UK government will co-host the Somalia Conference in London aimed at harnessing international support for reconstruction and recovery in Somalia. The Rift Valley Institute (RVI) organized a pre-conference forum in Mogadishu on 27 April, between members of the public and the government of Somalia’s technical committee for the conference. …

Ambreena Manji, Director of the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA), welcomed all those attending and expressed her hope for further collaboration, particularly around issues of climate change and land use in the Horn of Africa. Mark Bradbury, RVI Horn of Africa and East Africa Regional Director, introduced the seminar, which was organized in collaboration with the Future Agricultures…

Mark Bradbury welcomed participants and explained this inception workshop was planned to develop a research framework and identify key issues and questions for a two-year study by RVI and African Rights. The study will investigate the impact of the war and prolonged conflict on Somali men and male youth, as well as the consequences for women, children and wider society. The study’s goal is to…

Mark Bradbury, the RVI Horn and East Africa Regional Director, welcomed the distinguished guests and explained that this forum followed on from one which took place in Mogadishu on the 27 April 2013. The idea was initiated by Yusuf Garaad with the intention to involve ordinary Somalis in the discussion about the Somalia Conference in London. He explained there would be two panels. The first…

Mark Bradbury, the RVI Horn of Africa and East Africa Regional Director, welcomed the panellists and audience to this literary evening organised by Kwani Trust and the Rift Valley Institute. The conversation between Nadifa Mohamed and Ellah Allfrey follows an event in April, when Nuruddin Farah was in conversation with Binyavanga Wainaina. A film of that evening is available online. Angela…

Mark Bradbury, RVI Horn of Africa and East Africa Regional Director, welcomed participants to the launch of Somalilanders Speak: Lessons from the 2012 local elections, a report jointly published by Saferworld and SONSAF. The report records the observations of civil society organizations and proposes ways in which electoral procedures and the democratization process can be further…

Somali migrants from around the world remit $1.3 billion annually. This exceeds the total sum for humanitarian aid to Somalia, which reaches $800 million at its highest. Remittances make a significant contribution to Somali household income and food security. In Puntland and Somaliland an estimated 40% of families depend on them to meet their food security needs. Over 50,000 people across the…