Regional Conference: Stabilisation in Eastern and Central Africa
On 12 and 13 March, the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) and University of Gothenburg co-convened a regional conference on stabilisation at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi. The conference—“Stabilisation in Eastern and Central Africa: history, theory, policy and practice under scrutiny”—attracted some 90 participants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and South Sudan, […]
My feudal childhood: A personal history
Tafari Wossen, an Ethiopian journalist and former civil servant, is the founding editor of the Seven-Day Update, a weekly news review published in Addis Ababa. This memoir of his childhood in the province of Waag was presented at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University. It was published by the Rift Valley Institute […]
Experiences of Somali Women in Civic and Political Engagement
In the decades since independence, many Somali women have actively sought to expand women’s political and civic participation in Somalia. From the Somali Women’s Democratic Organization established during the Siyad Barre regime to the Sixth Clan movement founded in 2002, Somali women have a rich history of engagement in politics, peacemaking, and activism. On 6 […]
Talking Peace in the Ogaden
Since the 1990s, war in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia has claimed thousands of lives. The conflict between the Government of Ethiopia and the insurgent Ogaden National Liberation Front has impoverished the communities of Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State, swollen the refugee population in Kenya, and added to insecurity in the Somali territories of the Horn […]
Ethiopia and the Ogaden: Prospects for Peace
At the launch of Tobias Hagmann’s new book Talking Peace in the Ogaden: The search for an end to conflict in the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia (published by the Rift Valley Institute), speakers discussed the evolution of the conflict, the changing balance of forces, and prospects for peace. Speakers Tobias Hagmann, Associate Professor, […]
Ethiopia after Meles: National and regional implications
The death of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in August 2012 marked the beginning of the end of a generation of ‘reform rebels’ that came to power in East Africa in the 1990s. Prime Minister from 1995 until his death, Meles’ political influence within Ethiopia and the East Africa region was immense. A formidable intellect […]
Somalia’s Jubaland: Past, present and potential futures
Jubaland has been one of the most heavily fought over regions of Somalia during the civil war. With its perennial river, fertile soils and the port city of Kismayo it was, and has the potential to be again, one of Somalia’s most productive regions. The social bonds that bind and divide populations across the borders […]
Nuruddin Farah in conversation with Binyavanga Wainaina
On 18 April 2013, the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) and Kwani Trust hosted a Nairobi Forum event at which Somali author Nuruddin Farah spoke with Binyavanga Wainaina, Kwani founder, Caine Prize winner and author of the memoir One Day I Will Write About This Place. Farah is the winner of the Neustadt International Prize for […]
Continuity and change in Somalia
On 19 April, the Nairobi Forum hosted the launch of a special Somalia edition of the Journal of Eastern African Studies. Speakers included Markus Hoehne of the Max Planck Institute, Jutta Bakonyi of the University of Durham, and Jason Mosley, editor of the JEAS. The seminar will took place at the British Institute in Eastern […]
Halista Tahriibka iyo Qisada Maxamed X. Geeldoon
Maxamed Xuseen Geeldoon waa 27 sano jir, dhowr jeer isku dayey inuu u tahriibo Yurub balse ku guuldarraystay. Dhibaato, rafaad badan iyo sannado badan oo ka lumay cimirigiisa ka dib, waxaa uu dib ugu soo laabtay Somaliland isaga oo go’aansaday inuu dhalinyarada ka waaniyo halisaha tahriibka. Maxamed waxa taariikhdiisa tahriibka oo loogu magacdaray “ Carrada […]