Mogadishu Forum: Planning for the London Somalia conference
On 27 April the Nairobi Forum became the Mogadishu Forum, when it hosted a consultation in Mogadishu about the forthcoming Somalia Conference in London. The meeting was convened by Yusuf Garaad and opened by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Nur Gacal. Over 60 women and men from the Somali business community, parliament, civil society, and the […]
Carrada ayaan dhunkannay waa sheeko ku saabsan dhibaatada tahriibka
Maxamed Xuseen Geeldoon, waa nin da’ yar oo soo maray tahriib halis ah oo uu dhulka saxaraha kaga gudbay oo gaadhay Libya. Doon ayaa la qalibmi gaartay, wuu silcay oo wuu rafaaday, ka dibna wuxuu go’aansaday inuu dalkiisii dib ugu noqdo oo wuxuu ku laabtay magaalada Hargeysa oo uu haatan ku suganyahay. Waxa isaga iyo […]
Pastoralism and Development in Africa
On 29th April 2013 the RVI hosted a seminar to discuss the new book Pastoralism and Development in Africa: Dynamic Change at the Margins (London: Earthscan, 2013), in collaboration with the Future Agricultures Consortium. The seminar brought together researchers, policy makers and practitioners to reflect critically on how pastoral-driven innovation can be incorporated into policies […]
Nairobi Forum: Planning for the London Somalia Conference
A meeting chaired by Hon. Mohamed Affey was convened by the RVI in Nairobi on 2 May to discuss the forthcoming London conference on Somalia. The Nairobi meeting followed an earlier Forum discussion meeting in Mogadishu. In Nairobi, the head of the Somali government’s technical committee, Abdulrahman Abdishakur, was joined by Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya, […]
Nadifa Mohamed in conversation with Ellah Allfrey
On 21 June 2013, RVI and Kwani Trust hosted Nadifa Mohamed, the Somali-British author, who spoke with Ellah Allfrey, Deputy Editor of Granta, about her writing and her Somali homeland. Born in Hargeisa and raised in South London, Nadifa has been listed by Granta as one of the Best of Young British Novelists. Her first […]
What future for democracy in Somaliland?
On 27 June 2013, the Nairobi Forum hosted the public launch of a report by Saferworld and the Somaliland Non State Actors Forum (SONSAF) on the 2012 district council elections in Somaliland. The report—Somalilanders Speak: Lessons from the 2012 local elections—records the observations of Somaliland civil society organizations, and highlights the ways in which electoral […]
Keeping the lifeline open
Every year, Somali migrants around the world send approximately $1.3 billion to friends and families at home, dwarfing humanitarian aid to Somalia. Individual transfers are usually less than $300, and often as little as $35. Families depend on the money for basic costs such as food, water, education and healthcare, and to cope with new […]
Rift Valley Forum coast series
The prospect of devolved county government has been met with particular enthusiasm in Kenya’s former Coast province since the passage of the new constitution in 2010. Many see devolution as offering a panacea for decades of the Coast’s perceived marginalization and underdevelopment by the central state. The Coast’s communities welcomed the opportunity of a new […]
Managing Development and Security
Inter-communal violence, cross-border conflict and insecurity in various parts of north-eastern Kenya in recent years have led to the loss of lives, properties and livelihoods. The common view is that these episodes of violence are associated with water and pasture resource scarcity. However, some analysts point to other important drivers of conflict, such as unequal […]
Slavery in the Sudans: Human rights and local moral worlds
John Ryle, Executive Director of the Rift Valley Institute, spoke on ‘Slavery in the Sudans: Human Rights and Local Moral Worlds’ at a conference on The Arts of Human Rights sponsored by the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Witwatersrand (WISER) and Bard College, New York. The three-day event featured presentations […]