A Somali Spring?
More than two hundred people attended ‘A Somali Spring?’, the first event of the RVI’s Nairobi Forum on 11 October 2012. This is a 44-minute podcast featuring the highlights of the discussion between Kenneth Menkhaus, Jabril Abdulle, Amal Ismail, and Matt Bryden. The panellists discussed current developments in Somalia and the country’s prospects following the […]
Somaliland election observers
On 4 December 2012, the RVI’s Nairobi Forum presented the assessments of five members of the International Election Observer team who monitored district elections in the Republic of Somaliland on 28 November. They were the fifth democratic elections held in Somaliland since 2002 and followed several weeks of campaigning. The observers presenting their findings at […]
Remittance transfers to Somalia
On 11 September the RVI Nairobi Forum hosted a discussion about UK and US banks’ discontinuation of their services to Somali remittance companies. The occasion was the launch of a report by Oxfam and Adeso Keeping the Lifeline Open: Remittances and Markets in Somalia. The report highlights the positive impact of remittances on Somali livelihoods […]
René Lemarchand
René Lemarchand discusses the divergent responses to ethnicity in post-conflict Rwanda and Burundi during the Rift Valley Institute Great Lakes course, July 2010, Entebbe, Uganda.
Hasty Repatriation of Somali refugees
On 15 February 2013, the Nairobi Forum hosted the launch of a report by the Mogadishu-based think tank, the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies (HIPS), entitled ‘Hasty Repatriation: Kenya’s attempt to send Somali refugees home’. The research was undertaken in late 2012, after the Kenyan government called for Somali refugees to assemble in refugee camps and return […]
Nuruddin Farah and Binyavanga Wainaina in conversation
On 18 April, the Rift Valley Institute’s Nairobi Forum, in partnership with Kwani Trust, hosted an evening with renowned Somali author Nuruddin Farah. Nuruddin is winner of the Neustadt International Prize for literature and the Lettre Ulysses Award, and has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. His body of work includes […]
Challenges for the Somali money transfer sector
Key points Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) have played a vital role in the Somali economy for many years, functioning effectively despite chronic conflict and absence of government. With the global tendency towards tighter regulation of financial flows, intended to counter crime and terrorism, Somali MTOs are finding it increasing difficult to retain direct access to […]
The Story of the Sudan Open Archive
The Sudan Open Archive (http://www.sudanarchive.net) is free resource developed by the Rift Valley Institute. It provides online and offline access to digital versions of thousands of books and documents about Sudan and South Sudan. From its origins in a shipping container in Lokichokio in northern Kenya, the Sudan Archive has come to include historical and […]
Eastleigh and Beyond
Key points Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighbourhood hosts one of the largest ethnic Somali communities outside Somalia—composed of Kenyan Somalis as well as Somali nationals whose numbers have swelled since the collapse of their state. Eastleigh has become an important centre of Somali diaspora life and a hub for a trust-based trading community that operates across East Africa […]
Continuities and Change in Somalia
The Nairobi Forum and the British Institute in Eastern Africa co-hosted the launch of a special Somalia edition of the Journal of Eastern African Studies on 19 April. The meeting, entitled ‘Continuities and change: Social, political and economic dynamics in Somalia since 1991’, examined the strengths and weaknesses of hybrid political structures, the roles of local authorities, […]