Migration, Movement and Mobility in the Era of COVID-19
Many governments have responded to the outbreak of COVID-19 by closing their borders and restricting the internal movement of people. While this kind of response has been deemed necessary to prevent the transmission of the virus, it has posed challenges to millions of people across the world by affecting normal patterns of migration and mobility. […]
Oral History in Somalia and South Sudan
CANCELLED Oral history and oral literature are valuable repositories of culture and key resources for written history. Eastern and Central Africa played a vital role in the recognition of the value of oral heritage. Among the pioneers were Jan Vansina working in the Congo, Okot p’Bitek in Uganda and B.W. Andrzejewski in Somalia. More recently, […]
The Ilemi Triangle
CANCELLED The Ilemi Triangle is a cartographic curiosity where South Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia meet. To date, there has been no demarcation of this colonial border in East Africa, let alone any agreed definition, and it is often referred to as ‘a dispute area’. Despite the visible dispute there has been limited public explanation […]
Project Launch: Diaspora Humanitarianism in Complex Crises
Diaspora groups have emerged as key humanitarian actors in situations of protracted displacement and conflict. They are often the first to assist in acute emergencies and remain engaged during lengthy and complex crises. Their remittances reach remote areas and hard-to-reach populations, surpassing humanitarian aid sent to fragile states six times. On Friday 28 February, the […]
Food and Power in Somalia: Business as Usual?
Food and power in Somalia have been intimately linked for decades. From land grabs to the looting and diversion of aid to the geopolitics of the war on terror, food has played an important role in Somalia’s political economy. Although this has been examined in depth in the context of events in the 1990s, […]
Pre-Screening: Thank you for the rain
On 27 March 2017, the Rift Valley Forum hosted a pre-screening of the film Thank You For the Rain by Kenyan farmer Kisilu Musya and Norwegian filmmaker Julia Dahr. Thank You For the Rain, which premiered at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, documents Kisilu’s life as a farmer and the impact of climate change on his family […]
Empowered yet displaced
Every year since 2008, the world had become less peaceful. In the Horn and Central Africa, conflict threatens and destroys the lives, homes and jobs of millions of women, men and children, trapping them in a vicious cycle of violence, poverty and inequality. Efforts to address and prevent conflicts and disasters face serious obstacles. In […]
Freedom from intimidation, violence and corruption: International and national reflections ahead of Kenyan elections
The 2017 Kenyan general elections are scheduled for 8 August. Currently, politicians and political parties are in the midst of their campaigns. While the last elections were largely peaceful, allegations of voter-bribery, a challenging election timeline and questions over the IEBC’s capacity to manage the elections have increased concerns for violence. On 20 April 2017, […]
Strengthening Humanitarian Response in Insecure Settings
Conflicts produce large-scale humanitarian crises and are often characterized by high levels of instability and volatility. Nonetheless, humanitarian workers are expected to operate in these high-risk areas, where their security and performance are sometimes compromised. On 6 April 2017, the Rift Valley Forum launched the findings from the Secure Access in Volatile Environments (SAVE) study in Somalia […]
The political market place in South Sudan: Pathways to economic recovery
Since hostilities began in South Sudan in 2013, over 3.5 million people have fled their homes, of which 1.8 million have sought refuge from violence and food insecurity in neighbouring countries. A National Dialogue, launched in May 2017, has seemingly not yet managed to reduce the intensity of the violence, while the country’s economic situation […]