In 2008, the Redsea Cultural Foundation and Kayd, Somali diaspora organisations in Italy and the UK, joined ranks to establish the Hargeysa International Book Fair. Now in its fourteenth year, the Fair has grown to become one of the largest literary festivals in East Africa. The aim of its founders, Jama Musse Jama and Ayan Ashour, has been to stimulate the revival of art and human expression…

The Rift Valley Institute’s study on the impact of war on Somali men looks into a previously under-researched set of questions: What are the enduring effects of more than two decades of war and violent conflict on Somali men and male youth, and what are the consequences of this for peace, stability and Somali society in general? The project’s inception phase charted what it means to be male in…

This report is a record of a Forum event held on 5 November, before the 13 November 2017 election day. Election day itself was largely peaceful, and the international observer mission reported only minor irregularities on election day, including vote buying and violation of secrecy during voting. However, inflammatory and divisive rhetoric, and allegations of rigging by the opposition, led to…

The Rift Valley Institute’s Impact of War on Somali Men (IWM) study is a project which fills a critical knowledge gap on the impact of war and state collapse on Somali men and manhood. It provides important insights for national Somali-led policy and practice, and supporting international interventions. It also widens the lens on gender in conflict to understand the vulnerability of men and…

Mogadishu has for more than two decades been one of the most highly contested cities in the world. Since the collapse of President Siyad Barre’s government in early 1991, it has been the object of both military and political struggles almost without interruption. This report considers the current state of land governance and the nature of continuing land disputes in Mogadishu, which remains…

In 2015, an estimated 154,000 migrants entered Europe via the Mediterranean from Libya—an increase of more than 1,000 per cent from 2012, while Somalis, most of them young men, were among the top five nationalities crossing the Mediterranean during the first six months of 2015. Although much has been written about the rise in migration to Europe and migrant deaths at sea, little is written…

Improving Aid Delivery through Localisation in Somalia brought together participants from the Somali government, the private sector, youth-led social media campaigns, local and international NGOs, and donors to explore ways in which actors could work together to improve aid delivery in Somalia.

A growing youth population, high levels of unemployment and limited opportunities for vocational training have led to a steady increase in the number of young Somali men and women seeking higher education courses that will provide them with skills for employment. This demand has led to a proliferation of over fifty colleges and universities in the Somali regions that offer an array of courses…

As a secondary city, the competitive advantage of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia is location. It is the closest large city to the port of Djibouti, making it an important transit hub for international migration via Djibouti and Somalia to the Gulf States and Europe. Whether migrants end up staying in Dire Dawa or migrating onward depends on their experiences in the city’s labour market and their initial…