Dr Idil Osman lectured on the theme entitled "Diasporic Media and Somali Conflict" in the Cilmiwadaag Platform on 31/7/2017 and organised by the Institute of Somali Studies, Mogadishu University.
In the opening, DrIdil Osman shed light upon ‘Situating the Somali Diaspora and their role in humanitarianism and development’, where more than a million fled from the country in one of the longest running humanitarian catastrophe in the world. Nevertheless, they have remained intimately connected to their homeland in various transnational practices; and media is one of the main platforms in this regard.
Diasporic media play a significant role in both: ‘peace and development’ and ‘conflict and violence’. In conflict, diasporic media keeps diaspora connected to conflict dynamics and Re-creating conflict and diaspora engagement with conflict.The video is available here.
The participants raised questions and comments on the topic. Also they suggested valuable recommendations of how to reverse the negative role and to enlarge media engagement in peacebuilding.
Dr Idil Osman is a Research Associate and Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS, University of London. DrIdil Osman is an expert on diasporic media and development communications, and has worked for over 12 years as a journalist for the BBC, the Voice of America and the Guardian.She has authored publications that focus on media, migration, development, conflicts in the Horn of Africa and diaspora communities in Europe. Her latest book ‘Media, Diaspora and the Somali Conflict’ is published in 2017.
