In partnership with Think Tanks and & Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at Pennsylvania University, Institute for Somali Studies (ISOS) at Mogadishu University organized and hosted Why Think Tanks Matter event on Tuesday January 30, 2018 at Mogadishu, Somalia.

The event featured a launch of 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report followed by a panel discussion entitled “Policymaking in Post-conflict Somalia: The Role of Think Tanks”.

At the launch, an introduction message from Dr James McGann, director of TTCSP, was televised, and this followed by a brief overview of the findings of the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report 2017 presented by Mustafa Feiruz, Director of ISOS. The 2017 Think Tanks Report identifies and indexes nearly 8000 think tanks around the world, in which there are 664 think tanks in Sub-Saharan Africa while 94 of them work in Horn of Africa [Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Kenya] and the portion of Somalia is only six think tanks.

In this event, the Center for Water and Environment at Mogadishu University and the Heritage Institute for Political Studies (Somalia) were honored.The Center for Water and Environment is the only water security think tank in Horn of Africa, a region suffers from severe recurrent droughts and complex water insecurity; while HIPS ranked in one of the top think tanks in Sub-Saharan Africa and works in a country that experiences political disruptions and multidimensional conflicts and crises.

In the panel discussion, the panelists discussed what role does think tanks play in shaping today’s public policy in post-conflictSomalia? How do they contribute to the recovering process? What are the effective strategies and best practices of think tanks and civil society actors for engaging inpolicymakers, media and the public?

The panelists also highlighted the main challenges facing think tanks in Horn of Africa and beyond, and explored how to improve their capacity and maintain their sustainability.

The participants shared their ideas, comments and questions with the panelists in an open floor discussion.

This event was successful in highlighting the importance of think tanks in this era, particularly in post conflict societies, and also underscoring the significance of better collaboration and networking between the think tanks in Horn of Africa and Somalia particularly.

This event attended representatives and participants from think tanks, universities, civil society organizations, journalists, government officials, and other public figures. This event was a part of a global event coordinated by TTCSP and organized and hosted by 175 organizations in over 100 cities around the world, to highlight the critical role of think tanks in public policymaking and explore Why Think Tanks Matter in an Era of Digital and Political Disruptions.