Rift Valley Institute

This show is brought to you under the South Sudan National Archives Project, supported by Norway and implemented by UNESCO in partnership with RVI, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. The first Tarikh Tana (Our History) radio show in this second series will focus on What makes a chief? The changing role of customary authorities. We will take two personality sheets written about chiefs under the British Colonial period, found in the South Sudan National Archives, as the starting point for our discussion. Chiefs personality sheets Beginning in the 1920s Native Administration (idara ahliya in Arabic) became the system of local government in the rural areas throughout Sudan. Native administration increased the power of local leaders who gained influence in dispute resolution, taxation and judicial functions. It was abolished in the northern provinces by Jaafar Nimeiri in 1971, but retained in the Southern Region after the Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972. The system required p

For thirty years, Somalia has experienced violence and upheaval. National and international efforts to build a state and achieve reconciliation are challenged by deep-rooted grievances, local conflicts and a long-running insurgency. On 10th December, the Rift Valley Institute, CAN International and Aston University hosted a panel discussion to launch the book, War and Peace in Somalia: National Grievances, Local Conflict and Al-Shabaab. The book, consisting of forty-two articles by conflict resolution specialists and leading experts on Somalia, is a unique collection of insights into Somalia’s protracted conflicts, and the efforts of Somali women, men and youth, and international actors to resolve them.

On 16 October 2019, the Rift Valley Forum, in partnership with the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University and Friends of Lake Turkana, hosted a discussion of initial findings from the Seeing Conflict at the Margins project (seeingconflict.org/). The Forum opened with an introduction to the project, followed by a screening and discussion of videos and photography created by local teams over the past two years. The speakers presented on ways of ‘seeing’ resource development in communities in and around the Lake Turkana Wind Power and Ol Karia geothermal power project and discuss the insights on local people’s perspectives and the research approaches used.

On 16 October 2019, the Rift Valley Forum, in partnership with the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University and Friends of Lake Turkana, hosted a discussion of initial findings from the Seeing Conflict at the Margins project (https://seeingconflict.org/). The Forum opened with an introduction to the project, followed by a screening and discussion of videos and photography created by local teams over the past two years. The speakers presented on ways of ‘seeing’ resource development in communities in and around the Lake Turkana Wind Power and Ol Karia geothermal power project and discuss the insights on local people’s perspectives and the research approaches used.

In June 2015, the Turkana County Government, UNHCR and the Central Government allocated a site near the Kalobeyei Township, 3.5 kilometres northwest of Kakuma refugee camp and measuring 15 square kilometres, to host the ever-growing number of South Sudanese refugees in Kakuma refugee camp. Kalobeyei offers a new system for welcoming and hosting refugees by not only offering a market-based settlement in which they can integrate with host communities but also ensuring that refugee hosting is transformed into an opportunity for the development of the host community. On 6 August 2019, the Rift Valley Forum, in partnership with Amnesty International, hosted Professor Alexander Betts of the University of Oxford and the Director of Refugee Economies Programme to discuss the successes, challenges and opportunities of the Kalobeyei initiative. The Refugee Economies Programme undertakes research on the economic lives of refugees, analysing refugee self-reliance, the role of the private sector and refugee economies in

In June 2015, the Turkana County Government, UNHCR and the Central Government allocated a site near the Kalobeyei Township, 3.5 kilometres northwest of Kakuma refugee camp and measuring 15 square kilometres, to host the ever-growing number of South Sudanese refugees in Kakuma refugee camp. Kalobeyei offers a new system for welcoming and hosting refugees by not only offering a market-based settlement in which they can integrate with host communities but also ensuring that refugee hosting is transformed into an opportunity for the development of the host community. On 6 August 2019, the Rift Valley Forum, in partnership with Amnesty International, hosted Professor Alexander Betts of the University of Oxford and the Director of Refugee Economies Programme to discuss the successes, challenges and opportunities of the Kalobeyei initiative. The Refugee Economies Programme undertakes research on the economic lives of refugees, analysing refugee self-reliance, the role of the private sector and refugee economies in

For the fifth time since 2010, Somalia is exploring options for an electoral model that will advance the country’s democratic process. Despite previous attempts to pursue democracy, Somalia has failed to shed its clan-based political system. So far, the Federal Government of Somalia and other key stakeholders have been unable to agree on a workable electoral model for the 2020 parliamentary and 2021 presidential elections. On 25 July 2019, the Rift Valley Forum and the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies (HIPS) launched a new report by HIPS, Somalia: In Search of a Workable 2020 Electoral Model. The event presented the four possible electoral models discussed in the report and discussed the challenges and way forward for selecting an electoral model and laying the foundation for universal suffrage in Somalia.

For the fifth time since 2010, Somalia is exploring options for an electoral model that will advance the country’s democratic process. Despite previous attempts to pursue democracy, Somalia has failed to shed its clan-based political system. So far, the Federal Government of Somalia and other key stakeholders have been unable to agree on a workable electoral model for the 2020 parliamentary and 2021 presidential elections. On 25 July 2019, the Rift Valley Forum and the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies (HIPS) launched a new report by HIPS, Somalia: In Search of a Workable 2020 Electoral Model. The event presented the four possible electoral models discussed in the report and discussed the challenges and way forward for selecting an electoral model and laying the foundation for universal suffrage in Somalia.

The report is a product of the X-Border Local Research Network, a component of DFID's Cross-border Conflict—Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) programme. The programme carries out research work to better understand the causes and impacts of conflict in border areas and their international dimensions. It supports more effective policymaking and development programming and builds the skills of local partners. The report was written by Eddie Thomas, an RVI Fellow.

On 14 February 2019, the Rift Valley Forum hosted a panel discussion to disseminate a new report —Participation, Voice and Governance in Investment Corridors in Africa: the case of the Lamu Port and South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor Project, LAPSSET—produced by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies of the University of Western Cape, in partnership with the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa Programme. The report examines the extent to which smallholder farmers, fishers, women and youth have been included in the implementation of LAPSSET, and its potential impact on these communities.

On 14 February 2019, the Rift Valley Forum hosted a panel discussion to disseminate a new report —Participation, Voice and Governance in Investment Corridors in Africa: the case of the Lamu Port and South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor Project, LAPSSET—produced by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies of the University of Western Cape, in partnership with the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa Programme. The report examines the extent to which smallholder farmers, fishers, women and youth have been included in the implementation of LAPSSET, and its potential impact on these communities.

Sheekada la yidhaa “Carrada Ayaan Dhunkannay” waa sheeko toos ah oo ku saabsan isku day wiil dhallinyar ah oo ka tahriibay Somaliland si uu u gaadho Yurub iyo dhibaatooyinka socdaalka uu ku maray Itoobiya, Suudaan iyo Libya oo ah socdaal ay isku dayeen da’yar badan oo Soomaali ahi. 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 about the journey migrants take prior to attempting the crossing. We Kissed the Ground is a first-hand account of a young man’s attempt to migrate to Europe from Somaliland and the hardships of the journey through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya, a journey attempted by many young Somalis and commonly referred to as tahriib.

On Wednesday 29 November 2017, Eye Radio (www.eyeradio.org) and the Rift Valley Institute (www.riftvalley.net) aired the fifth and, for now, final radio show in the South Sudan National Archives radio series, in coordination with the South Sudan Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and UNESCO, with Norway’s financial support. The show was hosted by Clement Wani Cirisio and looked at a document preserved through the work of the National Archives, ‘The functions of the leopard-skin chief’, an extract from the draft manual of Nuer customary law commissioned in 1944 by the colonial authorities.

On Wednesday 22 November 2017, Eye Radio (www.eyeradio.org) and the Rift Valley Institute (www.riftvalley.net) aired the fourth radio show about the South Sudan National Archives, in coordination with the South Sudan Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and UNESCO, with Norway’s financial support. The show was hosted by Clement Wani Cirisio and looked at an appeal by the peace delegation to the Anya Nya from 1967, a document preserved through the work of the National Archives. The document is an example of the efforts made by the Sudanese government to persuade the Anya Nya forces to surrender and participate in elections scheduled for March of that year.

Eye Radio (www.eyeradio.org) and the Rift Valley Institute (www.riftvalley.net) aired the second radio show about the South Sudan National Archives on Wednesday 8 November 2017, in coordination with the South Sudan Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and UNESCO, with Norway’s financial support. This edition looked at an extract of the Gospel of St Mark from a 1952 Bible, translated into Bari and preserved through the work of the National Archives. The extract describes a conversation between Jesus and his disciples on the Mount of Olives in which Jesus is preparing them for the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem.

On Wednesday 15 November 2017, Eye Radio (www.eyeradio.org) and the Rift Valley Institute (www.riftvalley.net) aired the third radio show about the South Sudan National Archives, in coordination with the South Sudan Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and UNESCO, with Norway’s financial support. The show was hosted by Rosemary Ochinyi and looked at a document preserved through the work of the National Archives, the illustrated cover of a 1948 instructional health manual titled Pial de Guop, or ‘Good Health’ in Dinka. It was distributed among the Bor Dinka community in what was then known as Upper Nile province.

Eye Radio (www.eyeradio.org) and the Rift Valley Institute (www.riftvalley.net) aired the first of a five-part radio series about the South Sudan National Archives (SSNA) on Wednesday 1 November 2017, in coordination with the South Sudan Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and UNESCO, with Norway’s financial support. The show’s host, Rosemary Ochinyi, and three South Sudanese panellists discussed a particularly important historical document, The Sentencing of the Torit Mutineers, which has been preserved and catalogued through the work of the Archives.

Somaliland Elections - Q&A by Rift Valley Institute

Somaliland Elections Panel - Part 2 by Rift Valley Institute

Somaliland Elections Panel - Part 1 by Rift Valley Institute