Project
Strengthening Somali Media Capacity for Democracy and Human Rights
- Somalia
- October 2011
The project aimed strengthened the capacity of the Somali media to implement principles and practices of democracy and respect for human rights by providing professional training to Somali journalists across the country, focusing on ethics and good journalistic practices, and holding workshops on good governance and human rights. The use of training sessions and workshops was appropriate to address the issue of journalists’ skills development. Creation of a media centre was also useful in helping journalists to do their work. However, the project’s planned activities were not sufficient to address all its objectives.
The number of participating journalists was on target, as was the ratio of women participants (30%). This is a very significant achievement, considering the prevalence of armed violence and high levels of political instability in many parts of Somalia during the project period. Significantly, the project benefited about half of Somalia’s journalists. On the other hand, the failure to address other stakeholders – government, editors, and publishers – reduced the likelihood of positive changes. However, the very fact that the project took place has to be seen as an achievement in its own right.
Additional guidance from a partner organization would probably have helped the grantee make better use of its members’ energy and commitment to engage in advocacy on matters of rights and policy. The project would have benefited from strategic advice. The grantee lacked project management capacity, time and inclination to consider “big picture” policy and strategic issues. The grantee to some extent anticipated its own weakness by suggesting in the project document that an Advisory Committee including UN representatives would be appointed to help it implement the project. Regrettably, the committee did not get established, partly because grantee did not follow up on the idea.
The project probably built the capacity of individual journalists, but there were no plans to help with follow up and continued capacity building. Conditions in Somalia would in any case have made it difficult to implement any follow-up support, but existing communications platforms and social networks could have been used to reinforce liaison among journalists.
The project also failed adequately to involve government authorities where it could have been possible. Although local officials were informed of activities, and occasionally invited to take part, there was no explicit attempt to convey the concerns of journalists to authorities or otherwise to associate them to a search for policy solutions.
The failure to adequately engage editors and publishers/owners undermined the project’s objectives, because the value of work on human rights, good governance and freedom of expression was not specifically conveyed to this important set of stakeholders (eg, many journalists fail to publish stories on human rights and good governance because editors and owners refuse them.
Many junior journalists often lack basic training in journalism – and not only awareness of rights, good governance. The grantee could have included more practical exercises in the training curriculum. Other forms of training, such as mentoring of junior journalists by more senior one, should also be considered.
The promotion of the role of the media and freedom of expression should have been the object of advocacy activities beyond the workshops. The grantee did conduct some advocacy activities, but these were not part of the UNDEF-funded project and addressed mainly the international community. Any follow-up project should include an advocacy dimension directed at government and local authorities, and should consider ways in which training sessions can be followed-up to further support participating journalists, for example through the use of social networks.
The project took due account of the requirements for gender balance in terms of participation. However, the contents of the training sessions did not sufficiently emphasize the gender aspects of human rights and governance, which are particularly important in a conflict context such as Somalia’s.
The implementation of the project sent an important positive signal of the international community’s support for freedom of expression and good governance in Somalia. Although sustainability is always a challenge in troubled contexts such as Somalia, the project has laid valuable groundwork for future action in support of media freedom.