Somaliland event

Back home now. The event went off well, with about 60 attendees. We just started a bit late which meant we had to rush through a little with our presentations, but it all went fine. Good to hear from everyone and to meet everyone there, especially Ahmed and Izzy, who organised the event.

The event started a little later than planned - well 2 pm instead of mid-day, as we had to await the delegation which had come up from London. This was a bit of a pity because it meant we were a little rushed, as we still had to finish by 5 pm.

We had talks as follows:

Somaliland and the role of Diaspora: Abdi Jibril (Writer, teacher and community officer)

Passed elections in Somaliland: Aly Verjee, Steve Kibble (Progressio election observers, Somaliland Focus UK)

International Aid: ActionAid-International (Robin Le Mare)

Somali language and culture, also introduction of his new book about the role of women in Somaliland society: Mahamed Baashe (writer)

Health and Education: Mohamed Aden Hassan (Nomad International) Mahmoud Hashi (SLAP coordinator)

Personal experiences - myself

Somaliland youth - Ahmed Mirreh (organiser)

Connecting Histories - Izzy

Not much time now, so will write more soon.

Further, would just like to thank Nick and Abs and Bruce and Caroline for their hospitality - it was great to see you and the children as well. Hopefully it won't be so long before the next time.