Participant Profile: Mokhtar Nuur – Uniting Communities Through Media in Somalia

Mokhtar, a budding media professional, aspires to run his own media outlet one day.  Mokhtar studies at East Africa University in Bosaso, Somalia with a focus on community development while also serving as Deputy Director at Somali Development Trust (SDT), an IREX partner for the Uniting Communities to Mitigate Conflict program (UCMC).

He is determined to use media to break the cycle of clan-related violence he witnesses around him.  He describes clannism in Somalia as something that “is deeply rooted in the hearts of many people,” noting that, “they say that you can’t rise without your clan’s support.”  Ever since he was young, he says, “I wanted to get involved in peace activities using media because it’s in the interest of everyone, yet it’s so elusive, with so few advocates.  When there is peace, people smile and visit friends and families without fear.  If there is no sense of peace, though, everyone stays indoors, like prisoners.” 

Mokhtar reports that he enjoyed the initial UCMC peacebuilding training, where “we covered lots of topics on how to mitigate conflict, work in teams towards the goal of peacebuilding, and more than that, gained leadership skills in becoming a peace activist.”  Given his interest in media, he began thinking about ways to apply these new peacebuilding and leadership skills to his existing media background. 

Asked what draws him to media, he points to the potential to shape public opinion, raise awareness and inspire people, noting, “Media is like a mother educating people, on anything from the hazards of poor health to the havoc wrought by tribalism.  Youth, especially, who are empowered and skilled with media can light the torch of knowledge to touch the lives of ordinary people.” 

He says, “In our training, the trainers instilled in us something that I found very useful.  They said that as a journalist, you need to possess many characteristics such as neutrality, creativity, curiosity, integrity, and on top of that, taking pride in your profession and serving your community with dignity, always being honest and far-sighted.”

Mokhtar is now working with the SDT team to develop videos on peace advocacy, which will be aired to the community in mid-2011.

The Uniting Communities to Mitigate Conflict Program is supported by USAID.