Somalia and UNESCO open workshop to preserve documentary heritage
Lea Simonini, speaking for UNESCO, said the initiative is meant to help Somalia protect its collective memory while reinforcing national efforts to safeguard historical records.
Monday June 8, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia took a new step Sunday toward safeguarding its historical record, as Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Abdulfatah Kasim Mohamud launched a UNESCO workshop focused on protecting the country’s documentary heritage, including the long-significant Radio Mogadishu archive.
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The National Workshop for Somalia is being held under UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, an initiative designed to preserve and improve access to documentary heritage ranging from manuscripts and photographs to archives, audio recordings and written records.
The workshop was organized by UNESCO under the Japanese Funds-in-Trust programme, funded by the government of Japan. It brought together government officials and representatives from sectors including history, culture, arts, literature and documentary preservation.
Lea Simonini, speaking for UNESCO, said the initiative is meant to help Somalia protect its collective memory while reinforcing national efforts to safeguard historical records.
“UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme was established to ensure that the world’s documentary heritage its written records, audio materials, photographs, manuscripts, and archives is preserved and remains accessible to all,” Simonini said.
She added that documents are more than artifacts from the past; they carry identity, continuity and memory.
“They tell us who we are and where we come from. When they are lost, that memory is lost with them,” she said.
Simonini said the workshop represents a significant move toward forming a National Memory of the World Committee in Somalia and toward seeking international recognition for the Radio Mogadishu archive.
She said the archive holds material of exceptional national and international importance and warned that it must be protected before deterioration or loss sets in.
In his opening remarks, Abdulfatah said preserving Somalia’s national memory is inseparable from protecting the country’s identity, history and cultural future.
“This workshop on the preservation of collective memory comes at a timely moment,” the minister said. “Safeguarding the historical materials contained in our national archives is not merely a technical exercise; it is a national responsibility aimed at protecting the identity and history of the Somali people.”
He said the Radio Mogadishu archive contains essential records of Somali arts, culture and nation-building, making its preservation an urgent priority.
“The Radio Mogadishu Archive is home to the history of Somali arts, culture, and nation-building, and it requires urgent preservation,” Abdulfatah said.
The minister said his ministry will work to modernize and preserve the Radio Mogadishu archive in cooperation with UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme.
The workshop is expected to bolster national and international efforts to protect Somalia’s archives, widen access to documentary heritage and increase public awareness of why collective memory must be preserved.
