Somalia’s livestock sector has reached a defining moment. But if the country wants this hard-won success to translate into lasting wealth, it must stop letting its “gold” go to market at “silver” prices. The way forward, the article argues, is clear: Somalia must take control of the supply chain — from pasture to plate — and turn livestock from a raw export into a premium global brand.The Gap: Why Our Hard Work Earns LessAt present, there is a deep mismatch between what the Somali bush produces and what international buyers…

By Ali Mohamed Omar Saturday May 9, 2026 A Response to the Heritage Institute’s Assessment of Somalia’s Diplomacy There is a sharp line between rigorous analysis and reflexive cynicism, between constructive criticism and the kind of commentary that weakens the very institutions a country depends on abroad. When that line is crossed, scholarship can become a liability instead of a public service. A recent policy paper has asked Somalis, along with our international partners, to judge what the country has achieved during…

by Sagal-Louise HaiderSaturday April 18, 2026 In Mogadishu’s historic Xamar Weyne district, Fakhr ad-Din Mosque endures as a medieval landmark with deep global roots — and mounting vulnerability. A photograph released by the African Union-United Nations Information Support Team shows a view of the Mogadishu fishing harbor from the Aruba Hotel, Mogadishu, Somalia, Aug. 6, 2012. (Photo courtesy of Sagal-Louise Haider) At the center of Somalia’s capital, Fakhr ad-Din Mosque sits almost in silence. Dating to no later than 1269,…

In Dhusamareeb, AFI 2025 turned a fragile moment into a political opening for Somalia The 9th Annual Forum for Ideas (AFI 2025) in Dhusamareeb was expected to be another policy conference. It became something else: an improbable stage-setter for dialogue between a wary federal government and a skeptical opposition, and a stress test of Somalia’s political resilience amid a fast-moving geopolitical storm. Organized by the Heritage Institute in partnership with the Galmudug administration, the gathering drew roughly 500…

Yodelling, the echoing call-and-response singing long associated with Swiss herders and alpine choirs, has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Switzerland’s culture ministry said after a UNESCO meeting in New Delhi. “As the emblematic song of Switzerland, yodelling encompasses a wide variety of artistic expressions and is deeply rooted in the population,” the ministry noted, welcoming the recognition as validation of a living tradition passed down in families, clubs…

In Tunisia, the richness of the culinary heritage is unknown, often due to lack of transmission and communication that links between the different regions of the country. A tasting exhibition about Tunis paid tribute to seven governments in Tunisia. When Tunisians start debating the types of chermoula, a sauce used to cook…

In Dakar, the Théodore-Monod Museum reopened on May 18 after more than a year of closure linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. The museum has a rich collection of about 9,000 African works of art from about 20 countries. But it suffers from an outdated image, according to its curator. The long closure was therefore an opportunity to reflect on the improvement.…

In the midst of a debate on the restoration of the works looted throughout colonization, an exhibition is being held within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Kinshasa. "The spirit of the ancestors" goals to reconnect younger artists with older works. To start with there may be an statement: many Congolese have no…

The president of the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum, Emmanuel Kasarherou, arrived in Cotonou on Wednesday, March 24, on a technical mission through March 28, to advance preparations on the Benin side for the return of the 26 works promised by Paris. Time is running out, as the French deputies have given Benin and Senegal a year to complete the process and restore that work. The French mission is purely technical. On the program, work sessions and site visits for Quai Branly's president. For his visit, Benin mobilized…

Ivory Coast desires its hundred-year-old Sudanese mosques to be a UNESCO World Heritage Website. The file was submitted this yr and is awaiting potential validation. Guided tour. The time is 13.00 this Friday within the city of M'Bengue, which is positioned 75 km north of the city of Korhogo. The villagers step by step go to…