SOMALIA - Communication and Information

B. PRESENTATION
1. PROJECT JUSTIFICATION
Puntland State University (PSU) has its roots in the patriotic and humanitarian efforts of KAALO
Relief and Development Agency (a local NGO). KAALO was established in 1991 with the aim of
improving the livelihood of the Somali people through the provision of basic needs in sustainable
and environmentally sound development approaches. One way to achieve this mandate was through
the promotion of higher education in Puntland. Towards this end, the idea of Puntland State
University was born in 1999.
Puntland State University is located within Garowe City of Puntland State. It has been providing
tertiary education in various disciplines including media-related studies. It is important to note that
mass media in Puntland is not well supported due to lack of facilities and expertise. It is therefore
absolutely necessary that a well-equipped university campus radio station be established to not only
serve as a community broadcaster, but more importantly provide the much needed training in
professional journalism and broadcasting.
In 2003, a Journalism course was introduced with many women registering for the course.
However, due to the high fees charged for such online course, it could not be sustainable and
slowly, they all dropped out stalling the course continuation. Over 30 women registered for the
course and even though we had dropouts, it is remarkable to note that 24 of them have managed to
complete the certificate level. Some of them are now practising at various media houses in Garowe
and the second city – Galkayco. Women journalists appear to be closer to some population groups
than the male journalists, for example to deal with youth groups, children affairs, war or internally
displaced victims, just to mention a few.
A training radio station in Garowe would also offer good opportunities for trainees to access most
NGOs, government offices and business people as sources of information. Garowe is centrally
placed in Puntland and offers an opportunity of convergence by people from both the South and
North of the country. Given its stability, it could act as the regional centre for other trainees in
Hargeisa and Mogadishu to enhance their broadcasting skills.
This Campus Radio will also benefit from the distance-learning students in the Online Distance
Learning Initiative (ODeL) programmes which use Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs)
through the African Virtual University (AVU) network to access online lives classes supported by
offline materials (CDs, DVDs, books). In Somalia, there were initially 6 universities (2 from each
region of Somalia) connected to the AVU network. One more university has recently joined. The
online courses include Journalism, IT and Business English started in 2006 at the PSU, in
conjunction with the partner institutions of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the New Jersey
Institute of Technology and Maestro USA.
As a young institution, the University at the moment requires additional support to establish the
campus radio broadcasting station.
Through its programming, this radio will also address issues that affect the surrounding
communities, such as internally displaced peoples, educate the population about the negative effects
and dangers of piracy, female genital mutilation and HIV/AIDS.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE TARGET GROUP
The target group for this project will be some 50 students on average, enrolled per year in the PSU
School of Journalism and Communication, which include those subscribed for the Online Distance
Learning Initiative. It also concerns the Somali communities surrounding the University.
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