Educating Somaliland Youth in IT Programming and Training as Software Developers
The Chairman of Somaliland Diaspora Agency, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation of the Republic of Somaliland Mr. Abdi Abdullahi Hersi (Dayaxweerar), and the MOFA Protocol Team received a delegation at Egal International Airport on the Sunday April 2019. The Delegation led by Cllr. Fatima Ali Madar, member of Oslo City Council, Culture & Education Committee, accompanied with Mr. Geir Isene CEO of A-Circle AS, based in Norway.
The delegation arrived in Somaliland after a series of communications shared with Cllr. Fatima Ali Madar and Mr. Geir Isene on the project “Educating young talents to become software developers who can compete for contracts on the global stage.”
Organized by Somaliland Diaspora Agency, an important information meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation on Tuesday morning, April 16th, Different key Ministries of Somaliland were invited and mostly represented by their Ministers, namely: Ministers of Education & Science, Employment, Social Affairs & Family, Communication & Technology, Investment Promotion, Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, and Marodijeh Regional Authorities as well.
In the meeting, Mr. Geir Isene, CEO of A-Circle AS and Cllr. Fatima Ali Madar gave an introduction to the project which relates to educating young people to become software developers who can compete for contracts on the global state, and to create sustainable jobs and bringing money in to Somaliland.“I had for ten years a burning desire to help African nation gain traction on the global IT stage. The sale of services is more free and competitive than the sale of physical goods. A software developer in Somaliland can freely compete on the global scene against developers in Europe, the US, India and elsewhere,” said Geir Isene.
“We can focus the training on the task at hand – to get effective programmers to compete for software development contracts. No fuss, no unnecessary training, no slacking or messing around. We execute a few simple steps to start the ball rolling in establishing Somaliland as a nation to be reckoned with in the world of IT,” he added.
The Ministers and the other officials who attended the meeting all appreciated the proposed project, underlining that software programming is useful and more practical and can enable the youth to seek opportunities online. All the participant Ministries affirmed their cooperation and that the Somaliland Government is willing to assist and endorse the implementation of the project in Somaliland.
The purpose of the Delegation’s first trip to Somaliland was to inform the Somaliland Government, assess the opportunities and needs, and to identify pitfalls. They also had meetings with relevant stakeholders, including Shaqadoon Organization in Hargeisa. Accompanied with the Chairman of Somaliland Diaspora Agency, Mr. Dayaxweerar, the Delegation also visited Berbera, Sheikh, and Burao and had meetings with various public and private education institutions, Government officials, and other parties concerned.
Cllr. Fatima Ali Madar has been a well respected councilor for nearly twenty years in Norway. She is a dedicated development activist, and has been the backbone and the cause of important contributions to essential public services at varied times and always worked to strengthen the cooperation we have with the Government and the people of Norway. Several members of origin are councilors in various European countries, mostly provided successful in their positions and help for their origin country. Fatima Ali Madar is one of the role model in the Somaliland Diaspora.
Statement Issued for the PRESS
By Somaliland Diaspora Agency
Hargeisa, Republic of Somaliland
April 20th, 2019