Ali Abdirahman Adan is a native Somali state-media journalist, based in the capital Mogadishu. He is the Editor in Chief for Radio Mogadishu under the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Culture. Ali's journey in journalism began in 2011 as an assistant producer for a local radio station in Mogadishu. He also worked as a news presenter and program host for Somalia's national television SNTV. He became a communications officer at the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development in Somalia, responsible for its social media platforms. Ali worked to promote the 30% election quota for women's political participation. He has frequently contributed to the Turkish television show TRT WORLD covering Somali issues and is broadly experienced on Egypt and China from his study tours and travelling.
The project advanced journalism skills and knowledge in girls and young women and promoted gender equality and parity within the journalism community in Somalia. Twenty-five national female journalists participated in a 5-day training session on topics such as journalistic ethics, reporting in a conflict zone, and reporting on human rights abuses. The project also created a platform for participants to share information, best practices and lessons learned. This project has taken an important step towards improving the situation for female journalists in Somalia.
Ali participated in the IVLP Project: Journalism Covering Politics in Conflicts Zones, organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State Office of International Visitors program branch in New York City.
Ali's exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "Participating in the IVLP was a game changer for my development because it connected me to the global network. IVLP was an immense career development program."
Washington, DC; New York City, NY