“It feels good when I am able to do useful work aimed at providing people with better access to information and when I can contribute to the reconstruction of Somalia as a journalist,” says Sadiyo Mohamed Hassan, a Somalian tv reporter.
“There are many topics for stories in this country and many of them also concern positive issues.”

Hassan has received training in journalist’s work from the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development, which has supported free dissemination of information in Somalia through the Somali National Television (SNTV) and the National Union of Somali Journalists from 2014. A news studio has been built in Mogadishu in 2015 and authorities and journalists have been trained with Finnish support for such tasks as making programs for children and young people.

With the support, the production team of SNTV was able to broadcast the voting in the country’s presidential election live to the rest of the world in 2017. The aim is to make SNTV an editorially independent public service broadcasting company. More balanced, diverse and higher quality flow of information will give citizens better access to information and contributes to peaceful democratization of the Somali society.

Photo: Peik Johansson, graphics: Juho Hiilivirta