ARTICLE: Nimo Ibrahim Omar: Using safe spaces for youth

mobilisation
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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
DATELINE: 12/AUGUST/2018, KISMAAYO SOMALIA

Nimo Ibrahim Omar: Using safe spaces for youth mobilisation

The relative peace and stability in Somalia have seen an increased use of safe spaces
for transformative youth activities. Young people across the country gather in these
spaces to exchange knowledge, share ideas, experiences and skills, and build
friendships through arts and sports.

One of these spaces is in the port city of Kismayo where Nimo Ibrahim Omar, 27,
leads efforts to empower young people through motivational and leadership
building sessions with the support of the Kismayo Youth Organisation that she co-
founded three years ago.

Nimo and her colleagues help young people rediscover themselves by teaching them
the benefits of staying positively engaged through youth engagement activities.
Young people discuss topical issues such as conflict resolution and reconciliation
during such activities, and members of the youth group talk to participants about the
importance of keeping peace and solving disagreements amicably.

On several occasions, Nimo has invited poets and traditional elders to their
gatherings to educate the youth about patriotism and how to peacefully co-exist
with each other.

“We believe that if the youth of this country are given an opportunity in decision-
making at regional and national levels, they can be true champions of peace,” says
the high school graduate.

A mother of two children, Nimo continues to channel much of her energy towards
the pursuit of peace, using public gatherings to ensure that youth embrace and
participate in peace-building activities in the Lower Jubba region.

“We conduct awareness on health, peace and development. We also educate the
youth on the disadvantages of joining extremist groups,” says Nimo, adding that her
youth group has worked to link its constituency to the Jubbaland state government
where their voices can be heard on policies that directly affect young Somalis.

“We have organized a range of workshops between the youth and law enforcement
agencies in the region, firstly to ensure they build a relationship with each other, and
to enable them to tackle security-related challenges from a common front,” notes
the young activist.

Nimo believes that such workshops have helped build trust between the youth and
local security officials. “The high level of coordination between the security agencies
and the youth in Jubbaland is proof that young people can actively contribute to
peace and prosperity in the country, if given a chance,” she says. “We have an
arrangement with the youth to report to the police any suspicious activity they come
across which could be a potential security threat.”

The Kismayo Youth Organization recently initiated a project to link jobless youth with
employers, with an eye towards reducing migration from the region.

To date, the youth organisation has succeeded in finding jobs for 25 young women
and men. She says their quest to find jobs for educated but unemployed youth was
fuelled by the spiraling number of young Somalis risking their lives to seek better
opportunities abroad.

Nimo hopes that her efforts to coordinate and bring together youth in her region will
inspire others across the country. As the world marks International Youth Day on 12
August, she takes pride in empowering young people to create change through open
safe spaces, which provide young people with a platform to express themselves, be
heard and actively engage in leadership building activities in her region.

The United Nations’ New Urban Agenda (NUA) reiterates the need for public spaces
for youth to enable them to interact with family and have constructive inter-
generational dialogue. Youth need safe spaces where they can come together,
engage in activities related to their diverse needs and interests, participate in
decision-making processes and freely express themselves. Safe spaces ensure the
dignity and safety of youth.

When youth have safe spaces to engage, according to the NUA, they can effectively
contribute to development, including peace and social cohesion.

END