Dr. Kenedid Ali Hassan

Dr. Hassan has over two decades of experience conducting research and teaching social science. He is currently involved in several on-going research projects focusing on the Horn of Africa: the international frankincense trade, journalism and democracy in Somaliland, and the development of nationalist discourses in relation to poetic and musical expressions in Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia. He has taught courses ranging from international relations and development studies to sociology and popular music, and also held consultancies with governments and international NGOs. Dr. Hassan holds a PhD in Sociology from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

Sh. Saeed Sh. Abdirahman Sh. Saeed Maydh

Sh. Saeed, the son of a prominent religious sheikh, is an accomplished scholar trained in traditional Islamic sciences who lives in the historic town of Maydh. He is the head of the historic Maqaam of Sheikh Isahaq. His areas of expertise include: Islamic studies and the religious history of the Maydh region.

Balqiisa Sheikh Ahmed

Balqiisa is currently a PhD candidate and postgraduate teaching assistant at Aston University in the UK.  Pursuing her interest in labour rights and its role in international law, she is currently conducting doctoral research assessing the International Labour Organization’s capacity as the international agency for enforcing labour standards. She completed her undergraduate degree in Law with Politics at Keele University in 2011 and graduated with an LLM from the University of Birmingham in 2012.

Scientific Committee

Dr. Marie-Ange Somdah

Marie-Ange Somdah was trained in Burkina Faso, France and the USA – at the University of Ouagadougou, University of Franche-Comté, Boston University School of Education, and Harvard University Extension School. He is teaching in the areas of International Educational Development, Communication, International Relations, Translation, Comparative Literatures, African & Francophone Literatures. He is the former chair of the English department at the University of Djibouti. As a development practitioner, Prof. Somdah was the country representative of the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH) in Djibouti; IFESH is an American NGO involved in various education projects in Africa. Professor Somdah’s scholarship focuses on Postcolonial Studies, International Educational Development, African Orality, Francophone Studies, African Cinema, and the question of Environment and Cultures in African societies.

Dr. Kennedy K. Mutundu

Dr. Kennedy K. Mutundu is a graduate of the University of Nairobi as well as Washington University with 18 years of post-PhD University teaching and research with vast experience in University administration.  He is currently on full-time appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Development Studies at Mount Kenya University. His academic and research interests include Forager and Pastoralists Ecology in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands; Subsistence Transformations; Environmental Management and Resource Conservation; Resource Use Conflicts and Peace Management; Social and Strategic Impact Assessment; Qualitative and Participatory Research Methods, among others.