HARGEISA, SOMALILAND, 21 FEBRUARY 2026 – DT Global’s Horn of Africa Culture for Peace (HoA C4P) Programme has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Information, Culture & National Guidance (MoICNG) to establish a national system for safeguarding Somaliland’s intangible cultural heritage.
The program is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by DT Global. The initiative forms part of the Programme’s Lot 1 intervention, and shifts focus from one-off cultural events to long-term institutional reform and sustainable heritage management.
As part of the agreement, DT Global will support the Ministry to develop a National Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Safeguarding Framework aligned with UNESCO standards.
An institutional assessment and broad stakeholder consultations, including artists, elders, women, and youth, will inform the framework, ensuring clear mandates, ethical documentation standards, and inclusive governance.
The MoU was signed by the Minister of Information, Culture & National Guidance, Hon Muse Askar Guled and DT Global’s Somaliland Projects Coordinator, Mukhtar Yusuf Osman, in the presence of Mr Abdisalan Mohamoud Du’aale the Ministry’s Director General, who described the partnership as a critical step toward preserving Somali heritage for future generations.
Others present during the signing event included Mr Abokor Addawe Rage, Director of the Ministry’s department of Culture, Ms Fathia Ahmed Jim’ale the Deputy Director of Cultural Department, Mr Jama Awil Nouh Director of Planning and Policy department, Ms Muna Ahmed Omer DT Global’s C4P Intervention Manager and Mr Ahmed Aden DT Global’s PSPH Intervention Manager.
The partnership will also strengthen technical capacity within the Ministry and national media institutions, including Radio Hargeisa and Somaliland National Television (SLNTV).
Targeted training and pilot digitization initiatives will strengthen documentation, cataloguing, and basic digital archiving systems, with particular attention to fragile audiovisual materials that represent irreplaceable elements of national memory.
Implementation is set to begin immediately with the institutional assessment phase.
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