We are excited that the award-winning
#Somali
journalist
@ragehomaar
will give us our first masterclass on Monday.
He'll talk to us about outstanding journalism, reporting from difficult environments and presenting on TV and radio.
🎉 We won the 2024
@Onewm
Press Freedom award!
Thanks to everyone who helped us achieve this first for Somali women journalists.
Here's our acceptance video from the ceremony in London 👇
Big shoutout to the brave ladies covering the devastating floods Happening in
#Somalia
, highlighting the impact on the community. Second stop Baidoa 🇸🇴
#SomaliaFloods
#BraveWomen
We're looking forward to a masterclass with journalist
@ZahraJoya
who founded the women-led
@RukhshanaMedia
in
#Afghanistan
. We'll share experiences of working in two of the world's most challenging places to be a journalist, especially if you're a woman.
It's official! Bilan are the winners of this year's One World Media Press Freedom Award.
Thanks to everyone who helped us get this far.
@EU_in_Somalia
@UNDP
@DalsanTv
"Being an independent journalist is a crime in
#Afghanistan
. Being a woman journalist is a double crime." That's what
@ZahraJoya
of
@RukhshanaMedia
told us in her inspiring masterclass. "Be strong. Don't give up," she said. "Give a voice to the suffering."
We are delighted to be celebrating our one-year anniversary. Over the last year,
@MediaBilan
has had the opportunity to challenge stereotypes, brought new issues to light in Somalia, and achieved wider recognition at home and from some of the world's largest media.
#Bilanmedia
Great to have Leyla Jeyte, a freelance visual artist, discuss mobile
#journalism
and share her experience of filming and editing with
#Somalia
's first all-women media team
@MediaBilan
supported by
@UNDP
We are shortlisted for the
@onewm
global Press Freedom Award. Announcement of the winner is Wednesday night.
🤞 Fingers crossed and thanks to all our supporters for helping us get this far. Let's hope we win!
@EU_in_Somalia
@UNDP
@DalsanTv
🎉Happy Birthday to us!
Today we celebrate 2 years of reporting stories everyone said were off-limits and look back at some of our highlights:
A big thanks to all our viewers and supporters 🙏
#Somalia
's all-women media team celebrates international
#MotherLanguageDay
with a special report on what the Somali language means to the Somali people.
Not just a way to communicate but something that connects us with our culture.
#IMLD
👇🏼
Story:
🔥 Women journalists!
✍🏼 How’s your CV?
Bilan Media is looking for a new Editor. Apply here to join
#Somalia
's first and only
#women
-run, women-staffed media unit👇🏾
Supporting Somaliland's young girls in sports.
Watch the challenges faced by the Hiil Habeed women's basketball team in the capital of Somaliland, Hargeisa?
“During my 1st yr with
@MediaBilan
I enjoy covering humanitarian issues and I am grateful to Bilan for giving me a platform where we can showcase untold stories, like our recent feature on youth gang violence in Mogadishu.”
Reporter, Naciimo Saed Salah
Only 3 days until
#Somalia
’a first all- women media team Bilan Media celebrates 1st full year anniversary of reporting and shining a light on stories which have long been ignored.
👇🏼
Media advisory:
#IndependentMakingDicision
#WomenEmpowerment
“When people hear about IDPs, they think the only thing we need is food. That is not true. We also need education,” says Ruqiyo. “Please give others in need the opportunity to study so they, like me, can expand their minds.”👇🏼
Read:
#Somalia
#IDPS
As Somalis become more urbanised, many are moving away from traditional systems of insurance used for centuries by nomadic communities and embracing Islamic Takaful. But do they understand how it works?⬇️
@RadioDalsan1
@DalsanTv
“Women journalists are more productive than men if they have the freedom to think, a safe place to work, and a platform, like Bilan, to express their ideas.”
- Reporter, Kiin Hassan Fakat
No one talks about drug addiction among Somali women. But it's a growing problem.
Now
@MediaBilan
looks at how lives are being ruined and what can be done:
🎥
@DalsanTv
@RadioDalsan1
"As
#Somali
youth we're committed to being innovative so we can contribute to the development of all Somalis, especially women & marginalised girls," says pioneering lawyer
@iman_abdikarin
who just launched her own law firm
#InternationalYouthDay2023
🌏
👉🏾
2 years ago we were young women journalists struggling to be heard.
Now we report for
@BBC
,
@Guardian
,
@El_Pais
and
@DalsanTv
says
@MediaBilan
’s Kiin in this look at the meteoric rise of Somalia’s only all-women media team:
🎉 Very proud to be one of the nominees for 2023 annual Press Freedom Award from
@IndexCensorship
!
We hope this helps raise the profile of all
#Somali
women journalists and the great work they do.
#IndexAwards2023
Journalism Nominee 1: It is incredibly dangerous to be a journalist in
#Somalia
.
@MediaBilan
works in the face of significant threats, as journalists and particularly women are specific targets of militant Islamist groups.
Today marks
#SomaliYouthDay
, celebrated annually! 🎉 It honors the role of young Somalis in shaping the future of their nation. What does this day mean for the young people of Somalia? 👇🏽
#SomaliYouthDay
The Hage Driving School is breaking barriers in the Somali capital Mogadishu with its new Qalanjo programme designed exclusively for women, empowering them to take control of their lives by learning to drive.
@RadioDalsan1
@DalsanTv
⬇️
Author of fresh report on women in politics, Zainab Hassan, explains why Somalia’s new female deputy speaker gives her hope despite a fall in the overall number of women MPs
Bilan goes to
#Mogadishu
's biggest charcoal market to report on pregnant women's cravings for charcoal. Why do they do it and are there any health risks?
“Bilan showcases the talent of Somali women journalists and disproves stereotypes. It has provided me with a safe and secure environment in which to work and shows how a group of women journalists can manage a media unit and produce successful content.”
- Reporter,
@HindaCabdi
“During my 1st yr with
@MediaBilan
I enjoy covering humanitarian issues and I am grateful to Bilan for giving me a platform where we can showcase untold stories, like our recent feature on youth gang violence in Mogadishu.”
Reporter, Naciimo Saed Salah
#SomaliWomenInMedia
Challenging taboos about
#autism
in
#Somalia
.
A father speaks openly about his son's condition and how sending him to Mogadishu's only school for children with autism has prepared him for mainstream education.
Story:
"Women who drive cars are frowned upon here. People believe I'm doing a bad thing but I have no choice because it is the only source of income for my family," says Bosaso's only female taxi driver Sacdia Ali Farah.
@MediaBilan
@UNDPSomalia
#Somalia
Story:
"I used to study when I lived in my village. But then the drought came, killed our livestock and everything changed". Fartun Aden Mohamed speaks to
@MediaBilan
about how changed her life because of the drought in Baidawo, Southwest.
Story:
@DalsanTv
“As a child, I was not able to have access to education. We were a nomadic family. I was busy with domestic chores and taking care of my siblings, at this age, I am happy to have an opportunity to study” Said Rukia. one of the mothers in the Camp.
Story:
Internship available at Bilan Media. 🔔
👉🏾We are seeking young, female, energetic and responsible women who want to start in journalism to join our growing team. 😍
We spent two weeks working with
@AFP
in Nairobi learning about wire
#journalism
and the business side of news.
At
@BilanMedia
, we are committed to accurate, in-depth reporting of the issues that matter, so it was great to get insight from the best.
@tanya7510
Women in Baidoa
#Somalia
found a school for children with special needs where the principal and teachers also have special needs, inspiring the students that they too can have bright, productive futures.
Story:
"These bad customs of female circumcision are not part of Islam, and we must educate the public by starting from mosques, schools even Nikah (weddings) parties to warn the public about the problem of circumcision." Sheikh Sharif Ibrahim.
Story:
"The sole purpose of journalism is to tell the truth," says legendary BBC interviewer of presidents, rebels and everyone in-between, Robin White, as he shares his formidable skills with
#Somalia
's first all-women media team
@MediaBilan
supported by
@UNDP
.
Wow. Honoured to be among the final three shortlisted for this year's
@onewm
Press Freedom Award.
Thank you to the judges and our audience. Fingers crossed for next month!
And here it is! 🎉
These are the Awards Nominees for 2024. It has been tough to select just three entries from so many incredible ones. But the judges looked at criteria like relevance, substance and impact to arrive at a decision
Maxamed Nuur Caddoow is determined to keep alive the ancient
#Benadiri
tradition of weaving alindi cloth despite the decades of conflict which have destroyed so many of
#Somalia
’s once-thriving local industries. 👇🏽
Our latest talk show explores what’s behind the 5% tax imposed in Banadir. Is it fair? What will people get in return? Members of the public grill guests from the world of politics, business and civil society.
Stay tuned to
@MediaBilan
&
@DalsanTv
Facebook tonight at 8 PM
State Minister of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change announced that the trade and use of plastic bags will end by the end of 2024.⬇️
@DalsanTv
@RadioDalsan1
Violence against women and girls means women must have the chance to play a greater role in peace-building. Bilan looks at the options.
🎥
@DalsanTv
@RadioDalsan1
We have had a very productive two days!
Discussing and learning about
#social
media and
#digital
-journalism.
Thanks to
@MsSorayaAli
a British-Somali journalist from London.
An internship opportunity is available in the Bilan Media organization. 🔔
We are seeking a young, female, energetic and responsible intern to join our growing team. 😍
👉Application deadline: 12 August, 2023.
#Hiringinterns
#Jointheteam
#Femalejournalists
“Bilan has taught me that journalism is more than just reporting on conflict & politics; there are stories that are interesting & relate to daily life, such as IDPs, women in the security sector & women running small businesses to support their families.
Reporter Shukri Mohamed
The first-ever football tournament for youth with visual impairments, held in Mogadishu! Have you ever seen a game like this before?
#Inclusion
#SportsForAll
#Mogadishu
Exciting news from Bilan Media! 🎉 Join us for our panel discussion about 'women's participation in politics, opportunities, and challenges'. Mark your calendars🗓️: Today evening, 2024, at 3:30 PM EAT, Hotel Maida. Don't miss out on this enlightening event!
A side effect of
#Mogadishu
’s construction boom is the felling of trees across the city to make way for new buildings. Some fear it will exacerbate the impact of climate change which already hits
#Somalia
very hard.
Nearly 500,000 views in one day for our latest story on
@BBCafrica
:
"Somalia's football pitch that doubles as an execution ground," by Naima Said Salah.
Tomorrow marks the 1st anniversary of
@MediaBilan
,
#Somalia
's only all-women media team.
They've changed the media landscape, telling the stories they want with the impact they deserve.
Visit to meet the team and read their inspiring reports.
@UNDPSomalia
Floods prevent Mogadishu’s IDPs from going into town to beg or search for work.
After losing everything in the drought, now the rains are destroying their lives:
🎥:
@DalsanTv
@RadioDalsan1
Somali Entrepreneur Hirsia Abdulle Siad built a thriving fruit businesses that's now threatened by rising food prices.
Her story illustrates a crisis facing food producers around the world.
🎥:
@DalsanTv
@RadioDalsan1
Acting Editor in Chief of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC),
@weshawuor1
, on the need for women journalists to take control of their own stories.👇
People kept asking me how they could learn to paint,” says Somalia’s popular young artist Abdinasir 4C. “So I decided to organize a ‘Coffee and Art’ event in Mogadishu.”
@artsy
@worldpainting2
@Mogadishu
Shukri from Bilan Media shines bright as the only female photographer at last night’s Miss Somalia beauty pageant in Mogadishu 📸
@photography
@MisssomaliaLtd
I lived in Las Anood for 30 years.
I had all my 10 children there.
We were forcibly evicted for no reason and forced to leave our lives and possessions behind.
Luul Mohamud speaks to
@MediaBilan
about her life in the Camp.
Story:
“What I like about this place is there is a class where we are thought about period sanitation and we are provided with all we need by our principal who is luckily a woman.” Said Hafso Ahmed one of the girls in Boondheere school.
Story:
#Kalsooni
#Awood
#Somalia
's all-women media team celebrates
@worldradioday
#WorldRadioDay2023
with a special report on what radio means to the Somali people. Radio provides news, advice & entertainment - it's also a lifeline service for many.
@UNDPSomalia
story:👇🏽👇🏽