The African Network for Internationalisation of Education (ANIE) is proud to celebrate a significant milestone in African higher education: the official launch of the International Education Association of Somalia (IEASO) on July 3, 2025, in Mogadishu.
This historic event signals not only progress for Somalia’s higher education sector but also a renewed spirit of regional solidarity and institutional resilience across East Africa.
Representing ANIE at the launch, Executive Director Prof. Kefa Lidundu Simwa delivered a keynote address in which he described the moment as “a historic moment of institutional resilience and regional hope.”
“This is not just a Somali milestone,” Prof. Simwa stated. “It is an East African moment—one that invites us to reimagine internationalisation from within our contexts.”
The launch brought together key stakeholders from government, academia, and the development community. It highlighted IEASO’s commitment to leading Somalia’s engagement in global higher education networks and shaping homegrown responses to global education challenges.
In his address, Prof. Simwa outlined four strategic imperatives for the future of higher education in Somalia and the East African region:
- Embedding internationalisation at home through curriculum reform and innovative pedagogy,
- Strengthening intra-African academic collaboration,
- Decolonising global engagement to reflect African perspectives and priorities, and
- Leveraging digital innovation to improve access and inclusion.
He also acknowledged the unique challenges facing Somalia’s education sector, including:
- Limited faculty and research capacity,
- Digital infrastructure gaps, and
- Weak quality assurance systems.
Despite these hurdles, Prof. Simwa shared a roadmap for transformation centered on locally driven solutions, South–South partnerships, and youth-focused innovation. He reaffirmed ANIE’s dedication to supporting IEASO’s growth:
“ANIE is ready to walk alongside IEASO—building national strategies, enhancing institutional capacity, and amplifying Somalia’s voice in global higher education spaces.”
A Growing Continental Movement
The establishment of IEASO marks Somalia’s formal entry into a continental movement of institutions working to redefine the internationalisation of higher education from within Africa. Hosted at Moi University, Kenya, ANIE has long championed this agenda through research, advocacy, and capacity development initiatives across the continent.
With IEASO’s formation, Somalia joins a dynamic network of African actors committed to shaping a more equitable, inclusive, and collaborative global education landscape.
As ANIE, we are excited to witness and contribute to this new chapter