The Contribution of Somali Diaspora Millennials in Peace-Building in Somalia from 2011-2021: A Case of the State Of Minnesota (United States of America)

Abstract

In an attempt to exert and re-imagine her global governance aspirations and geopolitical influence, the African Union (A.U) has acknowledged the African diaspora as the sixth region in the continent: the Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, Central regions and the African diaspora spread out across the globe. The diaspora is a fundamental constituency, especially in addressing contemporary issues underscored in governance, economics, development, politics of the day, and social processes on a global plane, particularly within the African context. Somalia’s diaspora is often cited as one of the most organized, structured, and formidable diaspora constituencies across the globe. Over the years, the Somali diaspora has revolutionized and led innovations in the money transfer sector through corporations such as Dahaab Shil, Taaj, Amana, Hawala and Tawakal but to mention a few. These innovations have had a mighty hand in the development prospects of Somalia and the continent at large. Important to note, the Somali diaspora is not and has never been a monolithic community as presented in previous literature on the subject matter. To this end, the research dissected the concept of the Somali diaspora from a demographic standpoint and subsequently examine her role in peace-building in Somalia, a war-ravaged country. In this research, the inquiry was premised on examining the role of Somali millennials from Minnesota in transnational activities of peace, gender mainstreaming, and governance in Somalia.