NON-PROFITOne of Somalia's first digital media academies
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SODMASomali Digital Media Academy
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Somali Digital Media Academy · SODMA

Building Somalia's next generation of digital media makers

From the field{{heroCap}}
8,000+
trainees
2017
founded in Mogadishu
6
training programmes
10+
local and international partners

We prepare a generation to tell Somalia's story itself: hands-on training in digital media, multimedia and media literacy, so young people leave with a career, a voice and an impact on their community.

Register your interest Explore programmes Partner or donate
AWARDSilver Award — Digitally Fit East Africa 2024Nairobi, Kenya
EUROPEAN NETWORKFirst Somali and African member of the Media & Learning AssociationBelgium, 2025
TRAINING PARTNERAl Jazeera Media InstituteJoint training for Somali journalists
IN THE MEDIAFeatured by the United Nations in SomaliaUNSOM feature story, October 2023
OUR STORY

From one journalist to an academy for everyone

Journalist Abdulrahman Yusuf Hassan founded SODMA in Mogadishu in 2017, after years with Arab and Somali national media, to open the door to digital media skills for young Somalis.

He started with his own resources and a team of volunteer trainers. Today SODMA is a non-profit educational institution where no student is turned away for being poor.

“The best part of our work is watching the people we trained move from unemployment to work, and support their families.”
— Abdulrahman Yusuf Hassan (Bukhari), Founder & Director General
▶ Watch the SODMA film
Abdulrahman Yusuf Hassan leading the workshop “Digital Media in Empowering and Employing Somali Youth” at Mogadishu Tech Summit 2019
Founder Abdulrahman Yusuf Hassan at Mogadishu Tech Summit, 2019
PROGRAMMES

Six tracks. Learning by doing.

Programmes of two months to one year, on real equipment, ending with a portfolio and a SODMA certificate.

Full programme details →
Trainees in the digital media programme

Digital Media

Content creation for platforms, news writing, mobile journalism, interviewing, digital storytelling and media ethics.

In person · MogadishuCertificate
Programme details →
A trainee presenting a brand identity project

Multimedia

Graphic design, photography, video editing, motion graphics, scriptwriting and visual production.

In person · MogadishuCertificate
Programme details →
A SODMA seminar

Media & Information Literacy

Fact-checking, spotting AI fakes, countering disinformation and hate speech, and digital safety, for students, teachers and communities.

Community workshopsIn Somali
Learn more →
Illustration: AI in media
NEW TRACK

AI in Media

Using AI tools responsibly for writing, design and editing, and detecting and protecting against fake content.

In person · Mogadishu
Programme details →
Illustration: environmental media

Environmental Media

Visual reports, short films and awareness campaigns that bring Somalia's environmental and climate issues to people in their own language.

Films & campaignsIn person · Mogadishu
Programme details →
Two trainees presenting their project at the closing event

Women's Empowerment in Media

A track that opens filming and media production to young women.

Scholarships for womenProfessional production

Digital education is a right for everyone.

MEDIA LITERACY

Where a rumour travels on WhatsApp faster than the news

We teach young people and teachers to verify what reaches them, tell news from opinion and propaganda, spot AI-generated fake images and videos, and share responsibly. Content in Somali, built on international and European media literacy standards, adapted to the Somali context.

Our media literacy projects
1
Verify

Check the source, the image and the date before believing.

2
Think

Ask who made the message, why, and who gains from it.

3
Share responsibly

Spread what builds trust; stop what harms your community.

PROJECTS & INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

Working with international institutions on what Somalia needs

Young people trained in multimedia
Save the ChildrenSix months

Multimedia skills for young people

An intensive programme in which SODMA trained seven young people in multimedia over six months, in partnership with Save the Children.

Certificates at the Media for Development programme with Al Jazeera Media Institute
Al Jazeera Media Institute2021 – 2025

Media Initiative for Development

Upskilling the Academy's design and motion trainers, then training 50+ Somali media professionals in editing, mobile journalism and digital storytelling.

ArtXchange
CISP · European Union · SOMASA2022

ArtXchange

Graphic design training for around 30 young people from Banadir, within an EU-funded project.

Participants with certificates after the Zamzam-funded digital storytelling training
Zamzam Foundation2020

Humanitarian storytelling for digital platforms

Photo and video storytelling training for staff of local humanitarian organisations, and a graphic design course.

Digital Shelter
Digital Shelter22 trainees · 2025

A new generation of storytellers

SODMA trained 22 young Somalis with Digital Shelter in visual storytelling, filming, video editing and photography, within a programme that reached nearly 100 youth.

IMPACT

Those we trained are shaping Somali media today

FROM TRAINEE TO MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR

Isse Abdullahi

Trained at SODMA in 2019, then went on to build major media projects.

▶ Watch his story ↗
Yahye Alas Osman
FROM CLASSROOM TO CEO

Yahye Alas Osman

In 2023 he studied graphic design, videography and video editing at SODMA, then founded Curiye, an advertising and creative consultancy that helps businesses tell their stories and build their brands.

▶ Watch his story ↗
Khadro Ahmed Biid holding her Al Jazeera Media Institute certificate at a SODMA photo exhibition
FROM TRAINEE TO CHANNEL DIRECTOR

Khadro Ahmed Biid

Completed a free film and video course in 2018, joined a local media company as camera operator and editor, and now directs its children's channel.

FROM TRAINEE TO CAMERA OPERATOR

Mohamed Abdulrahman

Trained at SODMA in 2020 and now works as a camera operator and editor for local media outlets, turning the skill into a source of income.

▶ Watch his story ↗
FROM TRAINEE TO JOURNALIST AND PRODUCER

Amira Suleiman

Trained at SODMA in 2024 and now works as a video journalist and producer at a local television station.

▶ Watch her story ↗
TWO COLLEAGUES IN LOCAL MEDIA

Yahye Hersi and Mohamed Ali

Yahye trained at SODMA in 2021 and works as a camera operator. His colleague Mohamed Ali also trained at SODMA, and the two now work together at a local media outlet.

▶ Watch their story ↗
SODMA ON FILM

Scenes from SODMA

SODMA at the Doha Forum 2024

SODMA at the Doha Forum 2024. Play the video to watch the participation.

Open the video directly ↗
The classroom
Field training in filming
The Nairobi Award
PARTNERS

We have worked with, and value their trust

Al Jazeera Media Institute ↗ Media & Learning Association ↗ KSrelief ↗ Save the Children ↗ Windle International ↗ Zamzam Foundation ↗ African Relief Fund ↗ Digital Shelter ↗ Asal TV ↗
Youngtrepreneurs
Alifya Education Centre ↗
FOR DONORS & PARTNERS

Poverty should never silence talent

Your support opens a training seat for a young person from a family in need, puts a camera and a computer in their hands, and trains a journalist who protects their community from disinformation.

Sponsor a cohort

Fund a full cohort of students in need.

Equip the studio

Cameras, computers and software for hands-on training.

Media literacy

Workshops for schools, teachers and communities.

Institutional partnership

Joint projects with regular impact reporting.

ACADEMY NEWS

Trainings, workshops, events and visits

All news since 2018 →
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Read the story →
SODMA IN THE MEDIA

What they wrote about us

Reports and articles by Arabic, Somali and international media about SODMA and its students.

UN IN SOMALIA · OCTOBER 2023A feature on SODMA's founder and its role in training Somali journalistsRead the feature ↗ MEDIA & LEARNING ASSOCIATION · 6 OCT 2025 · ARTICLEEmpowering Somali youth through digital media: the story of SODMAA long-form feature on how the Academy began in 2017 with personal funds and volunteer trainers, graduates who built their own media businesses, and the place of women in its programmes.Read the article ↗ VOICE OF AMERICA · VIDEO REPORTMedia academy in Somalia hopes to empower women through filmWatch the report ↗ AL JAZEERA MEDIA INSTITUTE · SEPTEMBER 2023A digital media training programme in Somalia, in partnership with SODMARead the story ↗ AL ARABIYA TV · 2018 · VIDEOIn ArabicAl Arabiya reports on SODMA▶ Watch the report ↗ UNIVERSAL TV · 2018 · VIDEOIn SomaliSODMA's first cohort graduates: around 60 multimedia students▶ Watch the report ↗ VOA SOMALI · VIDEOIn SomaliVOA Somali's report on SODMA▶ Watch the report ↗
THREE OUTLETS · OCT–NOV 2025SODMA joins the European Media & Learning AssociationMedia & Learning Association ↗SONNA, Somali National News Agency ↗Africa Press (in Arabic) ↗
The sign at the Somali Digital Media Academy campus in Mogadishu
Our campus: Taleh Street, Mogadishu

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