The TV program is based on a unique media-research collaboration between STAR TV, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and Rako Research and communication centre.
Dr. Mohamed Aden Hassan – Uffo Programme Director
Mohamed Aden Hassan is a community activist, entrepreneur and researcher. As an activist Mohamed has been involved in various campaigns fighting injustice, inequality and poverty. In 2012 Mohamed established Star TV, which is an independent satellite and online based television station.
Mohamed is also the founder of Rako Research and Communication Centre as well as a Global Research Fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and an editing member of Bildhaan Journal. Mohamed received his PhD in sociology from the University of London in 2014. Focusing on youth, migration, social and policy related issues Mohamed worked as a senior researcher with a number of organizations and research centres including the Centre for Urban and Community Research (Goldsmiths, University of London), the Oxford University based Stanhope Centre for Communication Policy Research, PRIO and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Abdifatah Omar – Researcher
is a state official, university lecturer and freelance researcher. Abdifatah has contributed to many research projects and surveys across Somaliland in collaboration with local and international research institutions, such as the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Rako Research and Communication Centre and Water Global Consulting. He is part time lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering at both University of Hargeisa and Gollis University. Currently, Abdifatah is the director of planning at the Somaliland Ministry of Energy and Minerals.
In 2018, Abdifatah gained his Master of Project Planning and Management from Hargeisa University and in 2011 he gained his B.Sc. of Chemical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt. He adopted several initiatives that changed the work culture at institutions he has worked with in both public and private sectors. In addition, Abdifatah, together with other friends, is a youth and social activist focused on social change through the establishment of reading groups and public libraries such as the Maan-godol show and the Maan-godol public library.
Ebba Tellander – doctoral researcher
Ebba Tellander is a Doctoral Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and International Institute of Social Studies in the Hague (Erasmus University Rotterdam). Her PhD project focuses on people who try to do something good for their community in contexts of oppression and war, with a particular focus on the case of the Uffo group and the Dhagax Tuur in the early 1980s. She is affiliated with the Societal Transformation in Conflict Contexts project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council. Ebba Tellander was a Researcher in the Social Dynamics Department and a Communicator in the Communication Department at PRIO.
She has conducted research on the role of the Somali diaspora in Norwegian foreign policy towards the Somali region; accountability in the taxation system in Somaliland; active citizenship in Oslo; and citizenship and belonging among residents in Oslo. Previously, Ebba Tellander was a project coordinator at the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights’ eastern Africa program. She holds a Master of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Oslo and a Bachelor’s in International Studies from University of Oslo and Freie Universität Berlin. She was an ecumenical accompanier at the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and a volunteer at the International Cultural Youth Exchange Program in Kenya. Tellander has worked and studied in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Kenya, Palestine, England, Somaliland and the Netherlands.
Star TV
Star TV is proud to be producing a series of programmes based on the history of Uffo, a group consisting of young people that made tremendous strides to fight gross injustice during the Siad Barre reign, with the aim to learn more about the group and their impact on current day society. Star TV is an independent and progressive media organization focusing on the global Somali community and all interested stakeholders. The channel was incorporated in December 2012 in England and Wales as a Limited Company in the name of Star Media Corporation. Star TV has a global footprint through both satellite and online oriented television. It aims to enrich the television viewing experiences of Somali people across the globe with quality information, debate and accessible platforms for audience engagement.
Our programmes are family oriented but have content specifically geared towards the new generation, particularly those living in the diaspora, Somaliland, Somalia and all other Somali speaking communities in East Africa. With offices, studios and production facilities in the UK, Holland, Somaliland and Somalia we can cater to the needs of our audiences more effectively. Star TV has recently expanded its coverage and presence in Somaliland with two major studios in Hargeisa and one studio in Burao. Our plan is to have physical studios in all strategic cities across Somaliland and other Somali regions in the near future. Our main objective is to become the leading Somali broadcasting and media organization across the East African region.
Star TV can be found on the popular ThaiCom platform where it shares the same footprint as Somaliland National TV and Universal. We have reporters in almost all strategic cities and towns in Somaliland and Somalia and cover crucial daily events. Our vision is to offer programmes and content of high quality that enrich the viewing experiences of our audiences by creating a sound platform to inform, educate and entertain.
Rako is an organization committed to providing high quality research.