UN backed online platform to discuss how technology helps rebuild Somalia

A UN backed platform will from Monday stream live a first-of-its-kind discussion among Somali change-makers to the world from Mogadishu.

The platform, dubbed, the Social Good Summit is a global conversation on how technology and new media can be harnessed to address some of the world's greatest challenges.

"Somali innovators, business owners, information technology experts, community activists, educators, journalists, government officials and development workers will come together to discuss how new technology is increasingly being embraced to rebuild the country," the UNDP Communications specialist Aimee Brown said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Saturday.

She said hundreds of other cities around the world will also participate in the discussion through online meetups, many of which are organised by the United Nations Development Programme.

Brown said the social media innovation across all spheres of business and society is creating new opportunities and a renewed optimism in Somalia, and the first Social Good Summit Mogadishu will highlight these changes.

Somalis want a better future for themselves and their families, and they want to be the ones to shape it.

Speakers and panellists will examine how technology is contributing to sustainable development and connecting Somalis to the global online generation; how mobile phones, banking and cash transfers are defining Somalia's emerging financial sector and enabling international investment.

The speakers will also examine how Somalia's youth are using social media and technology to create opportunities for themselves and build a better future for their country.

"Currently, a fragile peace pervades in Mogadishu. Businesses are opening up and life is springing back to its streets. This has created the space for fresh technology initiatives to flourish," Brown said.

Social media is also rapidly becoming a popular means of communicating and sharing information among Somali youth.

According to recent statistics, every single Internet user in Somalia has a Facebook account - more than 75 percent of those are under the age of 34.

New ISPs are providing wireless Internet to businesses and universities; solar energy is being harnessed to light city streets; the presidential election process was streamed live to hundreds of thousands of Somalis all around the world; and journalists are increasingly using social media channels to report the news.

Both government and the private sector are tapping into innovative technologies to share information and redevelop the city sustainably.

Money transfer companies are helping remote communities to set up virtual community savings groups that provide individuals and families with small loans when needed.

Similarly, mobile phone companies are enabling people - from taxi drivers to market sellers - to transact without having to carry cash.

The first commercial banks are opening, transforming the way that people save and spend their money.