Somalilandsun-The 9th Hargeysa International Book Fair opened its doors at 8.30am on Saturday the 23rd of July 2016 and will run for six days.
A statement from the organizers read “Our theme this year will be leadership. At this crucial time in our history, as we celebrate our Jubilee (25th) anniversary, we are defined by the quality of our leadership, as much as we, as a society, develop the leaders in our community. The relationship between leaders and the community they serve, is one that transcends time, space and fields of work. Using art, culture, and creativity, can we imagine a more transparent, value-based leaders-community relationship that can make our aspirations more concrete, and less emotional?
The principles of leadership, the image and expectations we have of our leaders and the courage and ability that makes a good leader will be discussed with local and international artists, writers, playwrights, musicians, and scholars. Globally, there are many examples of bad leadership, the consequences of which we have seen recently, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. Can arts and culture offer us an opportunity not only to imagine a different future, but also to articulate new ideals and ideas of good leadership? Alongside artists from Ghana—our guest country this year—we will explore different forms of leadership, political, social, religious, and entrepreneurial, unravelling past and present forms of leadership as well as our hopes for future leaders.
In this year’s program, we are pleased to have a diverse set of speakers who will reflect on their own leadership, and the qualities of good leadership in other inspirational Somalis. We are honoured to have with us, for the first time Dr. Hussein Mohamed Adam, a highly reputed Somali scholar and one of the principal founding members of Somali Studies. We will spend time considering the life and works of Musa I Galaal, another Somali literary champion whose role in the preservation and promotion of Somali literature and culture is recognised worldwide. Sheikh Adam Siiro will reflect on the leadership of Sheekh Ibraahin Sh. Ali Sh. Madar, one of the most respected elders of Somaliland, a judicious mediator at times of conflict, the first Speaker of the House of Elders (Golaha Guurtida) – one of the main pillars on which Somaliland’s democracy and future progress depends. We are delighted to welcome insight on the concept of leadership from Dr. Edna Adan, a most caring doctor, social reformer, astute politician, long-time supporter of HIBF, and brilliant advocate for Somaliland’s cause in the international arena.
