6. Conclusion

This evaluation signals that the project interventions have positively contributed to societyʼs peaceful development and citizensʼ access to information.

The project has been highly relevant to the needs of SNTV, FESOJ and journalists in Somalia. The project has achieved a remarkable result by strengthening capacities both at individual and organizational levels and enabled uptake of labour rights among the media outlets.

High local ownership of the project has helped to ensure the sustainability of the achievements made so far. However, the longer-term sustainability of the achievements can only be expected if there is continued project support to SNTV and FESOJ. Considering the many structural deficiencies from the past, one cannot also expect huge achievements in terms of sustainability with a two-year project that has witnessed impacts of a global pandemic.

The Somali media landscape is very fragmented, and to effectively assess the impact of Vikes interventions, a more thorough causality analysis would be required. Nonetheless, the project interventions have certainly improved journalistsʼ skills, attitudes, and ways of working. An embedded mentoring model involving long-term engagement with the same broadcasting partner is a highly effective model for capacity strengthening.