FROM PASSION TO CAREER: WEB 2.0 & SOCIAL MEDIA

FROM A TRAINEE TO A TRAINER OF WEB 2.0 & SOCIAL MEDIA

This narrative article reflects on a personal milestone. Why? Because I’m chosen to become the lead trainer of a web 2.0 & social media workshop facilitated by Somalis for the first time. And it’s worth mentioning that I was one of the beneficiaries of this same training when it first came in Somalia in 2014, but at that time, Training Center in Communication (TCC) from Nairobi, Kenya was assisting its delivery. Fast forward 2 years, we have now developed the capacity to train our people: Somalis educating other Somalis, at least technologically.

Web 2.0 & social media learning opportunity is a 5-days training supported by the Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). CTA is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). It has a mandate to facilitate access to and dissemination of information in the fields of agriculture and rural development in 78 countries in ACP. Supporting the adoption of Web 2.0 applications represents a great opportunity for meeting this mandate.

Since technological innovation is taking place at a breath-taking pace, the main purpose of the training was to expose the participants to a selected web 2.0 and social media applications, and enable them to engage in a hands-on experience. SIMAD UNIVERSITY was chosen to host and facilitate the training in Somalia. Mohamed Muse Hassan (me), Deputy Director of Public Relations; and Mohamed Hassan Ahmed, Director of ICT; were the specific trainers. Twenty-five trainees from local companies, universities, and NGOs were the main beneficiaries of the workshop.

Web 2.0 and social media were fields that I was passionate about, but now they’re my career of choice; and the rewards are already showing up. Thank you everyone who helped my work to be an interesting one.

By Mohamed Muse Hassan