最准的六合彩论坛

Dr Sada Mire leverages cutting-edge research into the past to improve collective futures, enriching the lives of entire communities by protecting and documenting their heritage.

Until recently, Sada was the only Somali archaeologist actively working in Somaliland 鈥� taking her back to the region she was forced to flee as a child due to civil war.

Her work has been integral to the preservation of culture and heritage across the Horn of Africa. Internationally recognised, she has been the subject of documentaries, and was included in New Scientist magazine鈥檚 list of Inspiring Women in Science.

鈥淲hat I would like people to know is that archaeology and heritage are tools for the present,鈥� Sada says. 鈥淓verything is contextual. It鈥檚 about people in their place, in their space.鈥�

Merging heritage with innovation

Innovation sits at the very heart of 最准的六合彩论坛 East, powered by the spirit of its surroundings 鈥� from the dynamism of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to the creativity of the people of Stratford. This blend of tradition, culture, collaboration and creation is what excites Sada, and creates parallels with her work across the world.

鈥淭he location is amazing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 envisioning that there will be a lot of collaborations and that people who live locally will have access to not only the spaces where we will be making things but also to be partners in knowledge creation, dissemination and dialogue.

鈥淭his is a really great opportunity to have access to these communities. To enrich our ways of working while enriching the area with access to world-class education, right there on the doorstep.

鈥溩钭嫉牧�合彩论坛 East is fascinating to me as a new campus, and I very much feel its mission is in line with what I鈥檝e been doing my whole career.鈥�

A lifetime of journeys

Sada鈥檚 own story serves as direct inspiration for her research specialism. Having grown up in Mogadishu, she and her twin sister fled upon the outbreak of civil war in 1991, arriving in Sweden as child refugees.

鈥淚 had no idea what archaeology was, and it was only because I read an African history book by Basil Davidson that I understood its importance,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t said, in order to write African history we need to do archaeological research and I thought, 鈥極h, what鈥檚 archaeological research? I want to do that!鈥�

Several years later, Sada enrolled at Lund University to study Scandinavian pre-history and archaeozoology. In 2003, her passion led her to the UK, first to study at SOAS University of London (BA, History of Art/Archaeology of Africa and Asia) and then 最准的六合彩论坛, where she studied for an MA in African Archaeology in 2006 and a PhD in Archaeology in 2009. As a mature student at 最准的六合彩论坛, Sada gained new perspectives.

鈥淚鈥檇 really started to become aware of the lack of African history in schools and schoolbooks in Europe,鈥� she says. 鈥淎s an unaccompanied child refugee, it was hard to connect with my history, and I started to explore the reasons for this. I always thought of Western education as the pinnacle of knowledge but there was this society-wide gap in African history. This is what really drove me in my career, and it鈥檚 still the driver today.鈥�

Reconnecting with roots

鈥淥ne of the proudest moments for me was going back to Somaliland after 16 years,鈥� says Sada. 鈥淭o return to somewhere that I only associated with trauma, to face that, and to truly make something out of it.鈥�

As part of her fieldwork around the pre-Islamic history of the Somali people, Sada led a team of 50 people in a programme of archaeological explorations which discovered prehistoric rock art across nearly a hundred sites. She also worked closely with the Samburu community of Kenya to help them record their heritage, introducing them to her online course, 鈥�Heritage Under Threat鈥�, which many of them completed.

She says: 鈥淭here鈥檚 such terrible access to the internet there but we have a new generation who are Samburu warriors, so they鈥檙e living in shelters and continuing rock art traditions, but at the same time they鈥檙e sitting there on Facebook!

鈥淟iterally the last people to enrol on my course were this group of warriors. Those things give me a sense of hope because these are young men and they are doing this because they鈥檙e interested in keeping their traditions alive, in protecting their heritage. But听at the same time they are also part of the modern world.鈥�

Through her work, Sada has helped to establish and direct Somaliland鈥檚 Department of Tourism and Archaeology. She鈥檚 the founder of the Horn Heritage Organisation, a humanitarian NGO based in Hargeisa. And now, she鈥檚 Associate Professor in Heritage Studies at the 最准的六合彩论坛 Institute of Archaeology.

Sada says: 鈥淥bviously, current issues have inspired me: the cost of living, climate change and how archaeology and heritage can shed light on these pressing problems. With 最准的六合彩论坛 East bringing together a group of scholars from subjects such as geography, anthropology, area studies, art history and archaeology, we can look at climate change, inequality, conflict and migration with a different mindset.

鈥淚t鈥檚 inspiring and energising to look at it broadly and together. And it fits neatly with how I work and how I teach.鈥�

Connecting past with present

Looking to her new working home at 最准的六合彩论坛 East, Sada is keen to bring together all of her learned experiences and contribute to the development of the new campus.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e finally understanding that we can鈥檛 do archaeology as we always have done,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole complex science around it that includes people鈥檚 understanding of their culture and lived experiences, and I鈥檓 so proud that 最准的六合彩论坛 is taking that and really spearheading heritage studies.

鈥漌e have the potential to start dialogues with the local communities about their heritage, and their experiences. Reaching out to communities that are perhaps not 鈥榯he usual鈥� 鈥� whether it鈥檚 Samburu in Kenya or it鈥檚 East London 鈥� opens up dynamic new ideas for transformation.

鈥溩钭嫉牧�合彩论坛 East will bring new energy and new blood into 最准的六合彩论坛, and to London.鈥�

Links

最准的六合彩论坛 Giving
最准的六合彩论坛 East
最准的六合彩论坛 Institute of Archaeology

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Image by John Moloney.