Federal government: ministries and agencies
Somali Academy of Sciences, Culture and Arts (SOMASCA)
The Somali Academy of Sciences, Culture and Arts is a federal body in Mogadishu that works on Somali literature, arts and culture. Ismail Yusuf Osman has led it since December 2023, when the Prime Minister removed his predecessor over remarks on the Maay language. In October 2026 it called for Somalia's arts law to be renewed.
What it does
The academy is a public body in Mogadishu that works on Somali arts, literature and culture (Dawan Africa, 6 October 2026). It brings together poets, academics and its own members to discuss the state of Somali arts and literature (Dawan Africa, 6 October 2026).
Who leads it
| Period | Head | Source |
|---|---|---|
| To December 2023 | Abdulkadir Nur Hussein Maah, chairman | Hiiraan Online, December 2023 |
| From December 2023 | Ismail Yusuf Osman, first as acting chairman, named president in 2026 | Hiiraan Online, December 2023; Dawan Africa, 6 October 2026 |
The 2023 dispute over Maay
In December 2023 Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre removed the chairman, Abdulkadir Nur Hussein Maah, and named Ismail Yusuf Osman acting chairman. Hiiraan Online reported that this came a few hours after Maah wrote to the Minister of Justice asking for the Maay dialect to be removed from the constitution, which led to calls on social media for his removal. Article 5 of the provisional constitution names Somali (Maay and Maxaa-tiri) as the official language, with Arabic as the second language (Hiiraan Online, December 2023).
The money
In the federal Appropriation Act for 2027 as submitted to parliament, the body appears as "Somali Academy Arts and Sciences", sub-head 040202 under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (Ministry of Finance, Appropriation Act 2027):
| Year | US$ |
|---|---|
| 2025 (actual) | 1,184,974 |
| 2026 (budget) | 1,313,092 |
| 2027 (proposed) | 1,318,312 |
All federal bodies' budgets are compared on federal bodies and their budgets.
What it reports doing
At a seminar in Mogadishu on 5 October 2026, the academy called for the law regulating the arts to be reviewed and renewed. Its president said the law could be put again to the Council of Ministers and the Federal Parliament, and raised creative rights and the ownership of some old Somali songs (Dawan Africa, 6 October 2026).
Related bodies
The Intergovernmental Academy of Somali Language works on the language across the region. A separate National Academy of Maay Culture and Sciences is based in Baidoa (Maay Academy).
Sources
- Dawan Africa, 6 October 2026 · dawan.africa
- Hiiraan Online, December 2023 · hiiraan.com
- Ministry of Finance, Appropriation Act 2027 · mof.gov.so
- Maay Academy · maayacademy.so
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Where this matters
Same era
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