BBC Somali social-media audiences to interview EU Ambassador to Somalia

25 February 2015. In a pioneering development for Somali-language broadcasting, BBC Somali will conduct a social-media question-and-answer session with the EU Ambassador to Somalia, Michele Cervone d'Urso. Between 15.00 and 16.30 EAT (12.00-13.30 GMT) on Friday 27 February, the BBC Somali audiences on Facebook and Twitter will have a chance to directly ask the EU representative the most pressing questions to do with the EU involvement in Somalia, including politics, security, economy and development.

The Q&A session on social media will build on BBC Somali's radio interview with the EU Ambassador which will be aired earlier in the day. In the radio interview, the BBC will discuss EU operations in Somalia and question the EU's involvement in the fight against al-Shabab. The debate about the EU's role in Somalia has included criticismby some of the country's politicians.

During the 90-minute live session with Ambassador d'Urso from the BBC Nairobi Bureau, audiences will be able to put their questions via the BBC Somali page on Facebook and the BBC Somali Twitter account @bbcsomali. Questions can be submitted in Somali with the hashtag #WaydiiSafiirkaEU and English via #AsktheEUAmbassador. The ambassador will respond in English and his answers will be translated into Somali.

BBC Somali Output Editor, Abdirahman Koronto says: “Our Facebook and Twitter audience interaction with Ambassador d'Urso gives a new dimension to BBC Somali's engagement with its social-media audiences. We are looking forward to making these 'face-to-face' encounters on social media a regular occurrence so BBC Somali followers have the chance to communicate directly with international, regional and local figures.”

The radio interview with Ambassador Michele Cervone d'Urso will be broadcast by BBC Somali at 07.00 EAT (04.00 GMT), at 14.00 EAT (11.00 GMT) and, a longer version, at 21.00 EAT (18.00 GMT) on Friday 27 February. It will also be available for listening viabbcsomali.com.

BBC Somali is part of BBC World Service.