What is Soma?
Soma (read and learn in Swahili) was founded in 2007. It became operational in 2008 when it opened Soma Book Café, a launching pad for the promotion of reading for leisure and learning, the first readership space of its kind in Dar es salaam.
Essentially, Soma promotes the creative word as a catalyst for transforming, deconstructing, reclaiming and reimagining cultural identities, her/histories and authoring alternative futures.
[/col_inner] [col_inner span=”6″ span__sm=”12″] [ux_image id=”3126″ animate=”fadeInRight”] [/col_inner] [/row_inner] [/section] [/col] [/row] [row label=”core purpose” style=”small” v_align=”equal” h_align=”center”] [col span=”6″ span__sm=”12″] [section bg=”2997″ bg_overlay=”rgba(0,0,0,.5)” bg_pos=”56% 36%” height=”200px”]Our Purpose
‘To contribute to Tanzania’s transformation into an informed society that values knowledge, creativity, and independent thinking’
[/section] [/col] [col span=”6″ span__sm=”12″ divider=”0″] [section bg=”31972″ bg_overlay=”rgba(0,0,0,.5)” bg_pos=”39% 40%” height=”200px”]Strategic Objective
‘To consolidate, sustain and enhance impact of TFMB efforts to disrupt mainstream discourse with transformative, pan African and eco-feminist herstories and narratives to engender action’
[/section] [/col] [col span=”6″ span__sm=”12″] [section bg=”25428″ bg_overlay=”rgba(0,0,0,.5)” bg_pos=”30% 64%” hover=”overlay-remove-50″ height=”200px”]Mission
‘To nurture innovative storytellers with pan-African feminist consciousness and skills to author transformation’
[/section] [/col] [col span=”6″ span__sm=”12″] [section bg=”24812″ bg_overlay=”rgba(0,0,0,.5)” bg_pos=”31% 31%” height=”200px”]Vision
‘Soma envisions a prosperous and equitable Tanzanian society where women and young people re-imagine and author transformation’
[/section] [/col] [col span__sm=”12″] [section bg=”31973″ bg_overlay=”rgba(0,0,0,.5)” bg_pos=”48% 39%”]Core Values
- Solidarity
- Non-discrimination
- Respect, self-care, and nurture
- Transparency and Accountability
- Integrity
- Diversity
Theory of Change
We believe that
-
If Tanzanian and African women, children and youth, of diverse identities, consciously excavate silenced herstories of their contribution to world heritage of wealth, culture, and knowledge; and
-
If they consciously articulate these contributions to the world heritage of wealth, culture, and knowledge; and
-
When these articulations inform narratives, learning, everyday conversations and national discourse to expose myths and stereotypes that normalize exclusion and subordination of women, people with different ableness and identities; and
-
When this process and outcome empowers them to use their knowledge about the past to understand the present, imagine the future and cause transformation;
-
Then Tanzania (and Africa) will realize its full potential as a prosperous and equitable society.
Programme Outcomes
Soma’s community of partners and allies grows and develops around five mutually reinforcing outcome areas: Space, Skills, Narratives, Voices and Action.
[/col_inner] [col_inner span=”8″ span__sm=”12″] [ux_image id=”31886″ image_size=”medium” width=”76″] [/col_inner] [/row_inner] [/section] [section label=”Media right large” bg_color=”rgb(0,0,0)” bg_overlay=”rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7)” dark=”true” padding=”0px”] [row_inner style=”collapse” width=”custom” custom_width=”800px” v_align=”equal” h_align=”right”] [col_inner span__sm=”12″ padding=”5% 5% 5% 0px” align=”left” max_width=”760px” parallax=”-1″]Programme Strategies
Strategy 1: Grow a vibrant storytelling hub where women, youth, children and diverse identities engage creatively, collaborate and network to contribute to the Transformative Feminist Movement.
Strategy 2: Facilitate the growth of a strong cadre of feminist authors to safeguard visibility of women agency and integrity in mainstream Tanzanian and pan African political, social and cultural memory.
Strategy 3: Sustain vibrant public discourse amplifying pan African feminist and sustainable earth ideas.
Strategy 4: Grow a sustainable and resilient institutional base that efficiently accesses and utilizes resources and opportunities to Transformative feminists storytelling with a pan African ecofeminist edge.
[/col_inner] [/row_inner] [/section] [/col] [/row] [row style=”collapse” v_align=”equal” padding=”0px 0px 0px 0px”] [col span__sm=”12″] [ux_image id=”31885″ link=”https://www.somabookcafe.com/32032-2/”] [/col] [/row] [button text=”Download” letter_case=”lowercase” color=”success” icon=”icon-angle-down” link=”https://www.somabookcafe.com/32032-2/”]