A team in Somalia is working to digitize and preserve over 400,000 hours of broadcasts from Radio Mogadishu, the country's oldest public radio station.

Founded in 1951 during colonial rule, the archive contains critical historical records, including news bulletins, speeches, music, and cultural content dating back to the 1950s.

Despite its significance, the collection faces risks of deterioration due to age and past damage from events like an electrical fire in 2018 and conflicts in 1992.UNESCO and Somalia’s information ministry are collaborating to safeguard these materials, which hold immense cultural and historical value.The project highlights the station's role in anti-colonial movements and its efforts to promote Somali literacy.

However, with the collapse of central governance in 1991, Radio Mogadishu has diminished in influence, making preservation efforts increasingly urgent to prevent gaps in Somalia’s documentary history.