Adam Matan

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

( Somali ''Adan Mataan'') (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: آدم متان) is a Somali-British civil society leader and social activist. He is the former Director of the Anti-Tribalism Movement, a non-profit organisation established in 2010 to combat tribalism and inequality amongst the British-Somali community. In 2019, he became the first British-Somali to be appointed an OBE for "services to the Somali community in the UK and wider British-Somali relations".

Personal life

Matan came to the United-Kingdom as a teenager following the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

. He lives in London and holds a PgDip in Law and Leadership from

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

and an LLM in International Minority Rights Law from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

Career

Matan was the director of Anti-Tribalism Movement for over 10 years —a charity established in 2010 in the United Kingdom to combat tribalism within the Somali community following the Somali Civil War. He is a former One Young World Ambassador and has advised the British government about the Somali community. He has participated in a number of high-level engagements connecting the British and Somali government such as the London-Somali Conference 2012 and 2017. He participated in a successful UK-wide campaign to save vital remittances in 2017. He also serves as Trustee on two charitable boards ( Hammersmith United Charities and

Trust for London On 10 August 1878 a royal commission was established to investigate the parochial charities. It reported on 12 March 1880, which led to the City of London Parochial Charities Act 1883. This provided that the five largest parishes should continue t ...

) as well as chairing the Independent Policing and Crime Commission for Hammersmith and Fulham which published a
independent-resident led report
in 2020 assessing crime in the borough.

Lectures, talks and conferences

Matan has been invited to speak at a number of events with think-tanks such as

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

, Global Youth Summit, Ministry of Women, Human Rights and Development Conference and many others. He featured in a documentary called Return to Somalia - documenting a trip back to Somalia along with Abdifatah Faisal. In addition to this, he was featured in the South Acton Heritage film (2014). He has published reviews for media houses such as African Arguments. Matan was also an anti-corruption panellist at the 3rd National Somali Economic Policy Forum 2019.

Awards and achievements

Matan was featured in the Queen's New Year's Honours List 2019 for 'services to the Somali community in the U.K and wider- UK-Somalia relations'. and presented with the

medal at an investiture overseen by the HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge on 28 March 2019. He is the first British-Somali to be honoured with an

award. He was winner of the Community Champion Award at Pride of Our People 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matan, Adam Alumni of Middlesex University Alumni of SOAS University of London British activists Civil society in the United Kingdom Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Somalian activists Somalian emigrants to the United Kingdom Year of birth missing (living people)