This Major Research Project explores knowledge transfer within diaspora communities with a focus on traditional ways of knowing within the Somali Canadian diaspora.

Integrating co-creation sessions with a human-centred design thinking approach, this research explores the challenges Somali communities face in sustaining and authoring their cultural practices. Prompted by recent narratives shared about the Somali diaspora in Canada and the West, this research investigates alternative approaches to foresight and social innovation and aims to highlight and reframe the unique techniques the Somali community employs to share information and engage in foresight. The research emphasizes Somali oral traditions—specifically storytelling—as methods of knowledge sharing and education, and as tools for envisioning more inclusive futures.