Dr Idil Osman is an Assistant Professor at the School of Media, Communication and Sociology at the University of Leicester, UK. She has a longstanding interest in Sub Saharan Africa. Her research focuses on how media and communications relate to modern day conflicts, humanitarianism and development, foreign policy and engage refugee, migrant and diaspora communities. She holds a PhD in Media from the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University and has authored numerous publications that focus on media, conflict, development and migration including the most recent book, ‘Media, Diaspora and the Somali Conflict’ (2017) and ‘Somalis in Europe; Stories from the Somali Diaspora’ (2011). Prior to her academic transition, she spent over 12 years as a national and international journalist working for the BBC, the Guardian and the Voice of America in Washington, DC covering Sub Saharan Africa and its diaspora.