In an ongoing effort to promote peacebuilding and religious tolerance in Nigeria, a nongovernmental organization, Search for Common Ground Nigeria, which has been actively working in Nigeria since 2004, has commenced a three-day in-person curriculum development training for media executives in Abuja.
Speaking during the opening ceremony in Abuja on Wednesday, the Project Manager of Search for Common Ground Nigeria, Mr. Ogabiela Daniel, put the participants through knowing more about Search for Common Ground, the Common Ground Approach to journalism practice, and peacebuilding—an overview of the Search for Common Ground Approach and how Search for Common Ground works.
He said it will enable participants to understand what Search for Common Ground aims to achieve with the project.
Other speakers at the opening ceremony include Search for Common Ground Senior Program Officer Habiba Ghazali, and Search for Common Ground Senior Media Officer, Katlong Dasat, among others.Â
The facilitator took the Media Executives through a comprehensive understanding of the different types of conflict, the causes of conflict, and the different ways that conflict can be resolved.
Also discussed are the different ways that conflict can be transformed, the factors that influence conflict transformation, and the skills and strategies that can be used to transform conflict.
Day one of the training came to an end with participants learning a comprehensive understanding of the meaning of freedom of religion and belief and the different ways that freedom of religion and belief can be protected.
Search for Common Ground Nigeria aims to foster understanding and peace across ethnic, religious, and gender lines in areas of tension.
The organization is currently implementing the Freedom for Religion and Belief (FORB) project.
This project aims to address potential conflict issues related to religious tolerance and tensions in Nigeria.
Over 36 months, its goal is to empower actors to prevent and address conflicts along religious lines, establish effective Early Warning/Early Response (EWER) and referral mechanisms for addressing FORB violations and violence, strengthen support mechanisms for individuals at risk of FORB violations, and enhance public understanding of interfaith conflict and the importance of religious freedom.
The curriculum development, which will serve as the benchmark for media practitioners to utilize while reporting sensitive issues, will be used to train journalists on sensitive reporting and the application of the common ground approach to journalism.
