Over 100 Youths across Plateau state were gathered at the Sarau Event Centre, Jos on Monday to be trained by ARDA Development Communication on Media Literacy as part of their Community Initiatives To Promote Peace (CIPP) in collaboration with the United States Aid (USAID), Mercy Corps and other CSOs.
The participants were trained on how to maximize social media to build brands that will impact positively on their communities, Matthew Tegha, a Jos-based blogger facilitated the training.
Matthew Tegha went on to share with the participant’s digital tools and strategies that can be used to create conversations that will be relevant to their personal and corporate brands.
In line with the efforts to enable the participants to identify fake news and avoid stereotyping, he also educated them on how to best identify and react to fake news and misinformation as they are ambassadors of peace in their communities.
Speaking during the training, Sadiq Hong, Coordinator of the Interfaith Mediation Centre urged the participants to practice what they have learned and also work as Influencers through their social media platforms.
Mr Hong assured the participants that the Centre will be working with them subsequently to ensure implementation of their various thematic areas.
A participant at the training, Ruth Ki told the Reporter that “it was a great opportunity to learn about how I leverage the media for social good”
She further said that the training has opened her up to the fact that social media is a great tool for promoting peaceful coexistence and social justice.
According to Ibukun Sanni, the Program Officer at ARDA Development Communication Inc. through funds from USAID the CIPP program has continued to facilitate conditions necessary for building sustainable peace and elevate the roles of citizens in addressing conflict in the North Central and North West zone of Nigeria since 2019.
