EU-Supported Peace Initiative Trains Niger Delta Youths In Digital Media Literacy

In a bid to curb conflict and promote peace in the Niger Delta, Search for Common Ground (SFCG), with funding from the European Union, and partnership with stakeholders Democratic Network (SDN) and Partnership initiative in the Niger Delta(PIND) has trained youths from diverse communities in digital media literacy. The initiative aims to equip participants with the skills to combat online misinformation and foster transformative dialogue and peace.
The training, themed “Digital Media Literacy Training,” is part of a broader project titled “A Community-Centered Approach in Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta.” This initiative seeks to promote inclusive community security approaches to addressing systemic drivers of violence and criminality in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states.
Having been successfully implemented last year, the refresher training recently took place in Delta and Bayelsa states. Participants from various communities gathered to network and enhance their ability to use digital tools for peacebuilding. The sessions focused on identifying and countering misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, as well as fact-checking techniques to prevent the spread of fake news, which can escalate conflicts.
Mr. Sunny Dada, SFCG’s Mass Media and Information Coordinator, introduced digital tools such as InVID for verifying video authenticity, TinEye for detecting fake images, and Canva for designing peace-oriented messages and awareness campaigns, YouTube to create useful peace contents, and many other tools to also detect conflict zones.
Mrs. Folashade Seyi Ojo, Mass Media and Information Officer at SFCG, emphasized the importance of behavioral change in reshaping the narratives surrounding conflict drivers. She urged participants to reject vices such as drug abuse, cultism, yahoo yahoo, violence, oil pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering, highlighting both their dangers and the benefits of adopting peaceful and sustainable practices.
As part of the training, participants engaged in group activities to develop targeted content addressing specific issues within their communities. They were also tasked with launching social media campaigns as a call to action, applying their newly acquired skills to promote peace and positive behavioral change across the Niger Delta.
This initiative reflects ongoing efforts to empower young people as agents of peace in a region historically plagued by violence and unrest.