Rivers NAWOJ Reiterates Commitment To Implementation Of State Action Plan On 1325
….Organises Capacity Building Workshop For Members
Owing to the lopsided and heavier toll conflicts and wars have on women and girls,and the underrepresentation of women in peace processes ,the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists in Rivers State (NAWOJ) has organized a one-day capacity building workshop to train members on the role of media in ensuring that states rectify the issues and implement action plan on 1325.
In her paper, the resource person and the south-south zonal coordinator of West African Network for Peace Building (WANEP) Chief Emen Okon, noted that to achieve a sustainable peace and development in the society, women must be seen as the most vulnerable that must be integrated into all the peace- keeping operations.
She informed that 1325 is a resolution adopted by United Nations Security Council 13 years ago that acknowledges the disproportionate impact of violence on women especially in conflicts and the call for rectification.
The WANEP coordinator in the south-south called for the implementation of this important document that underscores the role of women in peace building regretting that most peace keeping guidelines fail to integrate the rights of women and girls.
She enjoined women journalists to amplify the state action plan on 1325, find out if the action plan is budgeted for and the level of its implementation adding that stakeholders who ignored the critical role of women in peace building never got it right.
On his part, the South-South zonal director of Business Day Newspaper, Mr Ignatius Chukwu x-rayed how best a journalist should carry out his/her duties so as not to mar but enhance peace building in the society.
Delivering the paper titled ‘Identifying fake news, Facts, and the Journalists’ he dwelt on the need to determine what is news that can be disseminated and advised journalists to desist from carrying fake news in order to gain credibility.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Chairperson of NAWOJ in Rivers State, Mrs Susan Serekara Nwikhana described the workshop as very apt considering the importance of information dissemination to peace building or escalation of conflicts in the society.
‘To gain public credibility, reporters are expected to practice what is now popularized as ” journalism of responsibility ” by presenting the facts to the audience to hold their opinion on the presented facts’, she stated.
She maintained that to achieve the ideals of sustainable peace and development in the society there is also need for a stronger synergy between the media and government to sift the truth from rumors in public affairs management and lauded WANEP for their commitment towards the promotion of peace in the society, and their recognition of effective communication and information dissemination as panacea for peace.
