come October 31, Leaders of faith and culture from South East Nigeria will converge on Enugu in the first-ever town hall of its kind to find a common approach to tackling the silent menace of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
Over 100 traditional, faith-based and cultural leaders alongside civil society and media organisations are expected to attend the town hall meeting organised by WABMA Media Development Foundation with support from Ford Foundation.
A release stated to that effect stated that “SGBV is deeply ingrained in our society, and addressing it requires transformative changes in our cultural and faith-based practices. We need these leaders to speak more and louder about this issue when it matters. We also need to showcase traditional and faith-based leaders who are already at the forefront of the fight against gender-based violence and whose personal lives exemplify the needed change”, said Mr. Odoh Diego Okenyodo, Coordinator of the Amplifying the Voices of Leaders of Faith and Culture Project of the WABMA Media Development Foundation.
“The WABMA Media Development Foundation is the charitable arm of the West Africa Broadcast & Media Academy (WABMA), and we strongly believe in engaging strategically with social issues through media”, said Dr. Ken Ike Okere, Executive Director of the WABMA Foundation, reaffirming the organisation’s commitment to using the media as a tool for societal transformation.
“Addressing SGBV through the voices of influential leaders of faith and culture, would catalyse meaningful social change; their amplified messages can shift the narrative and inspire action against sexual and gender-based violence”, he added.
The town hall is expected to be a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to combat SGBV in Nigeria and bring the voices of influential leaders to the forefront of the conversation.
WABMA Foundation is the non-profit arm of the West Africa Broadcast and Media Academy (WABMA), the largest, multi-campus, multiplatform professional media training and communications solutions institute in West Africa.
WABMA has had extensive experience in delivering impactful projects that leverage media for social change in West Africa.
It is currently partnering with the German agency for international cooperation, GIZ, for a project in The Gambia that aims at strengthening the institutional and individual capacities of The Gambia Police Force public relations unit with a special focus on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
In 2021-2022, WABMA partnered with the US Consulate Lagos to deliver Project Fact Check Nigeria, a media literacy project in 17 southern Nigerian states that directly impacted more than 2000 Nigerian youths and 20 radio stations.
It is currently sustained by the WABMA-Debunker, a video, audio, and print fake news debunker series published weekly to help curb fake news spread on social media and news outlets.
WABMA has also partnered with Christian Aid Nigeria, to design, train, and support the deployment of strategic communications resources to 95 community leaders in 27 communities across 9 LGAs of Benue, Kaduna, and Plateau states of Nigeria for emergency preparedness.
With a history of impactful projects across West Africa and a commitment to addressing social issues through media, WABMA is well-positioned to drive transformative change in the fight against SGBV using media.
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