The Plateau State Peace Building Agency (PSPBA), in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ),, on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, hosted an Appreciative Inquiry Workshop with the theme “Act Now, Speak Peace: Positive Messages for a Peaceful Plateau.” The event, which is part of activities marking Plateau Peace Month 2025, took place at Villa Grande Hotel, Jos.
Plateau Peace Month, celebrated every September, carries the theme “Act Now for a Peaceful Plateau” for this year’s edition. The workshop brought together youths, stakeholders, and peace advocates to deliberate on collaborative strategies for sustaining peace and preventing conflicts in Plateau State.
In a welcome address, Elkanah Izam, Director of Administration at PSPBA, who represented the Director-General, Mrs. Julie G. Sanda, emphasized the importance of the workshop as part of the lined-up activities for the month, which also include a peace walk, youth camp, community engagements, and an art exhibition.
“The workshop enables us to collaborate and find solutions for peace. Our youths are important they shape the future,” Izam said. He also appreciated the Generation Peace Youth Camp ambassadors, Plateau Youth Council, stakeholders from Jos North and Bukuru, the media, and other participants.
The workshop featured interactive sessions with expert facilitators who spoke on various aspects of peacebuilding, urging youths to become active promoters of peace in their communities.
Izam, who also facilitated a session on “Appreciative Inquiry and Peacebuilding,” highlighted how appreciative inquiry can foster collaboration and build trust among people of different demographics. “Appreciative inquiry is about focusing on what is working, building trust, and empowering stakeholders to create positive impact through storytelling,” he said.
Suzan Gopuk, Senior Adviser with GIZ Peacecore II, applauded the collaborative spirit of the engagement. She acknowledged support from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, encouraging participants to channel creativity and collective energy toward amplifying positive change and fostering inclusive dialogue.
Matthew Tegha, Chairman of the Plateau Bloggers and Online Media Association (PLABOMA), spoke on “Social Media as a Tool for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding through Content Creation.” He stressed that social media has no borders and transcends religion and culture, with youths as its most active demographic. “Social media influences perceptions offline, and if negative content can go viral, so can positive and peace-promoting content,” Tegha noted, urging youths to use their platforms to spread peace.
Kenneth Dakop, Team Lead, Strategic Communication at PSPBA, facilitated a session on “Understanding Fake News and the Do-No-Harm Principle.” He explained the differences between misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, noting their destructive impact. Quoting the Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity, he said false information costs the global economy billions of dollars annually. “We should spread information with the aim to do no harm. By providing accurate information, verifying sources, and leveraging technology, we can curb misinformation,” he advised.
Another facilitator, Timothy Kunat, founder of Discover Jos, presented on “Social Media as a Tool of Wealth Creation.” He described social media as “the new oil well in our hands” and encouraged youths to publish, post, and monetize their content consistently. “Don’t scroll through success stories become one,” he charged.
Benson Dotun Fasanya from the Centre for Earth Works (CFEW) spoke on “Social Media Advocacy for Environmental Justice.” Citing research in the Journal of Human Ecology, he revealed that land-related conflicts accounted for more than 50% of communal clashes in Nigeria between 1991 and 2005. He called on participants to use social media to advocate for environmental protection, habitat conservation, and sustainable land use. “In our quest for survival, man destroys what we need for the future,” he warned.
The workshop closed with a remark by Mrs. Julie G. Sanda, Director-General of PSPBA, who encouraged youths to use social media to change the narrative of Plateau State. “If you think negatively and promote negativity, that is what will happen, and people will know you for it. But if you choose positivity, you will shape a positive identity,” she said.
This landmark workshop marks another significant stride in consolidating Plateau’s peace efforts by equipping youths with the knowledge, tools, and responsibility to champion peacebuilding within their communities. It demonstrates PSPBA’s commitment to ensuring that peace is not just an aspiration but a shared culture for all Plateau people.