World Peace: The Ultimate human Enterprise
(Original)

Nonyelum Sandra Umeasiegbu
(Age 20, Nigeria)
Graduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University

Today in the 21^st Century, the role of the media has changed immensely. The media has become the watchdog and mirror of the society. Citizens of the world today depend on the media to provide them with information as it happens. This makes the media an ideal and powerful entity that can be used positively.

Starting at the community level, workshops and seminars would be held for the media. This will be an intensive training on a positive portrayal of unity in diversity. In the midst of this re-orientation, the media could come up with suggestions on how they can be used as tools for positive change.

Civil Society Organizations, Non-governmental Organizations, and the Communities involved should go into alliance with the community media technologies available to carry out strategies.

Friendly debates would be organized for young people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. The topic under debate would be neutral subjects that affect them and that at the same time, wouldn’t raise controversy.

There would be talk shows for youths and adults where citizens with varied views would be invited to sit and interact comfortably with one another. The topic under discussion would be a depoliticised subject that will touch on the different forms of decay, corruption, and abuse of human rights filtering into the society with suggested solutions for them. The debates and talk shows will be aired on television and radio stations within the milieu.

Once or twice a week, there would be documentaries that will showcase the various tribes within the locale and the different states within the Country. When the Country has been exhausted, the countries of the world will also be documented. In these documentaries, a brief background and religion of the people and country would be given, then their mode of dressing, food, dance and music would be displayed. There would also be something revealed about every Country or people that makes them laudable. Example, Nigeria could be said to produce a significant percentage of the world’s oil while Japan is the pinnacle of technology. These documentaries should brim with colour and life so as to captivate its viewers. The essence is for individuals to see and understand what makes friends and foes who and what they are. Enlightenment will do a lot for the world and its people.

There would be carnivals where the different ethnicities within the community will come together in their divergent traditional dressing, bringing with them something of their culture: my tribe would come with our masked spirits (masquerades). Dramas would be staged, enacting the religious and socio-cultural values of the various people. There would also be song, dance and other forms of entertainment from the diverse communities. It would be a beautiful celebration of our differences. When this carnival is given tremendous media fanfare, and everyone watches on their T.V, we would all see the beauty and rightfulness of putting differences aside and coming together.

There would be talent shows on television, radio and in the papers, where youths who are talented in singing, dancing, acting, modelling, writing, drawing, etc, could come to exhibit their talents. The public who are involved in these various fields could offer them opportunities and this would help in reducing the rate of unemployment.

There would be fun shows where children from all walks of life within the community could come together and be taught new creative games by other kids. This show would be done outdoors. After having fun with one another, at school, the kids would no longer abuse those other kids they initially considered different.

The print media would also do their part by throwing columns in newspapers and magazines open for voluntary contributions.  Individuals everywhere could write in on national and global issues and suggest how to best salvage our situation.

To make sure the ditch of inequality is bridged, the poor and the marginalized in the society would be sought out and given free reign to voice their problems and opinions. This way nobody is suppressed.

Crucially, it has become a problem that when the media brings to the knowledge of the world incidents of conflict and violence happening at other parts of the Country or world, compatriots of the people or countries in conflict start warring with their adversaries within the vicinity. This could be avoided to some extent if the media would invite two or three people from both sides of the clash to talk dispassionately about the conflict, and also stress on the evils of further strife.

We cannot dictate the media, but then, if they would look objectively at the good they could do the world, and realise that the world is ours to plough or to plunder, am sure they would willingly join in the march for world peace: the ultimate human enterprise.