Nigerian seminars focus on media coverage of Islam



The British Council is funding a series of media training seminars across Nigeria to encourage fairer and better-researched reporting on Islam.

The "Connecting Futures" seminars, scheduled to run in three cities, are designed to create a forum for frank discussion between Nigerian and British media professionals, academics, and local religious leaders.

The initiative is meant to raise awareness and combat so-called "Islamphobia" through constructive and proactive education. It follows a series of similar, successful seminars and documentary screenings in six northern Nigerian cities in July 2003.

The program stresses the moderate nature of Islam practiced by the majority of Muslims in both Nigeria and Britain. The seminars will encourage journalists to moderate their own reporting on fundamentalist extremists by seeking alternate views and voices in their stories.

The seminars will include students, civil society representatives and government leaders, encouraging them to explore ways for making Nigeria's Muslim communities more aware of and involved with the media. This will include basic tips for interacting with the broadcast, press and Internet media.

The seminar is scheduled for the city of Maiduguri on March 15, Bauchi on March 17 and Kaduna on March 18. Entrance and participation are free.

Interested journalists should watch their local newspapers, or contact the British Council in Abuja at
info.abuja@ng.britishcouncil.org, telephone (+234) 413-7870, or in Lagos at info.lagos@ng.britishcouncil.org, telephone (+234-1) 269-2188.

The British Council's Web site for Nigeria is at http://www.britishcouncil.org/nigeria/