By Mohammed Balu, GNA
Bolgatanga, (UE/R), July 20, GNA-Journalists and media practitioners have been urged to uphold professionalism by adopting conflict-sensitive reporting practices that promote peace, protect persons living in vulnerabilities and prevent the escalation of tensions within communities.
Professor Eliasu Mumuni of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, University for Development Studies (UDS), made the call in Bolgatanga during a two-day capacity-building workshop for journalists and media practitioners on conflict-sensitive and peace reporting.
Factspace West Africa organised the workshop under the “EMBRACE Project” in partnership with UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).
The training equipped participants with practical skills on accuracy, balance, context and human-centred conflict reporting and information verification before publication to prevent inflaming tensions.
Prof. Mumuni stressed the responsibility of the media in helping the public to understand the underlying causes of conflicts rather than focusing only on violent incidents.
Prof. Mumuni advised journalists and media practitioners to include the voices of key stakeholders, including women, youth, victims and peace actors, in their reporting, and verify information before publication.
He also encouraged the media practitioners to reduce fear and misinformation by reporting warning signs responsibly while supporting dialogue and accountability.
He cautioned journalists against sensational headlines, collective blame, stereotypes, and inflammatory language, noting that such reporting could fuel hostility and deepen divisions in societies.
Prof. Mumuni reminded participants that journalism should never become another weapon in conflict but rather a tool for promoting dialogue, accountability, and sustainable peace.
Mr Omar Jafaru, Bolgatanga Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), stressed that the media had a key role in shaping public opinion.
He called on media practitioners to uphold professionalism, accuracy, fairness, and sensitivity while helping to combat hate speech and misinformation.
Alhaji Sumaila Issaka, Upper East Regional Chairman of the National Peace Council, urged the participants to regard themselves as agents of peace by promoting responsible and conflict-sensitive reporting.
He encouraged the participants to leverage their media platforms to promote peace and dialogue and urged them to work with FactSpace West Africa to make peacebuilding a national responsibility.
“See this workshop as a call on all of us to become agents of peace in our own small ways, especially knowing the potency of the platforms we work with and for”, Alhaji Issaka indicated.
Mr Rabiu Alhassan, Executive Director of Factspace West Africa, indicated that the workshop was informed by an investigation they did which exposed how digital media was being exploited to entrench the conflict.
“It is also contributing to sustaining the current peace in the area. We believe training journalists in conflict-sensitive reporting using the UNESCO framework and helping close the digital literacy gap would well suitthe problems identified”, he explained.
He said they would continue to contribute to promoting peace through the launch of an interactive voice response (IVR) channel to ensure offline communities benefited from their work.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
July 20, 2026
Reporter: Mohammed Balu, GNA
Email: [email protected]