Biography Narrative

Elder Justina Mike Ngwobia is a peacebuiding practitioner who has been working in the field of interfaith relations for over 15 years. She holds a Bachelors’ degree in social work and administration. Her passion for Christian-Muslim harmony and dialogue grew when she moved to the northern part of Nigeria and discovered that the incessant crisis in that part of the world was the result of political manipulation: people were using the different religious groups for their own selfish gain, leading to violent conflicts. Her motivation grew when she visited people living in rural communities and saw how people were suffering and struggling to survive. Her major interest is focused on empowering communities through interfaith joint projects, adult education, peace clubs, Christian Muslim harmony, and the empowerment of women, which are all aimed at interfaith dialogue and sustainable development. She has travelled to different parts of the world sharing her experiences in interreligious dialogue. At present, she is the ecumenical coordinator of the Presbyterian church of Nigeria, Jos presbytery. She is also interested in promoting the participation of women in governance issues, peace and security. She considers her greatest milestone to be the establishment of the “Women Peace Builders Network” in Nigeria, which gives women the opportunity to add their voices to events in society through dialogue. Justina strongly believes that our world can only be better and more peaceful if people of diverse religions learn how to interact positively for mutual cooperation.

Interreligious Activities and Initiatives

INCREASING THE CAPACITIES OF WOMEN IN FACILITATED DIALOGUE AND MEDIATION TO RESOLVE CONFLICT IN PLATEAU STATE

The aim of this project is to advance women’s participation and inclusion, and equip them with skills, knowledge and attitudes to contribute to peace processes in their domain through dialogue and mediation. This will be done through intense capacity building training, Advocacy to critical stakeholders to ensure and support women’s inclusion, media interactive sessions using women to kick against hate and violence in the society, and as well as engaging through mediation to heal the communities in violent conflict. There will also be the establishment of the women led peace and mediation steering committee in the various localities who will champion the mediation at local, national and regional levels. There has been lot of gap when it comes to women participation in mediation and dialogue and there are ongoing discussions on how they can be part of Regional peace negotiating tables through deployment. This process of engagement will enhance and amplify women voices and give them opportunity to be at the decision making tables.