Jos, Plateau State — September 15, 2026:
The Women for Positive Peace Building Initiative (WOPPI) has commenced a specialised capacity-building programme for women mediators across three Local Government Areas of Plateau State, aimed at strengthening their roles in conflict prevention, mediation, advocacy and community peacebuilding.
The training is being implemented under the Strengthening Women’s Protection & Leadership in Plateau State – Phase 2 project and targets women mediators in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Bassa Local Government Areas.
The two-day training sessions are scheduled to hold in Bokkos from September 15–16, Barkin Ladi from September 17–18, and Bassa from September 28–29, 2026
According to WOPPI, the programme is designed to equip participating women with practical knowledge and skills to respond effectively to conflict, emerging threats and protection concerns, while strengthening women’s meaningful participation in peace and security processes within their communities.
The capacity-building programme focuses on six key areas: Conflict Analysis; Dialogue and Mediation; Leadership and Advocacy; Early Warning and Early Response (EWER); Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV); and Survivor-Centred Case Management.
Through the sessions, participants are expected to gain a deeper understanding of the drivers and dynamics of conflict, improve their dialogue and mediation skills, identify and respond to early warning signs, and advocate for increased participation of women in leadership and peacebuilding processes.
The training also seeks to strengthen participants’ capacity to promote survivor-centred approaches to addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and improve community-level protection mechanisms for women and girls.
The programme is supported under the Strengthening Women’s Protection & Leadership in Plateau State – Phase 2 project, with support and partnership from UK International Development, Tetra Tech and SPRING, alongside WOPPI.
The initiative forms part of WOPPI’s broader efforts to strengthen women’s protection, leadership and meaningful participation in peace and security processes across Plateau State.
It builds on ongoing stakeholder engagement and implementation activities under the Phase 2 project,including engagements with the State Action Plan Implementation Committee (SAPIC) and Local Action Plan Implementation Committees (LAPICs).
WOPPI said the women mediators’ training provides an opportunity to translate broader commitments to women’s participation and protection into practical community-level action by strengthening women who are strategically positioned to contribute to dialogue, early response, mediation and peacebuilding.
The organisation noted that communities are better positioned to prevent conflict, respond to emerging challenges and build sustainable peace when women have the knowledge, skills and platforms to participate meaningfully in peace and leadership processes.
WOPPI reaffirmed its commitment to working with government, traditional institutions, civil society organisations, women leaders, community actors and development partners to promote inclusive peacebuilding, strengthen protection mechanisms and create opportunities for women to contribute meaningfully to safer, more peaceful and resilient communities across Plateau State.
