Pacemedia Foundation Unveils Her Dev. Agenda; Calls For Partnership To Promote Community Transformation.
Pacemedia Foundation for Youth, Women and Community Development has unveiled its development agenda with a call for stronger partnerships to promote peace, youth empowerment, women development and sustainable community transformation across Nigeria.
The agenda was unveiled during a stakeholders’ engagement, inauguration of the Foundation’s Advisory Board and project unveiling held Thursday in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
Declaring the event open, development expert and Chairman of the Foundation’s Advisory Board Committee, Dr. Ibiam Azu, said sustainable development could only be achieved through strategic partnerships, stressing that governments, institutions and individuals could not tackle today’s development challenges alone.
Delivering a keynote address titled “Building Partnership for Sustainable Development,” he urged members of the Advisory Board to leverage their expertise and networks to attract grants, partnerships and innovative ideas that would strengthen the Foundation’s impact.
Drawing from his experience in the health and development sector, Azu said collaboration among government, development partners, the media, academia, civil society organisations and communities remained the most effective approach to achieving lasting development.
He added that the Advisory Board’s role extended beyond governance to providing strategic direction, ensuring accountability and supporting impactful programmes.
Chairman of the occasion and Executive Director of DIG Foundation, Oliver Ajah Chima, described the Foundation’s founder, Comrade Israel Ekene Mbam, as a committed development practitioner whose passion for humanitarian service had evolved over the years.
He recalled meeting Mbam during civil society engagements and expressed confidence in the Foundation’s future, saying, “I know people who are serious from the way they begin. With the foundation you are laying today, you will go far.”
He pledged the support of DIG Foundation and other partners for the Foundation’s programmes.
Earlier, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Peacemedia Foundation, Comrade Israel Ekene Mbam, said the organisation was established to build peaceful, inclusive and sustainable communities through strategic partnerships, media engagement and impactful development programmes.
He said the Foundation would focus on peacebuilding and conflict prevention, civic education, youth leadership, women empowerment, entrepreneurship, democratic governance, media development and community transformation.
Mbam described the inauguration of the Advisory Board as a major milestone, explaining that members were selected based on integrity, competence and experience.
He noted that the event was designed to strengthen partnerships, unveil strategic projects and mobilise stakeholders to address pressing social challenges.
Tracing the Foundation’s origin, Mbam said the vision began in 2006 from his passion for using journalism and mass communication as tools for social change.
He explained that his experience in media and civil society, including the establishment of People’s Guide Newspaper, inspired the creation of the Foundation as a platform for professionals from different sectors to jointly provide solutions to societal challenges.
He called on government institutions, development partners, civil society organisations, the media, the private sector and community leaders to collaborate with the Foundation in creating opportunities, promoting peace and improving livelihoods across communities.
Other speakers, including Prof. Ifeyinwa Nsude, Dr. Stephen Elem (Galaxy), Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ebonyi State Council, Comrade Samson Nwafor, and representatives of academia, civil society, the media, business, traditional institutions and the political class, commended the initiative.
They urged the Foundation to prioritise peacebuilding, noting that recurring communal conflicts had hindered development in many Ebonyi communities, and pledged continued collaboration and institutional support to help realise its vision of building resilient communities through partnerships and citizen engagement