From our studies of past elections held in 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011, 2015, Rivers State, being the financial hub of the Niger Delta region have usually been characterized by violence before, during and after these elections. This violence usually involves supporters of major political parties or political godfathers, who set upon their rivals to inflict violence which sometimes lead to loss of lives and properties.
In October 2017, The Media Awareness and Justice Initiaitve, Partnered with Sustainability International to commence the pilot phase of testing its innovative method to clean up the Polluted creeks in some select communities of the Niger Delta. Results from this pilot clean up will provide the needed platform to expand the proposed initaitve in a participatory and holistic way.
Women lives and Livelihoods are severely affected during environmental disasters such as crude oil spills and environmental pollution. In May 2017, The Media Awareness and Justice Project Partnered with Aljazeera News, Sustainability International and Ventures Africa to develop a virtual reality film in the Niger Delta on key impacts of the August 2008 crude oil spills and artisanal refining on the biodiversity, lives and livelihood of people living in Bodo community, Gokona Local Government Area, Rivers State.
Participatory Media is key tool from which communities can start the development of independently owned media content aimed at promoting an increase in community voices and non violent advocacy across multiple societal layers. The Media Awareness and Justice Initiative (Media for justice Project) carried out the training for citizen journalists pulled from urban and rural communities across Rivers and Bayelsa states. The citizen journalists where trained on audiovisual content gathering, documentation, post production editing and dissemination.
The Human Rights Theatre Outreach: a utensil for change and community sensitization in Rivers State,aims at using theatre performances such as theatre art presentations, drama features and screening of human and environmental rights documentaries to strengthen and promote community perspective and stakeholder interactions on the impact of pollution on the environment and the lives of the people of the Niger Delta in Rivers State, Nigeria
Based in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, the Media Awareness and Justice Initiative works with groups and social movements working together for social, economic, cultural and environmental justice by helping them use media and communication technologies to inform, organize, mobilize and further their struggles to create a better world.