Article written by Ipinoluwa Oluwafowokanmi
“Peace education is not abstract, it is transformational.”
I realized this fact the day we went to a school for our Non-violence Education Campaign. A group of teenagers in the classroom in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria responded to the peace education campaign not with jesting or uninterested attitudes, but with reflection on past behaviours. The joy in it is going back to this school and hearing how they’ve learned about empathy, dialogue, and using digital platforms responsibly.
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This is not just a talk; it is a transformation.
Through our work at Peace Bridge Initiative, I’ve witnessed how digital literacy can be more than just learning how to use devices. It’s a mindset shift. It’s learning how to question, to search for truth, and to engage responsibly in a digital world that often rewards violence and abuse over understanding and empathy.
We all come from diverse backgrounds, often shaped by economic hardship, communal tensions, or political mistrust. But when we are introduced to the concept of digital citizenship, something shifts. Suddenly, we’re not just scrolling but creating transformative stories. We’re not just reacting but reaching out. And when we pair that with peacebuilding education, the result is profound: young people choosing to build, not break.
Education for Digital Consciousness
Education is shifting focus from basic subjects only to learning social interactions and how to manage the dual world we live in; the physical and digital world. It is surprising how we can be two different people in these two worlds.
From the webinars we’ve had, we’ve heard transformational testimonies of how young people share negative posts just for ‘cruise’. A young man said “It sounded funny and it just felt right to share” That moment sparked a deeper conversation on digital responsibility. We talked about emotional triggers, and the silent war of misinformation and effect on the victims. For the first time, many of them saw the connection between their likes, comments, shares and the violence it’s creating.
Peacebuilding today must meet young people where they are, online. They already have the tool, the technology but digital literacy comes with how to use this technology for good.
From Consumers to Creators
What inspires me most is watching youth go from passive consumers of digital noise to active creators of digital hope. In our organization we had members who produced music on Peace education, Voice over for Peace talks. These aren’t elite students with tech degrees, they’re just youth who through digital literacy, discovered their voices and used it as means of building peace.
And when their peers listen, something changes in the air.
Holding Space for Peace Online
The internet is a double-edged sword. With each sharp edge used for good or bad. Leaning on the good side is a WhatsApp group where youths support each other through grief, a shared Canva template used for portraiting unity, a Facebook comment that defuses rather than fuels a conflict. These are the quiet victories we rarely count, but they are how we protect the fragile faith in humanity
One positive message, post, or one connection at a time, makes the difference we want to see.
Digital literacy is not just about skills. It’s about shaping a culture that refuses to look away from violence, both online and offline. It’s about raising a generation that knows how to code peace into the very fabric of their digital presence.
